1887 



(CLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



351 



ture before retiriuf,'; others, af,'^ain, and 1 am one 

 of the number, take it at nig-ht in a cupful of very 

 hot water, or, better, elderberry-tea. T have read 

 lately, that honey, well heated, and swallowed by 

 spoonfuls at short intervals, is a sure cure for ca- 

 tarrh. 



A great deal more niifrht be 8ai<l about the thera- 1 

 peutic value of honey, but I shall only add hero, j 

 that it is uuequaled l)y any other food tocuro(!OS- | 

 tiveness, especially in young children. 



Only a few people understand to how many uses 

 honey can be put on the table. I would advise the 

 reader to try it as a sauce for baked apples, and for 

 fresh blackberries instead of the retrulation sugar 

 and cream. It is not only more palatable, but, for 

 those who live in the city, it is cheaper and more 

 healthful. 



I have received lately, from Mr. Chas. Dadant, the 

 following- recipe, which he translated from au Ital- 

 ian paper: 



HONEY-CAKE. 



Work together equal weights of honey and Hour; 

 add spice to taste, and the right proportion of bak- 

 ing-powder. Keep this dough in the cellar, and 

 bake it as you need it, in a very slow oven. The 

 cakes will be all the better if the dough has stood 

 for a long time. Honey-cakes are very healthful 

 and digestible, and their use is to be recommended 

 to persons sulfering from colds or sore throat. 



Mr. Root, would it not be a good idea to induce 

 all the housekeepers who read Gleanings, to send 

 you items about some of the ways in which honey is 

 used in their family? Mrs. E. J. Baxter. 



Nauvoo, 111. 



WAX FKOM OLD COMBS. 



A H.\NI3V DEVICE AND HOW TO MAKE IT. 



TTn CORRESPONDENT writes: "Do you know 

 2lol^ ofany way to get nearly all of the wax out 

 ^^m of old black comb? It is easy enough to get 

 •^^^ the wax from new combs or cappings, but 

 quite another matter when old combs are 

 to be rendered. If you know of a plan which will 

 give the larger portion of wax from such combs, 

 please give it to us through Gleanings." It would 

 seem from the many articles given upon this sub- 

 ject, that no more should be necessary; but as in 

 some essentials my plan of rendering wax is differ- 

 ent from any I have seen described, I will give it. 

 For bits of comb, cappings, etc., the Swiss wax-ex- 

 tractor works well; but for a lot of old comb, I 

 know of no way equal to a caldron kettle, outdoors, 

 filled two-thirds full of water, with a fire under it. 

 With this, used as I shall soon describe, I think I 

 can get fully 98 per cent of all the wax out of such 

 comb, and rather more for each square foot of 

 such old comb than I can from new. Instead of 

 hanging the kettle over the Are, as is usually done, 

 take a measure of your kettle on the outside, a 

 little way up from the bottom, and go to your 

 blacksmith and tell him you wish a piece of old 

 heavy wagon-tire, welded so that the inside shall 

 represent your measure. To this you want three 

 or four (the latter preferable) square or round bars 

 welded, at equal distances apart, for four legs. 

 These should be of suitable size to give strength 

 enough to support the weight of the kettle and 

 contents, and long enough to raise the kettle from 

 four to six inches from the ground at the lowest 

 point. 



After getting the kettle-holder home, place four 

 flat stones just under the surface of the ground, 

 at proper places, so that each leg will rest on one, 

 having it at such a point as will be handy for all of 

 the work to be done with such a kettle, sucb as 

 heating water at butchering time, boiling potatoes 

 for the hogs, etc.; for the smallest part ■ of the 

 work our ii'on friend will i)robably do is getting out 

 the wa.\. After t)nee having a kettle fl.ved in this 

 way you will never want one hiuig on two stakes 

 or a pole. Besides the kettle you will want a sack 

 made of burlap or some other stout open cloth, 

 which you are to till with the old comb, stamping it 

 in so as to gc^t all in as compact a condition as 

 possible. Ne.xt take a piece of four-inch soft-wood 

 plank, or two pieces of two-inch plank, siiiked 

 together, and round one side of it, so it will fit the 

 bottom of the kettle. To the flat side ot this, 

 fasten (by cleats or otherwise) a standard of a 

 suitable length, which should be flattened at the 

 top and have several holes bored in it. Then get a 

 3 X 4 scantling, or a suitable pole from the woods, 

 and mortise through it neai- one end for the top of 

 the standard, boring a hole through it in an oppo- 

 site direction for a pin or bolt to pass through it 

 and the standard. Besides this you will want a log- 

 chain when we are ready. Fill the kettle two-thirds 

 full of water and bring it to a boil, in doing which 

 Mse only light fuel, so as not to have a hot fire ex- 

 cept for the time being; because, if otherwise, it 

 would be too warm for working around it, and 

 might boil over. Now put in your sack of old 

 comb, and with an old hoe press and squeeze the 

 sack against the sides and bottom of the kettle, 

 rolling it over each time as you press. The wax 

 will rise with each pressing of the sack; and if the 

 comb is not all in, you can soon raise the mouth of 

 the sack out of the water. After it has cooled a 

 little, untie, till up again, till all is In. When all is 

 in, and the sack has been worked over several 

 times with the hoe, take the log-chain and fasten 

 each end to the ears of the kettle, while the middle 

 of the chain Is to be fastened to the short end of 

 the scantling. Now put the rounded-plank end of 

 the standard on the sack and sink it to the bottom 

 of the kettle, when the top end is to be inserted in 

 the mortise in the scantling, and the pin, or bolt, 

 put through the desired hole. Now go to the long 

 end of the lever or scantling and see how you can 

 make the wax rise by bearing down. When bear- 

 ing down, sway the lever back and forth, and from 

 side to sid«, so as to grind, as it were, every cocoon 

 fine, and thus liberate the wax. When satisfied 

 that the wax is all out, hang a weight on the lever 

 and leave it. Don't goto dipping off the wax un- 

 less you have lots of time, and consider it fun so to 

 do, for I assure you that the next morning you will 

 find it all caked nicely on top of the water, when 

 you can break it up and get it ready for a second 

 melting, which all wax should have before going 

 to market, or using for foundation. After taking 

 off the wax, take out the sack, empty out the ref- 

 use, and rinse and dry, where it and the rest of the 

 implements used are to be stored away for future 

 use. 



The description of this seems quite long; but I 

 believe that in practice it is the shortest known 

 process to get out a large lot of wa.\ from old 

 comb. If you think the iron kettle-holder too ex- 

 pensive, set tlie kettle on three stones. If stones are 

 used they should be first subjected to heat, else 



