1078 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 1 



the place for putting in water, and provide a 

 tight-fitting cork, for the outlet. Or a gate or 

 valve can be soldered on. 



To make the press several times the capacity 

 of the one-cheese press, about eight division- 

 boards are needed between the different cheeses, 

 as six or eight cheeses are pressed at one opera- 

 tion. These boards should be nearly as large in 

 diameter as the inside of the press (discard the 

 wire-cloth basket, as it will tear the bags), and 

 made of ^-inch wood with ;54-inch-square slats 

 nailed on one side Yz inch apart, and these cover- 

 ed with X"'nch-mesh galvanized wire cloth. 

 Eight burlap bags one foot wide and 18 inches 

 long are also needed. 



In operating I use an old cook-stove in the cel- 

 lar. This is large enough to hold both the press 

 and a large wash-boiler in which the combs are 

 melted. A hot fire is needed, and the refuse 

 pressed. Slumgum, when a little dried, together 

 with wood, makes a hot fire. 



To fill the press, first put in a division-board 

 (a plain board will do for the bottom of the press); 

 then a bag of melted comb; then a division- 

 board, slat side do-ivti, and so on until the press 

 is full, when pressure is applied, a little at a time, 

 until the next batch is ready, and until you have 

 applied all the pressure you think it is safe to 

 subject the press to. If necessary, pour in hot 

 water enough to bring the wax above the top 

 cheese, where it can be easily dipped off with a 

 ladle. 



In filling the bags with the melted glumgum, 

 hook one side over the projection on the top edge 

 of the press. In this way it is easily held open 

 and the slumgum dipped in. Four to six quarts 

 is about the right quantity for a cheese. Then 

 it is let down in the press, and the top given a 

 twist. 



When it is thought that the refuse has been 

 pressed sufficiently, all the wax is dipped off the 

 top and the water drawn off into a tub. Then 

 the screw is released and the cheeses taken out 

 and emptied for the next lot. A bent wire hook 

 is used to get the cheeses out of the press. 



You will be surprised at the very small amount 

 of wax (if any) you will be able to discover in 

 the refuse; and the quality is all right too. I 

 have gotten out many thousands of pounds in 

 this way, and have had no complaints. 



If one thinks more wax can be obtained by the 

 so-called washing process than by continuous 

 pressure, it is easily done by simply releasing the 

 screw a few minutes and then applying pressure 

 again. But I have not been able to get any 

 more wax in this way. Possibly the thin cheeses 

 account for this. 



I have tried pressure on a larger and smaller 

 scale, both hot and cold, but this press and meth- 

 od suit me best. For amount of wax secured, 

 and ease of operation, I do not believe an open 

 press can compare with it. 



Several years ago I used the Root press in this 

 manner with steam instead of hot water. This 

 was a very good way, but did not give quite as 

 much wax as with hot water. 



Syracuse, N. Y. 



[Our correspondent does not say whether he 

 ever tried pressing the refuse a second time in the 

 same manner to see how much more wax could 



be obtained. We have rendered a good deal of 

 wax by this method, using the steam-press as a 

 hot-water press; but our opinion was that, if the 

 hot-water plan were to be used, a can larger in 

 diameter in proportion to the height should be 

 used in order to permit of a greater heating sur- 

 face. It is practically impossible to see wax in 

 refuse that may contain as much as 10 to 15 per 

 cent; and the only way to be sure that there is 

 not too much waste is to repeat the whole process 

 on the refuse. — Ed.] 



WHY THE BEES DIED. 

 Poor Results from Cellar Wintering. 



BY COLUMBUS CONGER. 



I very much wish to know what is wrong with 

 my bee-cellar. It is of stone, 7 ft. high, 14X18 

 feet in size, built into a bank on the west side, 

 which comes nearly to the top of the wall, with 

 a little of the bank on the north and south, and a 

 double door on the east, which is the only place 

 where I could have the door. The floor of the 

 cellar is cement. The first winter I had for ven- 

 tilation one 5-inch tile built into the wall on the 

 south end, and a 3-inch tile on the north end, 

 about 12 or 14 inches from the top of the wall. 

 I put 60 colonies of bees in the cellar, and nearly 

 all died. 



Early in March I had to set them out, for they 

 were all moldy and wet, and were dying every 

 day, some of starvation, but more of the damp- 

 ness, so I concluded they would be better off out 

 than in, even if it were too early. I had only 14 

 colonies left for the summer harvest. 



I concluded that the ventilation was at fault, 

 so last fall I put a ventilator in the middle of the 

 cellar, made of dimension boards 10X12 inches, 

 which comes to the bottom of the cellar and up 

 through the honey-house, which is above the cel- 

 lar, with a single floor between. The ventilator 

 extends about two feet above the honey-house 

 roof, and the opening in the cellar is at the bottom 

 near the floor. Then the tile on the north end I 

 filled up, and in the one on the south I inserted 

 a pipe with an elbow, which lets the cold air in 

 near the floor also. I put about the same num- 

 ber of bees in the cellar last fall, with about the 

 same results. I had to set them out earlier than 

 I wished to this spring, because they were mold- 

 ing and dying. Most of them had honey in the 

 hives, but the combs are covered with mold. 

 They were in good condition when placed in the 

 cellar. The bees were placed in the cellar with 

 the hive-covers removed, and were covered with 

 a wire screen, and quilts for each hive. Now, I 

 should like to have some one tell me just what is 

 wrong, and what would be the best and cheapest 

 way to fix this cellar. I have thought of build- 

 ing a room over the door on the east side, in 

 which I could have a stove, and heat and venti- 

 late it that way. Is this advisable .? 



The temperature of this cellar has been about 

 30° all winter. I think it is too cold, but I do 

 not know how to alter it. 



Glenbeulah, Wis., March 26 



[It is very clear where your trouble lies. Your 

 cellar is altogether too cold and damp. With a 



