1314 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 1 



full of wax in the rough we dump it nto the Root tank, cover it 

 over, and as fast as it melts it runs out of the spout into one of 

 those gravity separating pails described in Gi-eanings three or 

 four years ago by Mr. Aikin. In this way a sort of " perpetual 

 motion " is kept up; and when through rendering the wax it is 

 ready for the market. W. J. Man ley. 



We have rendered our wax this year in one of 

 the new Hatch wax-presses. The wax was han- 

 dled as near to the Manley plan as possible. In- 

 stead of setting the press down near the floor, it 

 was elevated so a wash-tub could be put under 

 the spout. We dip the melted combs from the 

 boiler into the press with a large dipper, contin- 

 uing this until only enough water and wax are 

 left in the boiler, including what there is already 

 in the press, to fill the press-can within about an 

 inch of the top. Previous to this the wax and 

 water were allowed to run out of the bottom of 

 the press as usual; but now the outlet at the bot- 

 tom of the can is corked, and enough water and 

 wax retained to fill the can of the press as I have 

 explained. The edges of the burlap should be 

 brought together arvd twisted, and the pressure 

 applied. The screw is then loosened two or 

 three times to saturate the slumgum with water, 

 on the Hershiser plan. Then on the Manley plan, 

 when the screw is down tight, the water and wax 

 are turned from the top of the can into the tub. 



The can of the Hatch press is large enough to 

 hold sufficient slumgum to make a cheese an inch 

 thick, as the Manleys recommend; and by leav- 

 ing the press open until there is only enough 

 material left to fill the can, the rest is retained to 

 keep the slumgum hot, and more particularly to 

 secure the Hershiser "washout" principle. We 

 succeeded in this way in getting a larger per cent 

 of the wax out of the slumgum than by using 

 the press in the usual way, because, ordinarily, 

 there is some wax that congeals on the burlap, 

 while with the washout principle the burlap 

 comes out of the press clean of wax. Whether 

 the slumgum with this washout principle will 

 need to be run the second time to free it from 

 the wax, I can not tell, having tried it in such a 

 limited way. Ours was run the second time, 

 and it looked as if the second trial would pay; 

 but I am not ready to say it will pay, without 

 more experience. The Manleys make a good 

 point in using two inches of water under the 

 cheese, and lots of it above; the less amount of 

 water used in the Hatch press may make it nec- 

 essary to run the slumgum through twice, while 

 once is all that seems necessary with the Manley 

 press. One thing I am sure about with the 

 Hatch press worked on the washout principle, in 

 running the slumgum in particular, there was 

 not a particle of visible wax sticking to the bur- 

 lap, and somehow I felt as if there was less wax 

 left in the slumgum than usual. 



I have always used the square Hatch-Gemmell 

 press; but after using the new Hatch press I am 

 sure that the round form is better. The whole 

 cheese can be brought nearer the center, which 

 means that there is less strain on the screw and 

 other parts. Then the round form, with a fol- 

 lower that fits out close to it, prevents any part 

 of the cheese from slipping out at one side, so 

 that it is not pressed. There are also no corners 

 to cool, etc. 



Where there are large quantities of old combs 

 to render, or where one is in the wax business as 

 extensively as the Manleys, something larger 



than the Hatch press will, perhaps, be needed; 

 but for the ordinary bee-keeper having 100 colo- 

 nies or less, with the wax material as it usually 

 comes from a yard of bees in normal condition, 

 the Root-Hatch press will be satisfactory if work- 

 ed by directions that come with the press. Then 

 if the slumgum is run through the second time 

 on the Hershiser washout plan as I have given 

 above, there will not be a very large amount of 

 wax left, and the work will not be so very tedious 

 after all. 



Remus, Mich. 



[The process of rendering as described by Mr. 

 Manley is quite similar to the Sibbald method 

 illustrated on page 210, Feb. 15. Mr. Town- 

 send's article was written last March, and at that 

 time Mr. Manley had probably been using the 

 method as described, for over a year. 



About two years ago we tried the hot-water 

 plan in connection with the Hatch press; but at 

 that time we felt that the use of the water did not 

 facilitate matters. However, some may find that 

 the plan suits their convenience better. W^e 

 should be glad to have reports from any others 

 who have used the Hatch press in both ways. 



We believe Mr. Manley is right in pressing 

 only one cheese at a time. Where the water can 

 be kept hot, as in the Hershiser plan, so that the 

 intermittent pressing can be kept up for some 

 time, a number of lots of comb can be pressed at 

 once. 



For the convenience of our readers we here- 

 with reproduce the engravings illustrating the 

 wax-separator as described by Mr. Aikin in the 

 Jan. 15th issue for 1902, which is probably the 

 separator to which Mr. Manley refers. 



Slumgum. 



Honey 



We should be afraid that the average person 

 would find it rather difficult to cool the wax on 

 top of the hot water. We have found it a good 

 plan to leave the wax floating on top of the hot 

 water until the work is done. When hot water 

 is wanted, it may be drawn from the bottom of 

 the can through a faucet or gate. — Ed.] 



