1901 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



513 



of it is an old five-gallon can that has seen 

 rough usage in the removal of a cake of wax. 

 The 12 cakes of wax run about 20 lbs. each. 

 The moldiug-boxes are, one on top of the ex- 

 tractor, the others at the ends ; the one at the 

 left shows the doubly sure box with the extra 

 cleats. Then this wax was all strained through 

 that endless strainer hanging in the center." 



" You are all right on the wax question, 

 Rambler; but here is one small cake that is 

 darker than the rest, and it has a peculiar 

 odor." 



" I can account for that only from the fact 

 that, in caking a quantity of wax, I shave off 

 the bottom of the cake clear down to the yel- 

 low wax ; and, by the way, a drawshave is 

 the best tool for that purpose. Next to a 

 drawshave give me a hatchet When we take 

 all of these shaved portions, and cake them, 

 it is darker than the rest. I believe there is a 

 goodly amount of bee-glue in it. I ' dunno ' 

 — do you?" 



"Dunno me too, Rambler. Well, I must 

 be off. Real estate is on the boom. I've just 



RAMBLER'S WAXWORKS. 



bought a choice eighty myself. I will put it 

 all out to alfalfa — several thousand acres more 

 just as good for sale." 



" Why, Bro McCubbin, you will be as bad 

 as the old woman, and sail yourself one of 

 these days. You see, this woman put up a 

 notice on her house, 'This place for sail.' A 

 wag saw the notice, and immediately sought 

 the woman, and, said he, ' Ma'am, when does 

 this place sail?' ' It will sail, sir,' said she, 

 ' just as soon as the person comes along who 

 can raise the wind.' " 



"Well, Rambler, that's where we must 

 know the difference between sail and sale. 

 But I am like the old woman — ready to sale 

 either way. All that is necessary is the rais- 

 ing of the wind. But I must be off. Get up, 

 pony. So long." 



" So long." 



Since writing the foregoing, Gleanings 

 for April 1st has arrived, wherein the steam 

 and press methods are quite thoroughly pre- 

 sented. From my experience I think better 

 results are attained by pressure under boiling 

 water. Parties in this State have, during the 



past three dry seasons, made a business of 

 purchasing old combs, and even old slumgum, 

 and have made a good thing from the wax 

 rendered. They used some sort of press un- 

 der water, and the refuse is put under such 

 pressure that it comes out as hard as a brick, 

 and every particle of wax out of it. 



It would be impossible to apply such pres- 

 sure in the Ferris extractor ; but I believe that 

 the pressure, such as it is, should be applied 

 under water. The Ferris should have some 

 sort of faucet on the outlet to enable the can 

 to be partly filled with water. But I am judg- 

 ing much from the old two-basket extractor 

 here, and have no doubt the present improved 

 extractor is the best all-round machine on the 

 market. 



COMB 40 YEARS OLD, 



BY GEORGE W. ADAMS. 



I was much interested in the article on 

 p. 332, 333, on the size of bees from old combs. 

 One of the best colonies for 

 work I ever saw was put into a 

 hive made by a neighbor, between 

 1850 and 1853, the swarm being 

 hived the same year. This is not 

 " tradition;" but I think that, with 

 a little trouble, the month and 

 year can be definitely fixed. For 

 over 40 years this colony did good 

 work ; but two years ago, the old 

 hive having become badly decay- 

 ed, they were transferred. I did 

 not hear of it in time to be pres- 

 ent, but made careful inquiries, 

 and learned that the comb ' ' was 

 very black," and had very few 

 drone-cells, the owner describing 

 the drone comb as " a patch about 

 as big as my hand only." The old 

 comb was carefully preserved, and 

 I will send you some if you like. 

 The owner is one of our leading 

 citizens, a man of intelligence, and a close ob- 

 server and keen reasoner. He is very de- 

 cided in his opinion that the bees grew no 

 smaller, and now has most of the comb in the 

 new hive. He certainly would not have used 

 it if he had any idea the bees were growing 

 smaller. 



I don't believe you will find much older 

 comb where the age can be definitely proved, 

 and this can certainly be done. 

 South By field, Mass., April 25. 



[If those are correct who claim that the 

 cells fill up with cocoons, and become so 

 small that the comb ought to be renewed in 

 five, four, or three years, and that it is easy 

 to recognize the smaller size of bees reared in 

 comb ten years old, then bees raised in this 

 forty-year-old comb ought to be pigmies in- 

 deed. But they were not perceptibly smaller, 

 and the colony was one of the best. Inciden- 

 tally it might be observed that the good repu- 

 tation of the colony was to some extent due 

 to the fact that very little drone comb was 

 present. — Ed.] 



