398 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mat 15. 



WAX. 



THE QUALITIES AND SOURCE OF WAX. 

 By Karl Rudolph Mathey. 



Beeswax is a substance which is produced the 

 world over by the various members of the Apl- 

 dce (bee) family. Opinions vary greatly as to 

 whether bees obtain it from the different kinds 

 of sap which they find on certain flowers which 

 serve them as food, or whether the pollen of 

 such plants furnishes the requisite material. 

 Wax itself may be considered either as a secre- 

 tion or as a separate product; for when bees are 

 quiet in their hives the wax may be seen in 

 the form of minute scales, exuding from be- 

 tween the little rings of their abdomen. The 

 worker bees either take these scales up from the 

 bottom of the hive or else they receive them 

 directly from the bees and form cells therewith. 



Many bees are kept in European countries — 

 Austria, Germany, France, Russia, Spain, Italy, 

 and Turkey ; and these countries furnish the 

 main part of European beeswax. And, too. the 

 Orient, especially Persia and Asiatic Turkey, 

 furnishes considerable amounts, to which may 

 be added the yield from the East Indies, Japan, 

 China, Africa, and America, though not all the 

 wax from these countries is designed for Euro- 

 pean consumption. German wax comes from 

 North Germany, from the heathy regions of the 

 lower Elbe, from Hanover. Holstein. East Fries- 

 land, etc. In Middle Germany it is more par- 

 ticularly from Thuringia (a part of Saxony) that 

 much good wax is produced; Bavaria, especial- 

 ly Mittle Franken; then Wurtemberg and Ba- 

 den have, by careful bee culture, produced a 

 superior wax. German wax forms no article of 

 commerce, as it is used mostly in home con- 

 sumption. Austrian wax, Bohemian, Moravi- 

 an, Silesian, and that from Bukovina and Po- 

 land, are ranked as among the best kinds. The 

 wax of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, and Galicia, 

 is among the softest. Recently two kinds have 

 been noted — the West Galician, having a strong 

 odor of fir-tree rosin, and that from East Galicia 

 (Bukovina), varying in color from red to brown- 

 ish-yellow. It has a fine odor and considerable 

 firmnes.s. As buckwheat is a prominent plant 

 for bee-pasturage in these regions, the wax 

 produced therein is of the best, as is the case in 

 all districts where this cereal is grown in sufli- 

 cient quantities. 



Hungary and its surrounding country produce 

 much wax; also the region around Fiinfkirchen, 

 and especially Banat, with its rich fields. Sie- 

 benbergen sends much wax to the Buda-Pest 

 market, and finds there in all cases willing buy- 

 ers. Illyria (Carniola) and the Tyrol, and the 

 country around Klagenfurt, furnish wax at all 

 times, against which the Russian wax offers no 

 competition, on account of the unsightly shape 

 in which the latter comes. The best kind of 

 wax known is the Bosnian — even better than 



the Turkish. But it is the dearest, and the 

 reddest in color. 



All countries which use much sweet (and that 

 is especially the case with Turkey) make much 

 use of honey, and pursue bee-keeping with par- 

 ticular zeal and scrupulous care, and hence are 

 in condition to offer to the world a wax of sur- 

 passing excellence in quality. Almost equal to 

 the Turkish wax is that from Greece, whether 

 it be from the mainland or from the numerous 

 islands of that country. The French follow 

 bee-keeping with the greatest assiduity. Brit- 

 tany and southern France furnish the best wax. 

 Burgundy, Landes, Normandy, and the regions 

 around Bordeaux, produce inferior kinds of 

 wax; but it does not appear on the market, as 

 it is all used at homo, and considerable quanti- 

 ties are even imported. In Paris there are sev- 

 eral large firms that deal in honey and wax ex- 

 clusively ; and large wax-bleaching establish- 

 ments, with hundreds of workmen, are engaged 

 in this business. Spanish wax, in blocks weigh- 

 ing two or three pounds, is but little sought 

 after in comparison with the French. Apicul- 

 ture in Spain is in a rather primitive condition. 

 Italy produces, in Sardinia, Lombardy, and 

 Venice, considerable quantities of wax, and ex- 

 ports some, notwithstanding the great amounts 

 used at home. 



Wax, as produced by the bees and worked 

 into comb, is snow-white; but that which comes 

 from the hive, separated from the honey, has, 

 on the other hand, a yellowish cast, varying 

 in intensity. It is generally furnished in level 

 cellular honey-combs by bee-men, from white 

 to dark yellow, or now and then even a grayish 

 yellow. It has a granular and generally shelly 

 appearance where broken, showing a crystalline 

 structure. At a low temperature it is brittle ; 

 but the warmth of the hand renders it soft and 

 yielding, in which condition it can be kneaded. 

 It has a slightly spicy taste, and does not stick 

 to the teeth when chewed. In water or cold 

 spirits it is not soluble; but in boiling alcohol 

 it dissolves readily. On cooling, however, most 

 of it returns to its original condition, so but lit- 

 tle of it remains in solution. Sulphuric acid, 

 ether, benzine, and spirits of turpentine, as well 

 as most of the etheric oils, dissolve it complete- 

 ly. It admits of combination with most fats 

 and fatty oils, in all proportions, by melting. 



The specific gravity of pure beeswax is from 

 .96.5 to .973. Its melting-point lies between 143 

 and 14,5°, and it becomes hard again at about 

 136°. If a higher temperature be applied, the 

 wax is entirely decomposed, and vaporizes, but 

 leaves no perceptible acrolin odor. 



The coloring-matter in wax bleaches best in 

 full sunlight. Bleached wax is found on the 

 market in round, thin, translucent sheets. It 

 has a mildly rancid smell, no taste, and melts 

 between 147 and 152°, having a specific gravity 

 ranging from .970 to .976, but preserves in other 

 respects the original properties of yellow wax. 



