Fkbruauv, 1918 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



83 



wax will rise to the top; and, when more hot 

 water is wanted a little later, another boiler- 

 ful may be drawn from the hole at the bot- 

 tom. 



As soon as empty, draw the press-can out 

 over the stove. Take out the follower and 

 the " cheese " and put the latter to one 

 side for the present. If there is not enough 

 water in the can to prevent burning, throw 

 in a fouple of quarts with the dipper. Spread 

 a fresh burlap over the press-can and pro- 

 ceed as before. Later on, when there is 

 time, the first " cheese " set aside may be 

 unpinned and the refuse shaken out. The 

 burlap should be rubbed between the hands 

 so as to remove the cocoons that have im- 

 bedded in the cloth. Much depends on hav- 

 ing the burlap clean when it is used over 

 again. 



A little experience will determine how 

 much water to put in the boilers. There 

 ?hould be enough so that the surface of the 

 licjuid will be about an inch from the top of 

 the press-can, when the follower is submerg- 

 ed by the screw. If the press-can is too 



full it makes it difficult to slide back and 

 forth without slopping, and if there is not 

 enough, it detracts from the efficiency of the 

 method. During the pressing, it is a good 

 plan to cover the can with four boards, 

 notched at one edge, to surround the screw. 

 This confines the heat and makes it possible 

 to do faster work. 



The process as described in detail sounds 

 complicated, but is really very simple. It 

 is easy to finish a batch every 45 minutes. 

 The average amount of wax secured each 

 time is 10 pounds. As mentioned in the early 

 part of this article, we pressed 13 batches in 

 a day and secured 142 pounds of wax in all. 

 The refuse, moreover, when we were thru 

 with it, contained less than two per cent of 

 the original amount of wax. 



Before starting work the second morning 

 the cake of wax on top of the water in the 

 barrel should be broken up and taken out. 

 The pieces require only a little scraping on 

 the bottom to be ready for market. The 

 water, still warm, is quickly heated so that 

 the work can be resumed very shortly. 



UNHEATED WAX PRESSES 



I J rendered 

 about a 

 thousand pounds 

 of beeswax. The 

 method which I 

 wo"ked out for 

 rendering is, I 

 believe, for the 

 average beekeep- 

 er a little ahead of any plan I have seen 

 described. I do not mean that it will give 

 more wax from a given number of combs 

 than other methods; but for a person who 

 does not care to buy a press and special ap- 

 paratus I think it is the method to use. 



The press is the most important part of 

 the equipment. The main part consists of 

 a box about 16 inches long, 14 wide, and 

 10 deep, with a tight bottom. Slats about 

 14 inch square and 10 long are nailed ver- 

 tically % inch apart on the inside of the 

 sides and ends. A hole about one inch in 

 diameter is bored at the bottom on the 

 middle of one side, and a short tin tube 

 nailed on the outside as a spout. On two 

 boards, which are 11 by 13 inches, are nailed 

 1,2 -inch slats crosswise, and % inch apart; 

 and on top of the slats is nailed a piece of 

 i/>-inch wire cloth of the same size as the 

 boards. One board is to be laid on the 

 bottom of the box, with slats and wire cloth 

 up; the other is the "follower," and goes 

 on top of the burlap with the slats down. 

 The bench-screws cost 25 cents. The whole 

 jtress can be made in a day. 



In addition to the press, two tanks are 

 needed — one 'to melt the combs in, and the 

 other to run the melted wax and water into 



Two Beekeepers Describe Their 



^Methods of Pressing Wax in the 



Unheated Type of T'ress 



By Oscar Ritland 



For the former I 

 use an old hon- 

 ey-tank about 30 

 inches in diam- 

 eter and 30 

 inches high with 

 a cover on it, 

 and for the lat- 

 ter an old Nov- 

 i c e extractor- 

 can. These tanks both have faucets at the 

 bottom; and with the method I now. use, 

 tanks without faucets could not be used, as 

 one of the main points in the system is draw- 

 ing the hot water from under the melted 

 wax and using it over and over again. A 

 few pails are also needed for dipping up 

 water and melted comb. 



It is a good plan to work out of doors 

 where there is always plenty of room, and 

 no harm done if one spills some of the 

 black water. (The water soon turns dark 

 if the combs are old and black.) I also 

 prefer the summer time to do the work; and 

 the hotter the day the better. Another ad- 

 vantage in doing the work outside and away 

 from the buildings is that there is no danger 

 of a costly fire in case the wax should boil 

 over on the hot stove and ignite, as wax 

 always does when it strikes a rcdhot stove. 



I set up an old cook-stove and start a 

 fire in it. Into the tank on the stove is 

 poured about 40 quarts of water, making 

 it about one-fifth full. "When the water 

 gets hot I add old combs until the tank is 

 half full when they are melted. This may 

 be 40 Ijangstroth combs, more or less, de- 

 pending on how old and black the combs 

 are. It is well to keep a good fire so that 



