452 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 



again just before drilling, for buckwheat needs a 

 good seed-bed. with plant food close to its roots. 

 Phosphate shows more on buckwheat than any oth- 

 er grain. We cut with a reaper in the morning, or 

 all day if cloudy. Sometimes we set up after the 

 reaper, and sometimes leave it for two or three 

 days. We set four rows of bunches together, to 

 make it convenient to load. We thrash with a sep- 

 arator, using three teams to haul it to the machine. 

 Two to four hands stay in the field to pitcli it on the 

 wagon, and one stays at the machine to help the 

 driver pitch it to the machine. J. .1. Shanor. 



Butler, Pa., April 24, 1889. 



TWO CROPS IN A SEASON IN ALABAMA. 



Two crops of Japanese buckwheat can easily be 

 raised in one season by sowing the first early in the 

 spring, as soon as all danger from frost is over. 

 Early in the spring of 1887 I drilled about half an 

 ounce of buckwheat, which yielded something over 

 half a gallon of grain. This crop received one hoe- 

 ing. A portion of this new grain was then sown 

 about the first of July, and would have done well 

 had the weeds not choked it out. This was in 

 Northern Alabama. 



The next year I sowed to "new ground"' early, 

 and by the 23d of May it was from 1 to 2 feet high, 

 at which time it was literally cut to the ground by 

 a severe hailstorm. As the plants were yet young 

 and tender, many put forth suckers, which, with 

 what survived, yielded well by oat harvest. A por- 

 tion of this first crop was immediately sown to oat 

 stubble, and yielded a handsome crop of well-ma- 

 tured grain before frost. This was in Northern 

 Arkansas. A. P. Stair. 



Wolf liayoLi, Ark. 



THE TIME TO SOW, DURING CHESTNUT-BLOOM IN 

 NORTH CAROLINA. 



We always sow our buckwheat when the chestnut- 

 bloom is white, which in this latitude is commonly 

 about the first of July, sometimes sooner and some- 

 times later. We have tried sowing in May. but with 

 poor success. The hot June and July sun caused it 

 to blast. By sowing during chestnut-bloom, the 

 time of filling comes during the cool nights of 

 August, and when bee-forage is scarce. 



Dark Ridge, N. C, Apr., 1889. G. W. McGuire. 



RENDERING WAX "WITH A PRESS. 



THE ADVANTAC.ES OF THE PRESS, ETC. 



JkERHAPS you may remember I have always 

 ' advocated the Cary wax-press as the best 

 thing to get all the wax out of combs, espe- 

 cially if they are old. If any one has 100 lbs. 

 of wa.v to render, the press will almost pay 

 for itself on old combs; and for cappings and 

 scraps of new comb it has the advantage of speed, 

 as two hands can make from 200 to 300 lbs. in one 

 day, while an extractor is crowded to make over 20 

 lbs. a day, with much fussing and annoyance to the 

 women-folks. The press also has this advantage, 

 that the wax is left in solid cakes, while the extract- 

 ed wax must be caked after making, incurring an- 

 other fussing job. 



Last season I made my wax and some for my 



neighbors, on an improved press, which gave good 



satisfaction. I send you drawings, so you can give 



it to your readers if you like. 



The manner of using it is an improvement on the 



method described in the A B C of Bee Culture. 

 There all the combs are to be melted in the press- 

 tank, which makes it very slow. My method is to 

 melt the combs in another vessel, in my case a 

 large kettle, out of doors, and then dip the melted 

 combs and all that rises to the top of the kettle into 

 the forms, and press at once. This makes the work 

 continuous; for by the time one pressful is run 

 out, another is melted in the kettle. Three or four 

 pailfuls of water are kept in the kettle all the time; 

 and when this once gets hot, wax soon melts in it. 

 So much for the manner of working. 



HATCH'S IMPROVEMENT ON ( AKVS WAX-PRESS. 



The improvement in the press consists, 1, in dis- 

 pensing with the tank entirely, a tray with a " lip" 

 taking its place, being only two inches deep; 2, the 

 rigid side-pieces to the frame are hinged at the 

 bottom so as to turn to one side out of the wa.v 

 while filling the press— two eyes, united at the bot- 

 tom, making the hinge. In using the press in cold 

 windy weather, an outside shell of boards to slip 

 down over the "cheese" before pressing would be 

 a help, for cold winds might cause the wax to con- 

 geal before running into the molds. Eighteen 

 inches square is a good size for the tray, and 15 x lf> 

 tor the "forms." The form is made of 3 s-inch stuff, 

 ■t inches wide. The racks are made of three-corner- 

 ed top-bars. The cloths are of burlaps, such as 

 bran-sacks are made of. Wire nails, 1% inches long, 

 are used to pin the cloth together when building 

 the " cheese." The screw is a common iron bench- 

 screw, such as can be had at any hardware store. 

 Material to make a press should not cost over $1 75, 

 or 12.00 at the outside. I am sure, if you would 

 make one and use it on old combs, especially on 

 scraps having much propolis among it, you would 

 never want to " fuss" with a wax-extractor again. 



Ithaca, Wis., Jan. 28, 1889. C. A. Hatch. 



I heartily agree with you, friend H. Your 

 machine seems to be a model arrangement, 

 especially the device for letting the screw 

 fall over out of the way. 



