GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



January, 1919 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



THE FIRST WAX-RENDERING— OH ! 



The Man's and the Woman's View or this Inter- 

 esting Calamity 



Even Mr. Webster must have passed thru 

 the vicissitudes of the first wax-rendering, 

 because in his dictionary he describes wax 

 as "A thick, viscid, tenacious substance, ex- 

 creted by bees from their bodies and em- 

 ployed in the construction of their combs; 

 its native color is yellow, and it has a pe- 

 culiar smell resembling honey, which is de- 

 rived from the honey deposited in the 

 cells." Mr. "Webster also speaks as follows 

 of foreign substances in wax: "When 

 bleached and freed from impurities, wax 

 is white, brittle, and translucent in thin 

 segments, and has neither taste nor smell;" 

 but he does not tell us of what those im- 

 purities consist. That seems to have been 

 the original discovery of the senior mem- 

 ber of a recently established domestic firm 

 of beekeepers, details of which may be 

 found set forth in his diary under the head- 

 ing, "Wax Kendering, " tho the diary of 

 the junior member also contains much val- 

 uable data. 



His Version. 



"Tuesday, October 12, 1915.— When old 

 combs are broken for melting, there is so 

 much dirt mixed with the wax that there is 

 no use trying to separate it, unless the wax 

 is tied up in a piece of strong cloth. After 

 the free wax has melted and floated to the 

 surface of the water, the mass in the sack 

 should be put under pressure. This will 

 drive out more wax, which does not float by 

 itself clear from the mixed dirt. This dirt 

 is composed of cocoons, quite a lot of dead 

 bees, more or less propolis, and black stuff 

 that I do not know how to name. When T 

 melted the wax from some old frames I must 

 have had three or four pounds of old comb, 

 out of which I secured three-fourths of a 

 pound of wax, and I melted it three or four 

 times before I could get it free from dirt, 

 altho the wax being lighter rises to the sur- 

 face of the hot water and holds the dirt un- 

 derneath it. When the mass hardens, the 

 wax will be found fairly clean, but adhering 

 to the bottom of it will be the dirt which 

 can be broken oif, in a measure, altho some 

 particles will be incorporated in the under 

 side of the wax cake. 



' ' Old combs should be melted in boiling 

 water to prevent the wax from burning, and 

 the work should be done in an outhouse, and 

 old clothing should be worn, because wax is 

 very dirty and clings to clothes or leather 

 or anything else it touches, but it can be 

 washed off with gasoline or benzine. 



"Since old combs yield not to exceed 25 

 per cent of their weight in wax, it does not 

 pay to spend one 's time in rendering them, 

 unless one has from 50 to 100 pounds in 

 combs and an abundance of free fuel, since 



a lesser amount would not pay for the time 

 and expense. 



' ' Wax that is almost pure can best be 

 melted in a double boiler." 



Her Version. 



"Tuesday, Oct. 12, 1915.— Declared a holi- 

 day for the senior member to take Cousin 

 Sue, who is to remain another week, on a 

 trip thru the valley, and washday for me, 

 because I took her out yesterday. S. M. 

 (Senior Member) rose at 6 o'clock and don- 

 ned his paint clothes. It looked suspicious, 

 and I reminded him of the proposed trip. 

 He said, 'Plenty o' time; car leaves at 

 10:40,' and disappeared. 



"8:30. Sweet sickening odor from kit- 

 chen. Investigated. S. M. in preoccupied 

 mood, stirring a curious black mixture in 

 my new granite kettle. 



"8:45. Smelled gas. Investigated. Kit- 

 chen vacant. Mixture boiled over; flame 

 extinguished; streams of black liquid trick- 

 ling down the sides of stove to floor. En- 

 ter, S. M. Sulphuric fumes mingled with 

 aforesaid odors, as he hastily emptied por- 

 tions of mixture into large blue enamel 

 boiler, re-lit gas and added more black 

 material to both boilers. 'Eendering wax,' 

 he volunteered as the sweetish odor per- 

 vaded the entire house. 



"9:00. A third cooking-vessel brought 

 into action. 



"9:30. Mixture poured into my jelly 

 bags and squeezed. Bags burst. Mixture 

 returned to boilers for second melting. 



"10:00. Cousin Sue in best black, pa- 

 tiently waiting. S. M., 'the world forgot- 

 ten,' and, except for his immediate family, 

 'by the world forgot,' put the teakettle 

 over the remaining burner. Remonstrated. 

 Abstracted answer, 'in a minute.' Odor 

 more nauseating. ' Men are all like that, 

 just little boys when they are insterested, ' 

 comforted Cousin Sue, from the wisdom of 

 70 years. 



"10:45. Cousin Sue sewing strong canvas 

 bags for wax. Car tooting farewell in the 

 distance. 



"11:00. Mixture boiled inside canvas 

 bags (third time). Thin yellow coating on 

 surface of water. Bags removed, pressed, 

 and hung in picturesque rows on veranda 

 railing. 



"11:30. 'When do we eat?' from S. M., 

 triumphantly skimming a few remaining 

 flecks of yellow from the surface of water 

 in boilers. 'No luncheon has been planned, 

 and no place to cook it if it had been. You 

 two were to lunch at the Inn, ' I reminded 

 him. And urged by the pangs of hunger, 

 he set the boilers aside, made a swift toilet, 

 called a jitney, and with Cousin Sue, caught 

 the 12:10 interurban. Another proof that 

 a man 's stomach is a sure route to other 

 sensibilities. 



"4:30 P. M. Order restored. Results: 



