1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



249 



as shown in the second engraving is made from 

 an old cheese-press. The construction is sufH- 

 ciently clear, hence no detailed description is 

 necessary. A pipe is arranged under the press in 

 such a way that steam may be forced between 

 the cleats of the bottom of the press, thus keep- 

 ing the slumgum hot. 



Two pieces of heavy burlap are used for hold- 

 ing the slumgum, the outer one being about 30 

 > 30 inches, and the inner one about 20X20 

 These aie laid over a form 10 inches square and 

 4 inches deep, which will hold about two gallons 

 ot the melted combs. After the comb is dipped 

 in the sides, the cloths are folded together, then 

 tne lorm is removed, the upper block placed in 

 position, and the pressure applied. Unless these 

 sacks are of extra good quality they do not last 

 longer than eight or nine times, and even the best 

 ones usually burst after fifteen or twenty pr«ss- 

 ings. A short-handled pitchfork, a wire strain- 

 er, and a number of 50 pound honey-cans with 

 the top cut out, to be used as molds, complete 

 the apparatus. 



When rendering, the tanks are filled about 

 half full of water brought to a boil by the steam. 

 The largercompartment is then filled with combs 

 still in the frames. About 50 frames of combs 

 can be put in at once. The cover is then shut 

 down and the steam turned on. From three to 

 five minutes is required to do the work, and v\hen 

 the contents are boiling thoroughly the cover is 

 raised and the steam partly turned off, so that the 

 frames may be swished about in the water and 

 finally picked out with the pitchfork. The steam 

 is then shut off, and the slumgum skimmed by 

 means of the strainer into the small division of 

 the tank, when a new batch of frames containing 

 combs may be put into the first or larger com- 

 partment. 



While one man works at melting up the combs 

 and tending the fire under the boiler, the other is 

 kept busy working the press. The room is so 

 hot and full of steam that the operators can wear 

 but few clothes, and even then it is rather hot 

 work. 



The slumgum which is kept boiling is dipped 

 from the small compartment of the tank into the 

 burlap in the press, and the wax is run directly 

 into square cans or molds. The frames as they 

 come from the tank are washed cleaner than they 

 (ould be scraped with a knife, and from experi- 

 ments which I have made they are entirely free 

 from any disease. We have not been able to 

 make it pay to rerender the refuse from the press; 

 but with what wax and propolis are left in the 

 cheeses they make good fuel and furnish nearly 

 enough fire to keep up steam. The cheeses are 

 dumped directly into the boiler-room, and are 

 burned as fast as pressed. 



During the year 1907 we rendered about 1500 

 lbs. of wax, and in 1908 neaily 1100 lbs., so we 

 think we have had (juite an opportunity for test- 

 ing the apparatus thoroughly. 



Sergeant Bluff, Iowa. 



[When wax is rendered on a large scale it pays 

 to have every thing arranged conveniently so that 

 there will be no time lost. Many a good plan 

 fails because of too hasty an arrangement of de- 

 tails. F"our pounds of wax for every ten combs 

 is a good record, but we understand that this was 



a little above the average. It would undoubted- 

 ly be a loss of nme to lun the refuse through the 

 press a second time, but still it would be interest- 

 ing to know the amount of wax left after the first 

 pressing. We have believed that, for wholesale 

 woik, the hot-water press was the more economi- 

 cal one to use, since in the same length of time 

 it gets a somewhat greater percentage of wax 

 from the refuse. 



A large amount of wax is wasted every year 

 because the combs are pressed before they are 

 boiled long enough. It was F. A. Salisbury who 

 first called our attention to the fact that the combs 

 must be not only melted but thoroughly heated. 

 Heating the water that contains the comb, by 

 means of steam introduced at the bottom, is very 

 satisfactory, for the steam also keeps the contents 

 of the tank constantly in motion. — Ed.] 



PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR 

 BEGINNERS. 



How to Handle Bees Without Being Stung; 

 the Use of Smokers; Transferring. 



BY E. D. TOWNSEND. 



[The subjoined instructions on how to avoid stings, the use and 

 misuse of smoke, are about the best we have seen for a long 

 time. While they are particularly valuable to the beginner, they 

 should be read by many veterans in the business. It is surprising, 

 the careless (not to say the needless) way some bee-keepers have 

 of stirring their bees up to fury. When in that condition one can 

 not begin to do as much actual work, to say nothing of the dis- 

 comfort and the loss of bees. Such carelessness is likely to cause 

 damage-suits, restrictive ordinances (if in town), and no end of 

 bad feeling among neighbors. — Ed.] 



The beginner is likely to use too much smoke 

 or else not enough, for the different dispositions 

 of colonies are often confusing, and the amount of 

 smoke needed to subdue one colony will often 

 drive a more sensitive lot of bees out of the hive. 

 More smoke is necessary during a honey-dearth 

 than during a bountiful flow; but this additional 

 amount of smoke must be given in smaller though 

 more frequent doses. After removing the cover 

 from the hive, and smoking the bees so that most 

 of them run down between the combs, the first 

 frame may stick in the hive so that it is finally 

 lifted out with a snap or jerk, causing some of 

 the bees to fly at the hands as if they would sting. 

 In this case a more experienced bee-keeper would 

 have noticed that the bees were ready to sting be- 

 fore any of them had taken wing, and he would 

 havegi\en them just a little smoke. The smoke 

 should never be blown clear down into the hive, 

 causing the whole colony to stampede, for it is 

 then much more inconvenient to do the necessary 

 work. There should be just enough smoke to 

 drive down those bees that are on the tops of the 

 frames; then at any time when a bee is seen about 

 ready to take wing, as if to sting, a very little 

 smoke is needed again. In time one learns to use 

 the smoker just before there are any bees in the 

 air. 



The careless handling of bees causes many 

 stings. There is rarely aseason but that we have 

 some inexperienced help in our yards; and the 

 first advice that we give a beginner is that, if 

 there should bean accident, such as the dropping 

 of a frame of bees, or if in any way the bees get 

 the best of the situation, he should retreat until 



