84 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



February, 1918 



the combs will melt as rapidly as possible; 

 for as soon as everything is melted and the 

 water boils, one is ready for the first press- 

 ing. 



To get the press hot, I draw off a pail of 

 boiling water from the tank on the stove 

 and pour it into the press. I let it stand 

 a few minutes, then draw it off and pour 



Oscar Ritland's wax-press made of heavy piank. 



back into the tank on the stove. After re- 

 peating this two or three times the press 

 will be boiling hot. I then dip a pail of the 

 melted wax from the tank, letting the pail 

 go down deep enough so I get some water 

 too. This I pour into the press on top of 

 the burlap that has previously been placed 

 there; and after folding the corners I put on 

 the follower. The iron plate that goes on top 

 of the follower is loose; and between press- 

 ings it is kept on the stove so that it helps 

 to keep the wax melted until it is run out 

 of the press. Pressure is now applied, and 

 the wax comes to the top of the water. The 

 pressure is released and the follower lifted 

 (by a wire attached to it) enough for the 

 water to soak into the slumgum again. After 

 pressing again, the cork is pulled out and the 

 wax and water run off into the tank placed 

 underneath to receive it, the press being 

 tipped up to make it run out faster. There 

 will still be some wax left in the slumgum, 

 so 1 draw a pail of boiling water from the 

 tank on the stove and jiour it into the press. 

 This is allowed to soak into the slumgum 

 as before, and pressure applied. Again the 



cork is pulled and the contents of the press 

 run into the tank below. After repeating 

 the washing process again the slumgum will 

 be practically free of wax, and may be 

 shaken out of the burlap. But before doing 

 that I draw most of the water from the tank 

 under the press and pour it back into the 

 melting-tank so it will be boiling when the 

 slumgum is shaken out, and I am ready for 

 pressing the next lot. 



As the press is now hot, no heating will 

 be necessary as in the beginning, and an- 

 other pail of melted combs is dipped into it 

 and the pressing process repeated. 



If the weather is warm, and a good fire 

 kept going, several hundred combs can be 

 rendered into wax in a day, the same water 

 being used over and over. Of course some 

 water disappears thru evaporation and in 

 the slumgum, so it will be necessary to add 

 a pailful of water occasionally. When the 

 first half -day's work is over the melted wax 

 may be dipped into molds and allowed to 

 cool. 



AVith this method that I have given I have 

 been able to get nearly all the wax from old 

 combs. Out of one lot of 1700 Langstroth 

 combs I seciired 535 lbs. of wax, or a little 

 over 3.1 lbs. from every 10 combs. The 

 average Langstroth size of comb, however, 

 does not contain as much wax as this — • 

 about 2^2 to 2% lbs. from 10 combs being 

 about the average. 



In rendering beeswax one must work 

 rapidly when doing the pressing, for the 

 secret of getting all the wax is getting it 

 pressed out before some of it cools enough 

 to harden. 



I have never had any trouble from bees 

 bothering when I was melting combs out of 

 doors; but I did the work when the honey- 

 flow was good and the bees had no time to 

 think of robbing. 



Elroy, Wis. 



A WAX - PRESS WHICH NEVER 

 CHILLS 



Having seen and worked with many dif- 

 ferent wax-presses, I have finally invented 

 one of my own which I have termed * ' the 

 hard-wood slat press." This box, which is 

 14 X 14 X 14 inches, and 2 inches in thick- 

 ness, is set three-fourths of an inch deep into 

 the two-inch floor or platform. The lower 

 edges of the box are set in white lead, and 

 there are also long screws running thru 

 the bottom up into the sides. 



The platform is 2% inches wider than 

 the box, and on the under side of the plat- 

 form are two stringers thru each of which 

 a ^/^-inch anchor-rod passes above, loops 

 over a 4 X 4 cross-arm of the same length 

 as the stringers, and then passes down to 

 the opposite stringer, where it is attached 

 with a washer and burr, and thus the four 

 ends of the rods are attached at the four cor- 

 ners of the platform. The cross-arm is not 

 fastened to the rods, but is held up in place 



