Feb. 5, 1903. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



65 



WAX-PRESSES. 



Their Advantag-es Over the Sun-Extractors- 

 Directions for Making- and Using- a Cheap 

 But Effective Hot-Water Extractor. 



BY H. H. ROOT. 



WERE we to go to Cuba we should find some men who 

 keep bees only for the wax they produce. Much of 

 the honey is fed back or wasted, because the natives 

 think it pays them better to ship the wax than to bother 

 with the honey. If they were to come here to the United 

 States they would find some men who run apiaries solely 

 for the purpose of getting the honey, paying no attention 

 to the was, but wasting it by throwing away old combs, 

 etc. These men represent extremes, and probably there are 

 not many bee-keeper who would advocate either method ; 

 but it is a recognized fact that a great amount of wax is 

 wasted by being thrown awaj' as dirt, old comb, etc. It is 

 pretty generally known now that the sun -extractors are not 

 the most economical in the long run. They have their uses, 

 and are very convenient to leave in some handy place in the 

 apiary, to act as a receptacle for small pieces of burr-comb 

 which collect all the time. I do not know that any estimate 

 can be given of the percent of wax that is wasted in render- 

 ing old combs in a sun-extractor, as it depends on the age 

 of the combs, and how much dirt there is in them. 



Lately the most up-to-date bee-keepers are beginning to 

 use extractors in which the wax is pressed out of the old 

 comb by means of a screw or a heavy lever, while the con- 

 tents are heated above the melting point. There are three 

 methods of rendering from old combs : 1. Pressure on the 

 combs, when heated by steam ; 2. Pressure under hot 

 water ; 3. Pressure on the comb which has been heated 

 somewhere else. 



In my experiments with wax-presses I consider steam- 

 presses by far the most efficient. They are quicker, easier 

 to operate, and do better work. Some have said that the 

 old comb should be under hot water when the pressure is 

 applied, because, as the mass of wax oozes out from the 

 dirt, it instantly floats to the surface, giving place to that 

 which may come afterwards ; or, in other words, the hot- 

 water method "takes in the slack." However, I believe 

 this to be simply theory. I do not see why melted wax can 

 not drop down from the old comb, which is surrounded by 

 steam, just as well as it c^n float up from it when surrounded 

 by hot water. Lest some one should say this is also theory, 

 I would state that by actual test I have proven its correct- 

 ness. 



All other things being equal in my experiments, I have 

 found that there can be just as much wax obtained by the 

 steam method, and in mucli less lime, than by the hot-water 

 method. Aside from this, there are many objections to the 

 hot-water. The juices from the dead bees or larvx' give the 

 water a very dark, reddish-brown color, darkening the wax 

 to a very great extent. After the pressure has been applied, 

 and about all the wax comes out of the old comb that will 

 come, it is then very hard to get the melted wax off the sur- 

 face of the water. The only way is to let the whole mass 

 cool so it may be taken from the top in the form of a cake. 



In the third, the comb is heated in a wash-boiler or 

 some other receptacle on the stove, and then poured into the 

 press. I have not had as good results with this as with the 

 other two. I admit that it is a quicker method ; but when a 

 bee-keeper renders out wax it is usually done in the winter, 

 when his time is not the most important item. I am con- 

 vinced that a great deal of wax is left in the comb unless 

 the said comb is kept at a high temperature during the pro- 

 cess of pressing. Again, lest some should say that this is 

 theory, or that my experiments have not been made cor- 

 rectly, I would say that one writer, after reading an article 

 in Gleanings in Hee-Culture for Sept. 15, on the subject of 

 wax-presses, stated that he could get more vpax by his 

 method of pressing the comb after it had been heated else- 

 where than by pressing it in hot water or steam. To prove 

 his statements he sent a sample of the pressed-out comb, 

 saying that we could test it for ourselves, to show that it 



contained no wax. As he suggested, we did test his sample 

 in hot water, and found that it contained 25 percent pure 

 wax. I do not mean that this method of pressing out old 

 combs, which has been heated in another receptacle, leaves 

 25 percent of wax, but I do assert that it leaves a great deal 

 more wax than the two other methods — that is, of pressing 

 under hot water or with steam. 



