596 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July IS 



them there. The pressure from a lever is 

 steady; it never relaxes, while with a screw 

 one must be always standings over it and 

 turning-, or else it soon gets slack. You 

 can go away and leave a lever, but a screw 

 can not be left; besides, I consider that I 

 got as much strength out of that lever as I 

 could have realized from several screws. 



If I were building another press I should 

 use four light handy little levers instead of 

 one. Even with the lever, I found that the 

 wax would sometimes sink on one side and 

 not on the other, and give a lot of trouble. 

 With four levers, one pressing down on each 

 corner, the cheeses would have to keep level; 

 and the levers, being light, could be raised 

 one at a time for slipping blocks under, and 

 no weights need to be removed; also while 

 one is being raised the other three are all 

 the time exerting pressure. 



Mr. Aikin wants a press to be entirely 

 submerged. I see no occasion for it at all. 

 There is no need of releasing a screw from 

 time to time to let the water through the 

 pumice again; for if the wax is hot enough (I 

 put mine in boiling), and sufficient pressure 

 is applied, it will all come out the first 

 time. If the tray is set a little on a slope, 



and the spout at the lowest corner, the wax 

 will all run clear off out of the way. With 

 a submerged machine I should think it 

 would be a great job to get all the melted 

 wax oft" the top of the water; and if it were 

 not all taken off some would be wasted by 

 sticking to the cloths as the pumice was 

 withdrawn. 



However, if one still desired a submerged 

 press he could have a framework of iron 



around the outside of the boiler, and have 

 iron levers hinged on to a bar round the top, 

 and an iron leg from each lever, reaching 

 down through the water, and resting on the 

 press below. There would then be only the 

 iron legs for wax to stick to and a fire could 

 be built below the whole concern; but, as I 

 have said before, I see no occasion for a sub- 

 merged press. 



And now, best of all, I wish to say that 

 I do not desire to belittle Mr. Aikin in any 

 way. He is a practical apiarist, and knows 

 what he is talking about, while my writing 

 has been mostly theory. Still, he plainly 

 states that he desires more information on 

 the subject of wax-presses, and apparently 

 so do many others who attended the conven- 

 tion at Buffalo. Therefore my suggestion 

 of levers to replace a screw may not be al- 

 together lost. 



As I wrote the last sentence the thought 

 occurred to me that if the dish or tray were 

 made with high sides, say 12 or IS inches 

 high, and a plug placed in the spout, boil- 

 ing water could then be poured in as the 

 cloths of wax were placed in position, and 

 a lot of laj'ers could be got in as the water 

 would keep all hot; so that twice as much 

 could be done at one pressing. 



As soon as the lever pressure is applied 

 the cork could be withdrawn and the whole 

 of the hot water would rush straight out 

 into a tub placed to receive it. This, being 

 hot, would not need mvich more heating to 

 be ready again for the next lot, and there 

 would not be much wax in this lot; and 

 what little there was would not be wasted. 

 A little wax would stick to the wooden 

 blocks, but that would be no loss; for what 

 stuck one time would melt off the next, and 

 all would be got at the finish. Yes, if ever 

 I build another press for myself I will 

 build it this way, and so keep the wax hot; 

 so it may be, that, after all, I have sup- 

 plied Mr. Aikin with just the design he has 

 been looking for for a long time. 



Fernhill, Napier, New Zealand, Apr. 22. 



[After reading this article in manuscript 

 I had our artist make some engravings, so 

 that the reader might more clearly under- 

 stand. My brother and I have been testing 

 various forms of wax-presses, but are not 

 ready to announce the results; but we have 

 gone far enough to show that there is a 

 great deal of truth in what Mr. Bostock has 

 to say. I am not sure but a lever has one 

 advantage that a screw does not have, be- 

 cause, when a weight is put on the long 

 end, a continiions pressure is applied ; and 

 as fast as the wax runs out of the slumgum, 

 more squeeze is put on automatically. This 

 is not true in the case of a screw. But 

 there are objections to a lever; and in an 

 article which I will give later on I will 

 state what these are. But for the present 

 we have determined that our wax-press is 

 nearly right, although we see room for some 

 minor changes in the way of increasing its 

 convenience as well as its power to squeeze 

 the slumgum. — Ed.] 



