6.8 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. ]5 



simply a theory. If they would try they 

 would find, as we have done, that the wax 

 will drop down from the slumgum when 

 steam is used, just as readily as it will 

 float up in the hot water. 



We have not had success with the third 

 method, althoug-h some may have had. It 

 is very difficult to keep the wax from burn- 

 ing when heated in another place unless it 

 is heated in hot water. If this is done, 

 part of the wax will melt out and come to 

 the surface, just enough of it to cause trou- 

 ble, and yet too much to throw away en- 

 tirely. After burning one's fingers in get- 

 ting the hot wax transferred from the heat- 

 ing-pan to the press, a great deal of heat 

 will be lost; and when the wax comes in 

 contact with the cold press it is so chilled 

 that not all of it can come out; and what 

 does come, often sticks to the cheese-cloth, 

 and refuses to run. 



twelve-foot oak lever. So a lever for a 

 large machine is out of the question; but 

 for this home-made press, where smaller 

 amounts of refuse are worked with, it is 

 another matter. We will discuss both the 

 lever and the screw, and let the reader try 

 both if he desires. 



The lever is much quicker to operate, and 

 does, on the average, as good work, be- 

 cause it has the power to press the small 

 amount of old comb or slumgum down to a 

 thin layer. But the screw will do the same 

 work with very little eft'ort, only it takes a 

 little longer ; also, the lever must have a 

 very strong support, such as a good stout 

 post and floor, and it makes one man work 

 very hard to operate it. Very likely some, 

 after trying both, would prefer the lever 

 and some the screw. The engraving sliows 

 clearly how the lever is operated. The 

 screw is an ordinary carpenter's bench-vise 

 screw, which can be obtained at any hard- 

 ware store. Two hard-wood cross-arms 

 are needed — one below the tub and one 

 above, which has, of course, the nut for the 

 screw. Two cross-sticks should be placed, 

 one on each side of the tub and between the 

 cross-arms, and the whole clamped firmly 



A, lever, 12 fe''t long , B, hd f a re! , C, s andard , D, cleat- 

 ed pressure-iHsk ; 1 , block. ^ olted to hous ; F. spout I or wax 

 as on top of hot water. Ditted line shows hot-water and 

 wax line H, loose pece ot wool to prevent 'he bottom from 

 being pressed out. G, under ».de of D, showing cleats. 



Some one may say that continued press- 

 ing will heat the press sufficiently to keep 

 the wax from chilling. This is true in 

 part; but some time must elapse before the 

 next pressing, and this enables the press to 

 become almost completely cold. So we con- 

 fine our experiments now to steam or hot 

 water; and, although we much prefer steam, 

 we do not advocate its use in our home-made 

 press, because of the difficulty most bee- 

 keepers would have in getting it. 



And now comes the question of the meth- 

 od of applying the pressure; viz., whether 

 to use a lever or a screw. Actual figures 

 show that a boy can exert more force with 

 such a screw as is used on our German ex- 

 tractor than a man could with a four-inch 



together with half-inch bolts having heavy 

 washers. These bolts should be outside 

 the cross-sticks, and should be long enough 

 to extend a little above the upper cross-arm. 

 The cross-sticks should be about an inch 

 longer than the depth of the tub, so that the 

 latter may be slid out from the frame to 

 leave it free for pouring out water, taking 

 out slumgum, etc. We do not claim that 

 this method is the only one, by any means; 

 but from our experiments it seems very sat- 

 isfactory for one, the material for which 

 can easily be obtained by almost any bee- 

 keeper. 



In A. R. Bostock's article in this journal 

 (July 15) he objects to the use of the screw 

 because it pressed the wax down on one 

 side of the pan and not on the other. Well, 

 if he was careful to have his slumgum about 

 level before he applied the pressure, and if 

 his screw was as nearly perpendicular to 

 the bottom of the pan as possible, he would 

 not be bothered in this way. He also speaks 

 of the pressure of the lever as being contin- 

 ual, and that of a screw requiring one to 

 stand over turning it, which, he says, would 

 hinder him from going away. If he used a 

 screw by the method just described, the 

 wax would all be squeezed out in a very 

 few moments, and he would soon be ready 

 to fix up a new batch so that he would 

 have no desire to go away. He "consid- 

 ers " that he gets more strength from one 

 lever than from several screws. If he would 

 figure he would find that, with one screw, 

 the same amount of force exerted, he would 

 probably get the pressure of several levers. 



The subject of wax-presses is one that 

 needs very careful attention. One would 



