130 HOW TO KEEP BEES 



this acts as a press and decreases the bulk in the 

 bag, leaving the wax floating on the surface. 



THE SOLAR WAX-EXTRACTOR 



There are many modern and up-to-date methods 

 advised for extracting wax. The most common is 

 through the use of the Solar wax-extractor, which 

 was invented for extracting honey in California, 

 where the sun can be depended upon to do its work 

 unflinchingly day after day. There was more than 

 myth in the story of Icarus who fastened his wings 

 on with wax, and then dared to face the sun. The 

 ancients evidently knew that no other substance of 

 the sort is so susceptible to the sun's rays. I 

 shall never forget my amazement at the efficiency of 

 the first Solar extractor that I ever saw; it was home- 

 made and there was naught in its appearance to 

 indicate its power. The comb was hard and black- 

 ened and full of dirt, while the wax that oozed out 

 and hardened below was as shining and yellow as if 

 the sun itself had exhaled it. A Solar extractor 

 ought to be in every apiary where twenty colonies or 

 more are kept, and into this every fragment of comb 

 should be put instead of storing it to become in- 

 fested by the bee moth, or leaving it around to 

 incite the bees to robbing. The fragments thus are 

 saved and without any expense or trouble are made 

 into a beautiful product for the market. 



There are several of these Solar extractors made 

 and sold by dealers. The Doolittle, the Rauchfuss 

 and the Boardman are the three commonly used. 



