60 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 



make the sweat pour in streams, and these sweats 

 always put me to thinking of an easier way. Not 

 only that, but the untidy appearance of the boiler 

 after I had used it always brought forth suggestions 

 from my better half, to the effect that a clothes boil- 

 er was not just the proper thing to try out wax in. 



Of this I became convinced one day, after an un- 

 usually trying time which left the boiler nicely 

 "nickel plated" with beeswax. Wife said the boiler 

 was totally ruined, and proposed that I keep it for 

 the wax business, and get her a new one. 1 thought 

 I saw a selfish motive in this; however, I procured 

 the new boiler, and thus became sole proprietor of 

 the old one. Upon this, I set my wits at work to 

 improvise a wax extractor. 



I turned to the cut of Novice's wax extractor, in 

 his price list, and saw that it consisted of a perfora- 

 ted tin basket (to contain the scrap comb to be 

 tried), set inside a bottomless can with a gutter 

 around the inside to catch and conduct the melted 

 wax, which has its exit by a spout at the lower side, 

 these to be placed in a kettle, or steam generator, 

 made for the purpose, and, this kettle being cover- 

 ed, it is ready to operate. 



My object, then, was to make the boiler answer 

 for steam generator and can combined. So I said, 

 I will have the gutter run around the outside of the 

 comb basket, instead of inside the can as in the cut. 

 To give the gutter an inclination so that the wax 

 will run out, one side of the basket is made longer, 

 or lower, than the other, instead of straight as in an 

 ordinary can. The gutter opens on the lower side, 

 in form of a short spout. This basket is now ready 

 to go inside the boiler. Stops, or rests, are soldered 

 on the inside of the boiler, at the proper hight to 

 leave sufficient space for water beneath, and to cor- 

 respond with the bottom of the comb basket. A 

 hole, of convenient size, is cut through the side of 

 the boiler, and a spout inclining sharply downward 

 is inserted and soldered with the lower side extend- 

 ing through on the inside, to receive the short spout 

 of the comb basket. Now, it is ready to operate. 

 Put water in the boiler nearly up to the ppout; set 

 the comb basket inside, filled with comb scraps; 

 put the cover on, and set the whole on the stove; 

 and you have only to watch the wax pour out, in a 

 beautiful, yellow stream, wishing it would never 

 grow less. 



Now isn't this a pretty good extemporaneous in- 

 vention? I have used it to try out nearly 200 lbs. of 

 wax, and I find it just the thing; and, if it were the 

 first invention of the kind, I would, no doubt, think 

 it useless to try to improve it. 



Perhaps it would sound conceited for me to say, I 

 think it the simplest and best way to make a wax 

 extractor, so I will not say it; and will only add, if I 

 were to make one anew, I would make it on this 

 plan. H. R. Boardman. 



East Townsend, Huron Co., O., Jan. 1880. 



FOUNDATION MILLS CHEAPER. 



fAM glad to see prices made lower, on any 

 thing the friends need in the apiary, and 

 " I hope I am glad even if somebody 

 else should be able to undersell me. Our 

 friend Bourgmeyer has advertised a 12 inch 

 mill for $;-55.UO, and a y inch for $25.00. These 

 prices, it will be observed, are $3.00 less on 

 each mill than our own prices. 1 have ob- 

 tained samples of the work, and, although it 



is not as nice as that made on our mills, it 

 may answer just as well for the bees. The 

 bottoms of the cells are much nearer Hat 

 than in our fdn., but that may be no detri- 

 ment. 3 1 would require careful experiments 

 to determine the matter. We give a cut of 

 friend 15. "s mill below. 



BOURGMEYER S FOUNDATION MILL. 



The thinnest fdn. sent us was 8 square feet 

 to the pound, for strips only 2i inches wide. 

 Our friends who have used mills probably 

 know that it is a far easier matter to get thin 

 fdn. with narrow strips, than it is to get thin 

 sheets a foot wide or less. The reason is 

 that the rolls spring under the enormous 

 pressure required, and this leaves our sheets 

 thick in the center, and thin at the edges. 

 That we may make large sheets, and have 

 them thin, and even in thickness, we make 

 our mills, even the cheap ones, with a shaft 

 of steel, and have the diameter of the rolls, 

 in none of them, less than 2£ in. But what 

 hurt does it do for brood combs, if the sheet 

 is a little thicker in the center, some may 

 ask? I do not know that it does any partic- 

 ular harm, only it puts valuable wax where 

 it is of no use, and, with a large number of 

 hives, it mounts up rapidly to a considerable 

 expense. "With a nice mill, and firm, rigid 

 rolls, we should be able to make every pound 

 of wax cover 8 square feet for brood combs, 

 and 12 or more square feet for starters. The 

 saving in wax would soon pay for a mill. I 

 know very well, that enough attention has 

 not been paid to this matter, and the dipping 

 of sheets of a uniform and even thickness is 

 one very important part of it. The follow- 

 ing is from friend B., in regard to his mills. 



The rolls are 2 inches, less a fraction, in diameter, 

 with brass covers on the ends. They are made of a 

 substantial composition hardened tough, they being 

 the principal part of the machine. They are shaped 

 as near the natural comb as possible. A trial of 

 three years proves the durability of them, and I 

 think generations can not wear them out, if not 

 purposely damaged. A substantial cast iron frame, 

 % of an inch thick, and 12 inches high is the bearer 

 of the rollers, and holds them firmly in position. 

 The cog wheels which revolve the rollers aro of 

 brass. The bottom roller is movable, and, with the 

 two screws beneath it, I can make fdn. thick or thin 

 in an instant. My machine has no top piece; the 

 upper roller is free from one side to the other, 

 which is of great advantage to the manipulators. 

 Beneath the bottom roller, a pan is placed, which is 

 filled with water for moistening the roller to prevent 

 the wax from sticking to the same. At the hight of 

 the top of the lower roller a table (pan and table are 



