CHAPTER XVI 



BEESWAX ITS USES HOW TO RENDER IT 



FN running an apiary, especially one main- 

 -*- tained for extracted honey, large quan- 

 tities of beeswax from cappings, old combs, 

 and brace combs, will accumulate, and as 

 beeswax is always in demand and sells at a 

 good price, its proper care and rendering be- 

 comes an important item. For many cen- 

 turies, beeswax has been a much-needed 

 commodity in almost every branch of work. 

 Before the ingenuity of man made parchment 

 as a medium for writing, tablets covered with 

 beeswax were almost entirely used, and fulfilled 

 a useful purpose. Owing to the fact that bees- 

 wax will not rot, it was used by many nations 

 to embalm their dead, and mummies that 

 have lain for centuries upon examination show 

 the wax used to be in a fine state of preserva- 

 tion. 



