478 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 15. 



40 or .50 per cent, and some even very much 

 more. In buying wax, therefore, it is neces.sary 

 to be on one's guard; and it is always to be rec- 

 ommended that the specific gravity and the 

 melting-point of wax be carefully determined 

 when testing the quality of it. 



The following is a test to determine whether 

 foundation is made of pure wax. When, in 

 making foundation, a mixture of beeswax and 

 ceresin is encountered, the detection of the 

 adulteration is a very simple matter — namely, 

 by bleaching. As ceresin can not be bleached 

 by the sun's rays, but must be bleached by the 

 use of chemicals, foundation to wliich ceresin 

 has been added will remain more or less of a 

 yellow color when exposed to the light of the 

 sun ; while cells made of pure beeswax, if 

 hung in the full light of the sun for a few days, 

 and occasionally sprinkled with water, will be- 

 come perfectly white. 



ANOTHER TEST. 



Melt a small piece of foundation in a vessel, 

 being very careful not to burn it. At the same 

 time, take a few tablespoonfuls of water and 

 add thereto a little soda. Pour the melted wax 

 into the soda water. After the mixture has been 

 stirred for a while the wax will become perfect- 

 ly soapy; if, however, ceresin was in the wax, 

 the mixture does not become soapy, but swims 

 on the surface like an oily mass. 



It has been proven that many makers of 

 foundation do not use the required amount of 

 pure wax, but adulterate it with one-half or 

 even two-thirds of ceresin*. 



Material and shape must have especial atten- 

 tion in making foundation. In making it, only 

 absolutely pure wax should be used. Any ad- 

 mixture of foreign substances debases the prod- 

 uct. For the bee-keeper it is also of the great- 

 est moment to be able to test the purity of his 

 foundation before putting it into the hives. 

 The most satisfactory conclusions in this mat- 

 ter give the specific gravity of pure beeswax as 

 .966, and the melting-point at 143 to 146°. All 

 adulterants, such as stearine, suet, ceresin, par- 

 affine, mineral wax, spermaceti, etc.. differ from 

 each other in these two respects. Make a mix- 

 ture of water and alcohol, of such density as 

 will permit pure beeswax to float — that is. so it 

 will not touch the bottom of the vessel nor yet 

 come to the surface. Into this drop a piece of 

 the foundation to be tested. This must main- 

 tain itself in the mixture at the same height the 

 wax does. 



Wax is found varying in color from wlwte to 

 black; and to the satne degree the odor varies 

 also, according to the plant from which the 

 honey was mostly derived; hence when a bee- 

 keeper compares the color and odor of Turkish. 

 Indian. African, and other kinds of wax, with 

 his own. he will nearly always make a mistake. 



That foundation made of pure wax can be 



* Tills certainly does not apply to this country.— 

 Ed, 



stretched but slightly (if any) is entirely false. 

 Pure wax expands in a warm temperature very 

 noticeably. The resistance which wax offers to 

 a direct pull, at the same temperature, varies 

 within very narrow limits ; hence it does not 

 depend altogether on the country the wax came 

 from, but on the season of the year, and even on 

 the source from which it comes. It would take 

 too long for one to examine all of its peculiari- 

 ties. There are different kinds of entirely pure 

 wax which would be quite unfit for foundation, 

 as they lack the necessary toughness. Certain 

 it is, that foundation of pure wax, whatever the 

 color and smell may be, is always worked out 

 by the bees willingly and rapidly. 



WHAT IS CEKESIN ? 



I take my answer from a pamphlet written by 

 Fried. Thalmann, entitled " Fats and Oils." 



" Under the name of earth wax, or ceresin, 

 there has been put on the market within a 

 short time, in large quantities, a product which 

 has received the name of wax on account of cer- 

 tain physical peculiarities which it has in com- 

 mon with other kinds of wax. Earth wax is, 

 however, a mineral substance, and is related to 

 petroleum. Good clean mineral wax is easily 

 mistaken for beeswax, and actually forms a 

 large part of the "wax' of which candles are 

 made, and sometimes the entire part. , When 

 the price of beeswax is much higher than that 

 of mineral wax. it is a gross deception to call a 

 mixture of the two by the name of ' wax; ' and 

 this fraud can be detected only by careful ex- 

 periment, determination of the melting-point, 

 the specific gravity, and other peculiarities." 



CERESIN FOUNDATION. 



I reproduce the following. simply to show that 

 foundation made from ceresin is publicly sold in 

 Germany: 



The undersigned firm offer ceresin foundation 

 in their price list, together with thai made from 

 pure wax. on the following grounds: 



1. The amount of beeswax produced, when 

 compared with that of honey, is very insignifi- 

 cant, being scarcely .5 per cent of the latter. 



2. The cheaper foundation made of ceresin. 

 whetiier the extractor he used or not. and be the 

 honey harvest never so giod. is decidedly con- 

 ducive to an increase in the n^t amount of hon- 

 ey produced as compared with the use of foun- 

 dation made of pure beeswax. 



3. The price of beeswax must fall more and 

 more — that is. come nearer to that of ceresin, 

 and that is only a question of time — or dsp the 

 use of cerisin and other kinds of wax will be- 

 come more and more common. But if it does 

 I'pcome cheaper, tiien the use of ceresin for 

 foundation will be discontinued. 



4. No man. either officer of the law or a pri- 

 vate citizen, can control or hinder anyone of 

 the thousands of bee-keepers of Anstro Hunga- 

 ry in the uS" of ceresin foundation, whenever 

 and wherever he pleases, whether it he made 

 by means of a plaster-Paris or wax mold. 



Babon Rothschuetz. 



Weixelburg. Austria. 



[This article is interesting and valuable ; but 

 I feel sure no American manufacturer would 

 think of making adulterated foundation.— Ed.] 



