WAX. 



472 



WAX. 



Our tank is a little over 3i feet in diameter, 

 and about 5 feet high. Water is run into it 

 to a depth of 12 inches, and then 1500 lbs. of 

 wax is thrown in, making it about fnll. The 

 mass is then heated by means of a jet of 

 steam from a pipe projecting down into the 

 water from the top. When all the w ax is ' 

 melted, the acid is poured in. Dark wax to 

 make brood foundation requires three pints 

 of acid; but if light enough for surilus foun- 

 dation, not more than U pints is used. If 

 tiie wax is already of good quality, so small 

 an amount as one pint of acid will answer. 

 On the average, therefore, we use one quart 

 of acid in 80 gallons of water for loOO lbs. of : 

 wax. Soon after this is poured in, the color | 

 of the boiling wax will be seen to grow 

 lighter, and, after a minute or so, the boil- | 

 ing is stopped. 



The steam-pipe is now drawn out, the tank 

 covered with a cloth or carpet, and allowed 

 to stand as long as the wax will remain liquid, 

 or about 24 hours. At the expiration of this 

 time the water and acid will have settled to 

 the bottom by reason of their greater spe- 

 cific gravity; and the acid, in turn, having a 

 greater specific gravity than that of water, 

 will settle below the water; and the conse- 

 quence is, that the wax itself, after being 

 purified, is allowed to become thoroughly 

 cleansed of any residue of acid, and the dirt 

 accumulation, all have settled beneath the 

 wax into tlie water. The melted wax is now 

 drawn off from the top, and poured into any 

 sort of receptacles with flaring sides. When 

 the wax is nearly all removed or shows evi- 

 dence of coming near the dirt, the rest is al- 

 lowed to stand. As soon as it cakes in the 

 tank it is lifted out, and the dirt clinging to 

 the bottom scrajied off. 



We do not recommend the use of acid for 

 refining wax on a small scale, for, without 

 proper receptacles and facilities for heating, 

 the wax is more often injured than benefit- 

 ed. 



BLEACHING BEESWAX. 



There are methods by which beeswax can 

 be bleached by the use of chemicals ; but af- 

 ter some experimenting we have not been 

 successful with any of them, and finally dis- 

 covered that, for the economic uses of tlie 

 bee-keeper, foundation made of blenched wax 

 was no better tlian if as good as that having 

 the natural yellow color, refined by tlie use 

 of sulphuric acid as explained elsewhere. 

 Yellow wax is more ductile, and therefore 

 more easily worked by the bees; and even 

 when used for section honey-boxes, the 



ombs from yellow wax are about as white 



as those from the bleached; so that when cap- 

 ped over, no one can tell the difference, lint 

 very often dealers have a call for bleached 

 beeswax ; and the only practical way of get- 

 ting it is to convert the product into thin 

 sheets or small particles, and then subject 

 them to the sun's rays for a suitable length 

 of time. When sufficiently bleaclied it may 

 be melted up and caked. 



The illustration given on next page shows 

 how it is done at a large wax-working estab- 

 lishment where wax-bleaching is made a spe- 

 cialty. We refer to the firm that was former- 

 ly Eckerman & Will, of Syracuse, N. Y.,but 

 now bearing the name of W^ill & Baumer. 

 The wax is reduced to thin sheets or shreds, 

 or, what is often done, is allowed to drop on 

 a revolving cylinder, forming small chunks 

 or drops, as it were, which immediately cool. 

 These particles of wax, or thin sheets, are 

 spread on canvas trays, and then exposed to 

 the rays of ttie sun until they are bleached. 

 ^Vhen the wax is first put out it packs more 

 or less and has to be frequently showered 

 with water, or raked over, to keep it loose so 

 that the air and sun can get at it. If the 

 process has been properly carried on, the fin- 

 ished product, when caked,will be of a pearly 

 whiteness. 



At this factory of Will & Baumer, im- 

 mense quantities of candles are made for 

 sacramental purposes of the Koman Catho- 

 lic Church, which prefers them of pure bees- 

 wax. Some are of immense size, but all are 

 not made of pure beeswax. Taraffine is used 

 very largely for the purpose, and the small 

 candles for lawn-fetes and Christmas times, 

 variously colored, are probably wholly paraf- 

 fine, because that article costs less than half 

 as much as beeswax. 



now TO DETECT ADULTERATED AVAX. 



We have already mentioned the fact that 

 beeswax is liable to adulteration with paraf- 

 fine or ceresin,and sometimes with ordinary 

 bee - keepers, after brimstoning their old 

 grease or fat. Some unscrupulous box-hive 

 "skeps," and melting up the wax,* add just 

 enough tallow to increase the weight, be- 

 cause grease is cheap compared with the or- 

 dinary product of the hive. But such adul- 

 terations are very easily detected, both by 

 smell and sight. The cakes have a greasy 

 smell and feeling; and wlien subjected to the 

 float test, presently described, they will im- 

 mediately rise to the top of the liquid. Par- 

 affine and ceresin adulterations are not so 

 easily recognized; but nearly all pure bees- 



* See Box Hives and Straw Skeps. 



