1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



517 



it was with everything I planted, when the weather was favor- 

 able for the things I planted, it was also favorable for the wild 

 or native plants and flowers ; so I finally decided that with me 

 at least it did not, would not, pay to plant anything for honey. 



I haven't had a comb to melt down in 10 years. This, no 

 doubt, was partly due to having old combs mostly, and partly 

 to the good ventilation and shade. I used shade-boards for 

 such hives as were in the sunshine and needed them. 



I had a great many inquiries and calls for queens, but had 



so much other work I only reared queens for my own use — 



not always all I needed, as I bought quite a good many from 



different breeders. Bell County, Tex. 



(To be continued.) 



^ 



Rendering Beeswax — Wax-Extractors. 



BY C. G. FERRIS. 



This is usually accompanied with many disagreeable fea- 

 tures, and there are many different ways of doing the job. 

 One way is to take a large wash-boiler or kettle and put in a 

 quantity of water, and, when boiling, the combs designed for 

 rendering are put in, the sediment going to the bottom of the 

 boiler and burning, many times melting the bottom off and the 

 contents running over the stove, accompanied by great danger 

 of burning the building. 



Another very harmless and mild way, that is recommended 

 by some bee-keepers that never have many old combs, or much 

 wax to make, is the solar system. By concentrating the sun's 

 rays with the force necessary to take photographs through a 

 two-inch plank — or as strong as the Cathode rays — it may be 



T?ie Feiris Wax-Extnictor. 



possible to melt old combs, but the pollen and cocoons will ab- 

 sorb most of the wax. 



Steam is the only practical agent that will do the work, 

 as it condenses more or less and penetrates every portion of 

 the cell structure, replacing the wax by water. The Ferris' 

 wax-extractor, as shown herewith, is so constructed that there 

 is DO danger of burning the wax or refuse, as the direct heat 

 from the stove comes in contact with the water, and as long 

 ' as the water supply is kept up, there is no danger in any form. 

 These extractors are made with one, two and three baskets, 

 and the baskets are to be filled by putting five or six Lang- 

 stroth frames of comb, or any similar size frame, into them 

 without any cutting out, and no loss of wax by bits adhering 

 to the frames. Those whose bees have foul brood, and wish 

 to preserve their frames, will find this method effective, as the 

 steam will kill the germs, and the frames can be preserved. 



In using, as soon as one nest of combs is melted out, 

 another should be put in, pressing down firmly as long as the 

 top can be put on. When the refuse accumulates to such an 

 extent as to hinder In putting on the top, shovel with a ladle 

 from one basket to another until one is quite empty, which 

 continue to fill as before. The basket of^ refuse' should be 



stirred up occasionally so that the steam can get in its work 

 to get the best results. 



Old combs containing candied honey can be rendered, and 

 the honey all saved and fed back to the bees, or otherwise dis- 

 posed of, as the honey and wax run out together and separate 

 in cooling. Honey from cappings also can all be saved, and 

 in this way save many times the cost of the extractor. 



I claim for this extractor that it will practically get all 

 the wax from old combs, and that, as the wax does not come 

 in direct contact with the dry heat, the wax is of a superior 

 quality ; that there is no remelting of the wax to make ii 

 salable ; that it will, in the saving of wax and honey, prove 

 itself invaluable to bee-keepers; also, with the new improved 

 arrangement, the steam and bad odors are drawn off in the 

 stove and up the chimney, making it so that the heretofore 

 disagreeable task of making wax can be done in the parlor 

 without any muss or unpleasantness. 



Cortland Co., IV. ¥., Bce.Keepers' Convention. 



The regular spring meeting of the Cortland County Bee- 

 Keepers' Association was held at the home of Miles Morton, 

 in Groton. Early in the day the beautiful home of our host be- 

 gan to fill with the families of the bee-keepers from far and 

 near, while the bee-keepers themselves were to be found in 

 the workshop, honey-house and apiary, all eagerly examining 

 and praising the products of Mr. Morton's skill. Soon came 

 the welcome call to dinner, which proved the old saying, " All 

 the bee-keepers' wives are good cooks." That the dinner was 

 a merry one goes without saying, for were not some of the 

 best story-tellers in the Association located near the center of 

 the long table ? 



After the last story and the last sigh of contentment over 

 the departed dinner, the formal meeting was called to order 

 by the President, M. R. Wood. One of the regular features is 

 an address by the President. In the course of his remarks, 

 he said that one of the things which was astonishing even to 

 the old bee-keepers, is the sight of Mr. Morton opening hive 

 after hive without the use of a veil, while a dense circle of 

 spectators stood about, and no one was stung. It seemed as 

 if the bees must know of his love for them, and repay it in 

 kind. He closed by quoting the words of Mr. W. L. Cogg- 

 shall, who said, " I am glad to come to the Assoctation ; I can 

 make more gleaning from others here than I can working with 

 my bees." 



The question-box proved to contain several questions of 

 interest. 



HOW TO TRANSFER BEES. 



Mr. Coggshall preferred to cut out the combs during apple 

 bloom. If he could not do it then, he would use the Heddon 

 method. 



Another method named was to drum the bees into an 

 empty hive, then place the brood above with a queen-excluder 

 between, taking it off after the worker-brood had all hatched. 



DIFFERENCE AND AVKRAGE OF COLONIES. 



" Why will one colony do better than another equally 

 strong ?" 



It was thought to be on account of their getting a " run " 



