110 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 1 



amount of comb, cappings. or whatever I 

 have to put throug-h it. then let it remain in 

 for several days, stirrinj^ and mixing the 

 mass from time to time so I may be in the 

 vicinity of the solar. When considerable 

 slumg-um is accumulated, and I want to 

 make a clean-out, I put on an extra heat 

 by firing underneath, and stir and mix the 

 refuse so as to get as much as possible of 

 the wax out; then in the evening, while still 

 warm and soft, shovel out into some recep- 

 tacle to remelt in water, and put under 

 pressure. I have no press yet, but have 

 had a neighbor work over my slumgum in 

 his press. The solar will not take nearly 

 all the wax out, nor will the water-bag- 

 punching- process. A press is a necessity 

 ;ind a money-saver. 



A WAX-PKESS, WHY NEEDED IN CONNECTION 

 WITH A SOLAR EXTRACTOR. 



You will now say, If we must have a 

 press, why build a solar? I will tell you. 

 There is scarcely a bit of comb, burr-comb, 

 cappings, or whatever you want to melt, 

 but has in it more or less honey. If you 

 put these through the water process in 

 either bag or press, you lose this honey. 

 The saving in honey that can be used in 

 feeding or in vinegar-making, and even for 

 table use, will soon pay for several solars. 

 It also saves time and loss in other ways, 

 and the first run of wax that is gotten bj^ 

 the solar is brighter and nicer than can be 

 had by the wet process. One who has 

 never used a solar will have little idea how 

 much honey can be accumulated by means 

 of the solar — just that much saved. The 

 slumgum taken from the solar can be work- 

 ed by the press later at your convenience. 

 I will go so far as to say that, with a solar 

 of ample room, I can get almost as much 

 wax out of old combs as by the steam and 

 water methods where no press is used. 



As to the proper construction of a press, 

 I wish to make this sug-gestion. The whole 

 press and bag of slumgum should be sub- 

 merged in water. I am so thoroughly con- 

 vinced of this that, when I have a press 

 made, I want it so constructed. I want the 

 wax all floated above and away from the 

 press, and, being submerged in boiling 

 water, every bit of wax released will leave 

 the cheese iind press; and, too, there will 

 be no need of great haste to get the pressing 

 done before it is too cold to work. To ac- 

 complish more perfect extraction, the screw 

 may be released as often as you choose. 

 ;ind thus the water enters the cheese and 

 will bring away more wax when again 

 pressed. These thoug'-hts are in part theo- 

 r}\ but worthy of consideration. I know 

 a bee-keeper who is remodeling a heavj' 

 .■•nd expensive press that he may get the 

 whole submerged in hot water, and he has 

 done quite a little experimenting with this 

 wax prohVm. 



Kight here I wish to make the prediction 

 that, in certain fields and under certtiin 

 conditions, wax will be no mean part of the 

 product of the apiary. I find it is possible 



to pay a very large part of the expenses of 

 running an apiary out of the wax sales. 

 Like many others I have found that we 

 have been throwing away money in slum- 

 gum, and that in other ways wax is wasted 

 in great quantities. 



Later. — Since writing the above I have 

 read the discussion at Buft'alo on this sub- 

 ject, and observe that the prevailing opin- 

 ion favored a submerged press. This coin- 

 cides with iny views on the matter. How- 

 ever, I have never used the press yet, but 

 speak partly from theory. R. C. A. 



lAlthoug-h this article is long, it is good 

 in proportion to its length. I mj'self be- 

 lieve, and have so stated, that the solar 

 wax-extractor has its place. I believe that 

 nearly all refuse, so far as possible, should 

 be put through it first, because the wax 

 that the sun renders out is of a superior 

 quality'. But the slumgum from the solar 

 and old combs should be put throug-h the 

 wax-press. A beekeeper who thinks he 

 can g-et along without a press of some kind 

 is probably throwing away gold dollars by 

 the handful." All refuse from the sun ma- 

 chines should be hy all means saved. 



The question whether steam or hot water 

 should be used in connection with a press 

 is an open one. So far we are inclined to 

 favor steain. The objection to hot water is 

 that it takes up so much bulk that there is 

 little room for wax. A steam-machine of a 

 given capacity need be only a third as big 

 as one for hot water of the same output of 

 wax. — Ed.] 





A BIG HONEY YIELD IN CALIFORNIA. 



We are just advised by J. B. RadclifFe, 

 of Helix, San Diego Co., that he took 19,000 

 lbs. of honey from 50 colonies, spring count, 

 last seas n. Mr. Radclifte's word is above 

 questioning, and we oft'er this as a news 

 item for Gleanings, and as an evidence of 

 the fact that " you can't keep a good State 

 down." Arthur E. Raze. 



Los Angeles, Cal.. Jan. 14. 



[This is large — very large; and were it 

 not for the '"oft"" yeaVs California would 

 far outstrip any other locality in the world, 

 and it comes near doing- so as it is. — Ed.] 



the rambler IN CUBA. 



Friend Ernest: — We have just had a visit 

 from Rambler, and enjoyed it very much. 

 The first day we went back to the moun- 

 tains over pretty poor cow-paths. It took 



* a Hatch-Gemniill press is s ■methiug that almost 

 anyone can make for himself for three or four dol- 

 lars, and there is no excure why one should not have 

 one, because it will pay for itself in short order. For 

 description, see Gleanings, page 279, April 1, 1901. 



