376 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



November 



with bloom during the greater part 

 of the year. 



Another consequence of the climate 

 would be the safety of wintering for 

 the bees and as a result a greater 

 honey crop. There is, however, a 

 time of relative rest for the bees, ex- 

 tending from June to October. It is 

 the rainy season. I say "relative rest" 

 for the "rain is not continuous; the 

 forenoons are usually fair and to- 

 wards the end of August a number of 

 plants begin to bloom. But the crop 

 does not become interesting till Oc- 

 tober, lasting with more or less suc- 

 cess until the next rainy season. 



The great development of beekeep- 

 ing in the United States is bound to 

 be carried into Mexico before long. 

 The American interests will seek ad- 

 ditional openings ; apiarian confer- 

 ences will be given; apiaries will be 

 installed and will contribute to the 

 development of a latent wealth which 

 is not at present put to use. The 

 example of the United States will 

 probably also be followed in the cre- 

 ation of beekeepers' associations 

 both for information and for profit, 

 when the time comes. 



Uruapan, Mexico. 



Handy Sting-Proof Gloves 



By A. F. Bonney. 



WHILE working with bees, 

 wearing the conventional 

 gauntleted gloves, there are 

 times when a person wishes to use 

 his free hand or fingers, but cannot 

 conveniently do so, at any rate with- 

 out exposing his arms to the bees. 

 With the tips of the glove fingers cut 

 out stings are frequent, and the tips 

 of the digits are very tender. 



Have made a pair of gauntlets 

 which will fit snugly around the 

 wrists and above the elbows. Rub- 

 bers will be required. Extending be- 

 yond the wrist end have a couple of 

 inches of soft cloth. When a pair of 

 gloves is pulled over these gauntlets 

 the wrists and hands are well pro- 

 tected, as well as the arms. One or 

 both gloves may be discarded in a 

 moment, and returned as quickly. 



Bees will sting even through thin 

 leather gloves, and often persist in 



their attacks until they will reach 

 through thick cloth. To put an end 

 to this, dissolve gutta percha, not 

 rubber, in bi-sulphide of carbon. An 

 ounce or more to the pint, according 

 to the thickness of cloth. If the cloth 

 is wetted in this and' dried it will be- 

 come impervious to the sting of the 

 bee, while still very flexible. Care 

 must be taken that the cloth does 

 not touch in drying, otherwise it 

 would be cemented together. 



If a very thick solution of the mix- 

 ture be made, you will have a cement 

 which will patch leather so that it 

 will last indefinitely. 



Buck Grove, Iowa. 



Wax Rendering 



By F. W. Luebeck. 



IN the September number of the 

 American Bee Journal, G. C. 

 Greiner gives his method of wax 

 rendering. As Mr. Greiner finds it 

 necessary to melt his wax three 

 times to get best results, I will give 

 my method, by which only one melt- 

 ing" accomplishes the same result. 



Our uncapping bo.x is 12 feet long 

 and holds the cappings of two days' 

 extracting, so we can manage that 

 the cappings are well drained before 

 we have to make room. About the 

 first of December I generally get 

 time to melt them up. I do this work 

 out of doors and select a day when 

 it is too cold for the bees to bother. 

 On two concrete blocks I lay two old 

 buggy axles, build a fire, fill two 

 wash boilers about four inches with 

 water and put them over the fire. We 

 are now ready to put in the cappings. 

 As fast as they melt I put in more 

 until the wax reaches within two 

 inches of the rim. 



Now I go into the honey house and 

 rig up what might be called a "fire- 

 less cooker"; two 10-frame hive- 

 bodies are set on top of each other, 

 then some old newspapers are put in 

 these about 3 inches high, then I 

 set a 60-pound can with the top cut 

 out on the paper. The space between 

 the can and the inner sides of the 

 hive-bodies are filled with old cloths. 

 Boiling water about three inches 

 deep is now put in the cans, a piece 



of board laid on top and all covered 

 up with old carpets. 



By this time the wax out on the 

 fire will need some stirring. To get 

 the nicest yellow wax it must never 

 come to the boiling point. When all 

 the wa.x, or nearly all, in one of the 

 wash boilers is melted we carry the 

 same into the honey house and set it 

 close to the 60-pound can. We are 

 now ready to dip out the wax. A dip- 

 per which holds a quart is used. A 

 wire strainer should be inserted in 

 the wash boiler to keep back the 

 slumgum. I use an old Manum 

 swarm catcher. 



When the 60-pound can is full it 

 is covered up. In about an hour the 

 wa.x will be ready to dip into the 

 forms. These forms are made of tin, 

 are square, and hold 40 pounds of 

 wa.x. If the dipping has been done 

 carefully there will be no dirt on the 

 bottom of the cake of wax after the 

 latter has cooled. 



When the wax has been dipped out 

 of the wash boilers they are taken 

 out doors again and are emptied, 

 water and all, into a galvanized iron 

 tank. I use an old novice extractor 

 can for this purpose. 



After all cappings are melted up I 

 set the can with the slumgum on the 

 fire and the wax which rises to the 

 top is treated the same as the first. 



In an average season I get about 

 500 pounds of wax from cappings, 

 and I generally get through with the 

 job in two days. 



Knox, Ind. 



THE PLAZA OF A MEXICAN CI.TY. 



Fertilization of Queen Bees 



By C. W. Howard and L. V. France. 



THe possibility of coiitrolling the 

 fertilization of queen bees has 

 been in the minds of beekeepers 

 for many years. From time to time 

 it has been brought about under arti- 

 ficial conditions, the life of the queen 

 being thereafter perfectly normal 

 and in accordance with that of one 

 fertilized in the usual manner. Sev- 

 eral stories have come to the" writ- 

 ers stating that the queen could be 

 taken at the time she was leaving the 

 hive, held between the fingers of one 

 hand while the organs of a mature 

 drone were pressed out with the fin- 

 gers of the other and the mass of 

 spermatic fluid which exuded 

 dropped into the open extremity of 

 the queen. Fertilization took place 

 in an apparently normal manner and 

 the queen was accepted by her col- 

 ony and remained alive one or tvvo 

 seasons producing worker brood in 

 large quantity. In the reports of the 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture for 

 1885 and 1886 and of the U. S. Com- 

 missioner of Agriculture for 1887 are 

 reports of various methods adopted 

 in attempts to artificially fertilize 

 queen bees. A large number of suc- 

 cesses were claimed. The method 

 followed was that described above 

 and queens from one to fifteen days 

 old were used. In the American Bee 

 Journal, in November, 1878, appeared 

 a report by Mr. J. Hasbrouck, in 

 which he claimed to be able to cause 

 queens and drones to mate when 



