THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



275 



with the hot surface on which it would 

 otherwise rest. 



A MELTER OUGHT TO BE ENCLOSED TO 

 RETAIN THE HEAT. 



Looking at your illustration of my 

 melter, I notice tbat the tubes run length- 

 wise of the tray instead of across. Also 

 that the whole apparatus is not covered 

 or encased in anything; and, therefore, I 

 am not surpised that it takes two burners 

 to keep it going; and that the heat radi- 

 ating from the melter and the stove must 

 be enough to partly roast the operator. 

 With the thermometer at 100° in the 

 shade, as v/e often have it here in sum- 

 mer, it would be well nigh impossible to 

 work as you do. 



I enclose a print which shows how my 

 melter is rigged up at the home apiary. 

 It is encased in wood all around, except 

 at the bottom. It can be heated with 

 steam by means of a flat steam chest 

 suspended inside the lower part of the 

 apparatus, or it can be heated, when 



extracting at the rate of 150 to 200 

 pounds an hour; with only a large 

 Rochester lamp with steel chimney. As 

 no heat is lost by radiation, there is no 

 discomfort whatever to the operator, and 

 much less heat is required, because none 

 is wasted. 



HEATING A MELTER WITH STEAM BROUGHT 

 THROUGH A RUBBER HOSE. 



The steam, which is obtained from a 

 small boiler (without pressure) does not 

 enter the water in the melter, but heats 

 it by contact through the metal of the 

 steam chsst. The condensed water 

 returns to the boiler by gravitation. 



This may seem complicated, but it is 

 really an extremely simple arrangement, 

 and, as you use a steam heated honey 

 knife, why not have a somewhat larger 

 steam generator, which would heat both 

 melter and knife and could be yards 

 away from the operator, even in another 

 room? 



TooBORAG, Australia, June 10, 1910. 



1 1 can readily see that enclosing a 

 melter to retain the heat would be a 

 great improvement. It would save fuel, 

 and also the operator from much dis- 

 comfort 



I don't feel so sure about the advis- 

 ability of separating the honey and wax 

 inside the melter. It would certainly 

 subject the honey to the heat much 

 longer than to allow honey and wax to 

 escape at once into a gravity separator. 



It must not be forgotten, however, that 

 with our management we secure very 

 thick combs, thus uncap very deep, 

 which throws an unusual amount of 

 honey and wax into the melter. A melter 

 and arrangements that would work 

 perfectly as bee keepers usually uncap, 

 would soon be "swampsd" with our 

 great slabs of cappings; especially when 

 they drop as rapidly as they do from our 

 steam heated knife. 



But the enclosing of the melter is a 

 good feature, and we shall certainly 

 adapt it. — Editor.] 



