MELTING WAX. 535 



863. Cappings from the extracting and small pieces gath- 

 ered from time to time, may be rendered during the summer, 

 by the use of a sun-extractor, wherever the sun is sufficiently 

 powerful. At this latitude, the 42°, sun-extractors can be 

 efficiently used during the months of May, June, July, and 

 August. The sun-extractcr requires no labor from the Apia- 

 rist, other than filling it with combs and removing the melted 

 wax. 



864. The dealers in France buy, from the bee-keepers, 

 for little or nothing, the residues of their melted combs. They 

 dissolve them in turpentine, press the pulp dry, and distill 

 the liquid, to separate the turpentine. As the wax is not 

 volatile, it remains in the still. It is said that, when wax 

 was dearer than it is now, large profits were realized by this 

 operation. 



865. To cleanse beeswax from its impurities, we melt it 

 carefully with cistern water and pour it into flaring cans 

 (wider at the top than at the bottom) containing a little boil- 

 ing water. This wax is kept in the liquid state, at a high 

 temperature, for twenty-four hours. During this time, the 

 impurities drop to the bottom and can be scraped from the 

 cake when cold. Some wax can be obtained from this refuse, 

 but some of it is always left in the dregs, as is proven by 

 the impossibility of dissolving them by exposure. Nothing 

 can destroy beeswax, except fire, or the ravages of the bee- 

 moth. Exposure to the weather does not affect it, but only 

 bleaches it. 



To prevent the cakes of wax from cracking, it should be 

 poured into the molds or cans when only 165° Fahr. and 

 should be kept in a warm place to cool slowly. 



Sulphuric acid is used by bleachers and foundation manu- 

 facturers in rendering beeswax out of the dark residues. Some 

 writers have recommended this method to the bee-keeper. We 

 \vish to warn them against it. No acid is necessaiy in sep- 

 arating the wax from the impurities of the combs and if it 

 is used, the beeswax loses its fine honey and bee flavor and 



