104 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



tremendous. In each end of the cross- 

 piece is a g bolt with a lieavy nut on the 

 lower end. When the cross-piece is put 

 in place and swung around in the right 

 direction, these bolts slip into the hooks 

 already mentioned, the nuts catching 

 below the hooks and holding down the 

 cross-piece. 



The next most important feature of 

 the press is what Mr. Manley calls a 

 "spider," which is put in an inch or two 

 fiom the bottom of the can. The name 

 is very appropriate, as it certainly 

 resembles a huge spider with its legs 

 fastened to the sides of the can. It is 

 made of pieces of iron about 3-16 thick 

 and one inch wide, bolted together at the 

 center, and the ends bolted to an iron 

 hoop that just fits inside the can and is 

 bolted to its sides. This iron hoop is of 

 the same size and weight as the one at 

 the top of the can. Don't think that it 

 will answer to rivet these hoops to the 

 can. It won't. They will pull off. Use 

 bolts, with washers on the outside, and 

 have the washers thoroughly fastened to 

 the can with solder. Even when all this 

 care has been taken, Mr. Manley says 

 that the screw-power must be used with 

 discretion. 



Fastened to the bottom of the screw 

 is a plunger, or follower, made of heavy 

 cast iron, and reinforced on the lower 

 side with two layers of bars of wood; 

 these layers crossing each other at right 

 angles. Aside from the added strength, 

 there is an advantage in having two 

 layers of bars crossing each other. If 

 the slum gum in its covering of burlap is 

 forced up between the bars of the lower 

 tier, there are still openings in the upper 

 tier through which the wax can escape. 



Perhaps half an inch less in diameter 

 than the can, is an inner basket of 

 perforated iron. Inside of^this basket is 

 used a sack of burlap for holding the 

 slum gum. This, I believe, completes 

 the description of the press, and I think 

 I now better go back and tell how the 

 wax is melted and pressed, and bring the 

 process up to the point where the wax 



leaves the press, before going further 

 with any description. 



First, the combs are all cutout of the 

 frames, and the frames scraped clean, 

 before any wax rendering operations are 

 begun. After steam is up, and work 

 begun, there is no time for cutting out 

 combs. They are all cut out and thrown 

 in a huge pile in one corner of the room, 

 from whence they can be readily scooped 

 up with a shovel and thrown into the 

 boilers as needed. We will suppose that 

 the combs are cut out, a good fire in the 

 stove, and the two boilers and the reser- 

 voir full of hot water. The equivalent of 

 about eight Langstroth combs is put into 

 the boiler that sits upon the hottest part 

 of the stove. As the combs melt they 

 are stirred and thoroughly broken up 

 with a large stick. When the wax has 

 thoroughly melted, the perforated metal 

 basket is set inside the press, the burlap 

 sack hung inside the basket, and the 

 contents of the boiler dipped with a 

 gallon dipper into the burlap sack. That 

 is, it is dipped at first, until the operator 

 is able to pick up the boiler and pour out 

 the rest of its contents into the burlap 

 sack. After the melted combs and hot 

 water are all in the press, the burlap 

 sack is grasped with both hands, at its 

 upper edge, lifted up somewhat, and 

 twisted about, until the bulk of its con- 

 tents has been reduced so that the top of 

 the sack can be folded down upon the 

 body of the sack. The screw and fol- 

 lower is then put in place and screwed 

 down upon the sack. While this batch is 

 pressing, the other boiler is filled with 

 combs and set to melting upon the stove. 

 The screw is then loosened, and the 

 water allowed to enter the slum gum, 

 when pressure is again applied, a la 

 Hershiser. Before the follower is 

 screwed down the second time, it is 

 turned around part way, by means of 

 an iron rod thrust down upon its upper 

 surface. The bars upon the lower surface 

 do not then go back into the same old 

 grooves in the sack of slum gum. This 

 loosening of the screw, and re-applying 