In describing a home-made press, since steam would re- 

 quire a more expensive apparatus, I will tell about a home- 

 made wax-press using hot water as the method of heating, 

 and giving very good results, though not as quickly as with 

 a steam press : 



The first thing to get is a water-tight barrel. Saw it 

 off, making a tub about one foot in depth. Bore a whole in 

 one side near the bottom, and insert a short piece of pipe, 

 to be used to drain ofl^ the hot water and wax after pressing. 

 A wooden plug should be fitted into the end of this pipe, to 

 act as a valve. 



We must next consider how we are going to apply the 

 pressure — with a screw or with a lever. In my experiments 

 either works about the same, only a lever take two to oper- 

 ate it, making it more expensive, and not quite so quick. I 

 prefer a screw, and used such a one as can be found in an 

 ordinary carpenter's bench-vise — something that can be ob- 

 tained very cheaply at any hardware store. A cross-piece 

 of hardwood, 4 inches wide by 3 inches thick, should be 

 placed across the top of the tub, and one of corresponding 

 dimensions underneath. These should be connected by two 

 side-pieces, also of hard wood, about an inch from each side 

 of the tub, and the whole firmly clamped together by long 

 half-inch bolts with heavy washers. The nut belonging to 

 the screw should be placed in a hole bored through the mid- 

 dle of the hardwood piece extending across the top of the 

 tub, and the tub itself is to rest on the under piece. A 

 plunger must be made having a smooth, hard top on which 

 the screw is to rest. 



When ready to begin operations, wrap up (in cheese- 

 cloth) about 5 pounds of old comb or refuse from the solar 

 wax-extractor, and place this package of comb in the tub. 

 Next, pour on top of this one good-sized pailful of boiling 

 water. It will be enough since the tub is only one foot 

 high. Place the plunger on top, and slowly turn the screw 

 down. The wax will immediately float to the top until the 

 screw is clear down. Next, turn the screw up ; and after 

 tipping up the plunger with a stick, haul over the contents 

 of the cheese-cloth package, and again apply the pressure. 

 By this time all the wax, or as much as can be obtained, 

 will be at the surface of the hot water, and the whole may 

 be poured off or drawn off through the spout, and allowed 

 to cool. By keeping four or five pailfuls of water going it 

 is not diflicult to have hot water as fast as necessary. In this 

 way I succeeded in getting 18 ounces as the average amount 

 of wax from 5 pounds of very old combs, and in less than 

 20 minutes. This amount would, of course, vary greatly 

 according to the age of the comb and the amount of dirt or 

 old cocoons in it. 



Save up your old combs; and some winter day, when 

 your time is not worth much, render them out and you will 

 be surprised at the amount of wax that you receive. You 

 can easily make SO cents an hour — a very low figure — and 

 in time which would otherwise be worth very little. 



Medina Co., Ohio. 



Easy Bee- Keeping— Prolific Queens- 

 ducing. 



Intro- 



BY E. A. MORG.^N. 



ON page 776 (1902), in an article by F. Greiner, reference 

 is made to the bee-keepers' convention last winter where 

 a friend gave his management of bees. It consisted in 

 giving plenty of room — two extra 10-frame brood-chambers 

 full of comb were added below. It prevented swarming. 



It might have prevented it in one instance, but it is not 

 the want of room which causes bees to swarm, especially 

 Carniolans ; location controls everything. It is prosperity 

 that makes bees swarm. I well remember several years 

 ago paying an enormous price for a few non-swarming 

 queens warranted never to swarm. But in my location 

 every one swarmed, though given as much room as our 

 friend gave. I learned later that they were reared in a dis- 

 trict of great scarcity, and had not enough prosperity to 

 swarm. 



The advice given — invest $60 in catnip, keep 15 colonies 

 of bees, then give plenty of room and go a-fishing 5 days of 



