THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



105 



of the pressure, may be repeated as 

 often as thought advisable. It will be 

 noticed that the pressure is applied under 

 boiling hot water; that the wax rises to 

 the top of the water as fast as it escapes 

 from the slum gum; that it is not en- 

 tangled nor retained by the burlap. 



We will suppose that we have secured 

 all of the wax possible by pressure. The 

 slum gum is in the sack; the press is full 

 of hot water, with the wax floating on 

 top; Mr. Manley then pours off this hot 

 water and wax into what might be called 

 a cooling, or separating tank. The 

 screw is then loosened and removed, the 

 sack of slum gum taken out, and the 

 slum gum shaken out into some old box 

 or barrel. There is no wax, propolis, 

 nor stickiness about the sack after it is 

 emptied — just as nice and clean as when 

 first put into the press. 



This cooling, or separating tank, will 

 probably hold a barrel. It is perhaps 

 two feet high, and a trifle more than that 

 in diameter. It is made of galvanized 

 iron, with a gate or faucet at the bottom, 

 and another perhaps six inches from the 

 top. There is also a glass gauge in its 

 side, through which can be seen the line 

 of demarcation between the water and 

 the wax. It will be seen that, from the 

 lower faucet, hot water may be drawn 

 from beneath the wax, leaving the wax 

 in the tank, and using the water for 

 melting the next batch of wax. This is 

 one of the biggest points of the system, 

 that of using the same water over and 

 over again before it cools. Keep dump- 

 ing the melted wax and hot water into 

 this tank, and keep drawing off the hot 



water from beneath the wax, as the 

 water is needed. Some water will be 

 lost by evaporation and some will be 

 absorbed by the slum gum, hence the 

 necessity of hot water in the reservoir to 

 replenish the loss. The upper faucet is 

 used to draw off the melted wax if the 

 tank becomes too full, or at the end of 

 the "run." A look through the glass 

 guage will show when the body of wax 

 is at the right height to be drawn off. 

 The lower surface of the wax ought to 

 be a short distance below the faucet, so 

 that little or no sediment will be drawn 

 out through the faucet. If it is not quite 

 high enough, boiling water can be added 

 until the body of wax is at exactly the 

 proper height. At the end of the day, or 

 of the "run," the wax can be drawn off 

 in this manner, simply leaving a little wax 

 below the faucet. This thin sheet of 

 wax can be allowed to cool in the tank; 

 and, by this plan, all of the sediment for 

 the whole day's work, will be in this one 

 place, under this one thin cake of wax. 



For thoroughness, rapidity, and ease 

 of operation, I doubt if any system of 

 wax-rendering can compare with this 

 plan of Mr. Manley's. He says that he 

 can render from 150 to 200 pounds in a 

 day, depending upon the character of 

 the old combs. While cost is not of so very 

 great importance, the outfit is simple and 

 inexpensive. Except the press, nearly 

 everything can be bought at an ordinary 

 hardware, and the press can be made 

 by a tin smith. Mr. Manley says that 

 his cost him about $8.00. 



Flint, Mich., Feb. 4, 1910. 



The Making of Home-Made Hives 

 at a Low Cost. 



J. W. Southwood. 



HOR the most part my hives are of 

 the eight-frame. Dovetail-size. I 

 make no other. If I were pro- 

 ducing extracted honey I think 1 would 



use the ten-frame size. I formerly made 

 my hives by hand, using a form to cut 

 the sides and ends all of the same length. 

 I used to halve-joint the corners so as to 



