248 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr L5 



Mr. Boardman's apiary is located is as level as a 

 floor; but even on a rougher spot a cart of this 

 kind could be used very nicely, providing the 

 hive-rows were far enough apart. 



To a certain extent it can be used as a hi\e or 

 super lifter. We are not sure but that it is about 

 as good as any thing we have shown. — Ed.] 



250 to 375 lbs. of wax to the thousand combs. 

 In a day we can usually render from 800 to 1000 

 combs, the number depending, of course, upon 

 the condition of the combs, etc. When I buy 



WHOLESALE WAX-RENDERING. 



Steam Used for Melting the Combs and 

 for Heating the Press During Pressing. 



BY EDWARD G. BROWN. 



The wax-rendering apparatus which I use is 

 somewhat beyond the reach of many bee-keepers; 

 but it gets the wax, and I think a little nearer all 

 of it, than most of the various outfits in use. I 

 will give the figures of the wax rendered^ and lat- 

 er describe the apparatus. 



The best results which we have secured were 

 from a lot of combs, many of which were 25 

 years old. There were 400 of these combs in the 

 lot, and we obtained 164 lbs. of wax, or a little 

 over 4 lbs. to every 10 combs. There were two 

 working at the job, and the total time for render- 

 ing, including firing up the boiler, etc., was a lit- 

 tle less than five hours. We have made a few 

 full-day runs on combs varying in age from one 

 to twenty-five years, and the results average about 



sr£-A 



BROWN S WAX-RENDERl.NG APPARATUS. 



old combs 1 usaally figu'C on aboi t 2^2 lbs. of 

 wax to the hive of ten combs, Langstroth si7e. 



In the last two years we have rendered some 

 8000 or 9000 combs on account of foul brood, 

 and I believe that this is the only way to eradi- 

 cate the disease completely from a yard when it 

 once gets a start. There is just one other wav; 

 and that is, to build a bonfire and burn up all 

 the supplies, etc., in connection with the yard. 

 Incidentally the latter plan is 

 somewhat expensive, for it leaves 

 the apiaiist at the foot of the 

 ladder, ready for a new start. 



The figures given above may 

 seem a little large to some; but 

 the apparatus is of fair size, and 

 requires two to work it at full 

 speed, and a pait of the time 

 there were three of us. Our 

 work shop is an old cheese fac- 

 tory which I aho use for stor- 

 age room; and the heat for the 

 wax-rendering is furnished by a 

 big boiler from which I also get 

 the power for running my buzz- 

 saws, as I make all my own 

 hivts and hea- ier supplies. 



1 he engraving shows the va- 

 rious parts of the tank, which is 

 2 ft. wide, 7 ft long, 16 inches 

 deep. It is divided into two 

 paits, as shown, both parts b^'- 

 ing 1 ned with talvanized iron, 

 a'ld fit:ed with a cover of the 

 same matetial. Each part is 

 about half filled with water; and 

 steam for boiling the water is 

 introduced by means of a ^- 

 inch pipe, on the under sides of 

 which holes are drilled so that, 

 when the steam is turned on, the 

 contents of the tank are kept in 

 motion. Each division of the 

 tank has a separate pipe con- 

 trolled by a valve so that heat 

 can be applied when wanted, and 

 as hard as desired. The press 



