CHAPTER XI 

 POINTS ABOUT BEESWAX 



HOW TO MAKE IT 



BEESWAX is a unique product; the little socialists 

 of the hive have formed a trust for its manufacture, 

 which for many and good reasons has never been 

 infringed upon. The special value of beeswax is 

 that it retains its cohesiveness and ductibility, under 

 both higher and lower temperatures, than do other 

 kinds of wax. It has a specific gravity of 960-972, 

 and melts at 143-145 F. 



Beeswax has been in demand in the world since 

 ancient times, being put to many and diverse uses. 

 Now, however, the making of foundation-comb is 

 the most important of these uses and most affects 

 the beeswax market of to-day. Countless thousands 

 of sheets of wax-foundation are manufactured 

 yearly in America. When foundation was first 

 used it was thought that it might be adulterated 

 safely with paraffine, but it was soon found that 

 beeswax thus adulterated, when subjected to the 

 heat of the hive in summer, would invariably bulge, 

 buckle and sag. We know an apiarist who lost 

 money, honey, bees and temper through trying to use 

 this kind of foundation, which did not stand firm. 

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