1910 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



381 



the capacity of the bees to cover; but as fast 

 as they increase in numbers she enlarges 

 the circle of eggs, and the same number of 

 bees can keep more brood warm when com- 

 pact than they can if scattered. As a rule, 

 the bees will fill the empty combs inserted, 

 with i^ollen and honey. From the fact that 

 queens do keep from eight to ten frames 

 tilled with brood for months at a time is 

 conclusive evidence that they do not need 

 any forcing or coaxing by man. 



"once a robber always a robber" 



NOT TRUE. 



When nearly through with a tour of in- 

 spection of my apiaries a few days ago, to 

 determine if the queens were doing their 

 duty and if the bees had plenty of stores, 

 they began robbing. I had been working 

 with them two or three days, and they had 

 not shown much disposition to rob, and per- 

 haps I got a little careless and left some 

 honey exposed; and when they did start I 

 never saw bees more persistent. It was too 

 warm to close the entrances entirely, and 

 the robbers worked their way through any 

 amount of straw, so I covered the hives with 

 pieces of canvas while I made a robber-trap 

 as exjilained by the editor, page IIG, Feb. 

 15. I i)ut three frames of honey in a hive 

 after mutilating the caj^pings, and put two 

 other hive -bodies on top of it, and, sure 

 enough, I soon had them all in "durance 

 vile." I did not have the heart to kill 

 them, but let them out just at sundown, 

 but warned them (mentally) that if they 

 came " peslieatin' " around in the morning 

 they would get sul})hiired; but they did not 



come — at least only a very few came, and 

 began to show a disposition to rob at one of 

 the hives they had got into the worst, and 

 I placed the trap close to it and went on with 

 my work, and had no more trouble, and but 

 very few robbers were in the trap when I 

 opened it the second night. This would 

 seem to disprove the statement of "once a 

 robber always a robber." 

 .lamul, Cal., May 5. 



THE SOLAR WAX-EXTRACTOR GIVES WAY 

 TO THE WAX-PRESS. 



BY H. R. BOARDMAN. 



[The writer ol this article, the originator ol the 

 Boardnian solar wax-extractor, while he does not 

 by any means think that there Is no longer a place 

 for the solar extractor, has found that the press is 

 much superior for old combs. — Ed.] 



I have become deeply interested in wax- 

 production, not only as a bi-product, but 

 as a possible special industry. 



I propose at this time to present to the 

 readers simply a press which I have used 

 for some time in rendering wax, and which 

 has been eminently successful. 



THE PRESS. 



It is simply two strong wooden arms with 

 a common carpenter's bench-screw at one 

 end, and a strong iron loop over the other 

 end, adjusted to the height of the screw by 

 wooden blocks. It is very simple and quickly 

 constructed, and easily and rapidly manip- 

 ulated. It gives great power, which may 

 be increased by sliding the cheese nearer 



H. R. BOARDMAN 'S WAX-PRESS. 



