For the American Bee Journal. 



Wax Extractor. 



Mb. Editor :—" Please explain in the 

 next number of the Journal how to get 

 dirt and trash out of wax ? I have a great 

 deal of trouble with my wax, and would 

 like to know how to prepare it without dirt 

 or trash." A Subscriber. 



Sumter Co., Ala., Aug. 9, 1878. 



[First get a Wax Extractor. With it the 

 pieces of comb can readily be made into 

 nice cakes of wax. The boiler should con- 

 tain boiling water, and the pieces of comb 

 be placed into the comb holder and put 

 over the boiler where the steam, coming up 

 through the holes made for that purpose, 

 converts the contents of the comb holder 

 into the brightest of yellow wax. A vessel 

 should be placed under the spout, to catch 



WAX extractor. 



the wax as it runs out. This should have a 

 piece of fine wire-cloth over it to strain out 

 all remaining impurities. When it is de- 

 sired to pour the wax off into pans to cool — 

 the top of it should only be poured off, let- 

 ting the "dregs" remain; Cover the pan 

 where it is poured off to cool, so as to keep 

 it from cooling too rapidly on the top, and 

 thus prevent its cracking. Should the wax 

 be burned, in the least, it is ruined. If any 

 impurities have settled at the bottom of the 

 pan, it should be cut off from the the cakes 

 of wax before shipping, as such would 

 detract from its value much more than the 

 weight of the impurities cut off would 

 amount to. The Wax Extractor will cost, 

 with copper-bottomed boiler, only $5.— Ed.] 



For Itie American Bee Journal. 



Visit to Oatman's. 



Taking advantage of a very cool day in 

 June, I drove across the country to Dundee. 

 I had had considerable dealings with the 

 Oatmans, and always found them very 

 pleasant men to deal with, so I was not sur- 

 prised to find them pleasant and intelligent 

 bee-keepers. They had nearly 200 colonies 

 of bees which they keep right in the village, 



every thing being kept neat and tidy about 

 the hives, and 1 think 1 never saw any bees 

 that equaled theirs for good nature. Al- 

 though the day was so cold that 1 wore an 

 overcoat all day, the bees showed no ill 

 nature even when frames were lifted out 

 and the queen shown without the use of 

 smoke. Although they sell bees and queens, 

 they seem to attach more importance to the 

 honey crop. Their hive, the "Modest," I 

 do not think I should like so well as the 

 regular Langstroth, the frames being deeper, 

 but they have a few colonies in hives that 

 ought to satisfy the most ultra on the shal- 

 low hive question, the frames being only 5 

 inches deep. They say they work nicely 

 for box honey, only that the bees persist in 

 swarming too much. I was quite interested 

 in seeing their plan for using comb starters 

 in boxes, the essential part of which, al- 

 though very simple, was quite new to me. 

 Mr. Oatman showed me the operation by 

 placing the honey box upside-down, then 

 cutting the piece of comb about an eighth of 

 an inch longer than the depth of the box, 

 then running one edge of the comb through 

 the lower part of the blaze of a lighted can- 

 dle until partly melted. He put this melted 

 edge on the place where he wanted it to 

 stay on the bottom of the box (which, when 

 righted would be the top), and crowded the 

 other edge into place. It is very quickly 

 and easily done. B. Lunderer. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Visit to T. S. Bull's Apiary. 



The location is pleasant, being one of the 

 highest and most productive in northern 

 Indiana, some 12 miles from Lake Michigan. 



The country abounds in honey-producing 

 plants, among the most important of which 

 are white clover, basswood, buckwheat, 

 golden rod, and the usual variety of fruit 

 blossoms. 



This apiary is situated on a gentle incline 

 towards the south, protected on the north 

 by a high, tight fence. 



The hives are arranged in rows, about 10 

 feet apart, and 3 feet apart in the rows. 



Mr. Bull manufacturers his own hives on 

 liis own plan. They are furnished with 

 movable frames and also with boxes for 

 comb honey. 



In connection with his apiary, Mr. Bull 

 has a work-shop put up especially for the 

 manufacture of hives, and for other work 

 connected with the apiary. Under this 

 shop he has a cellar for storing his bees in 

 winter. The cellar is neatly-finished with 

 dressed lumber, and furnished with a ther- 

 mometer, and also with a stove for heating 

 when necessary. This apartment is well 

 ventilated above the hives. Mr. B. thinks 

 thorough ventilation and the absence of 

 moisture are the most important requisites 

 to successful wintering. 



He appears to be a natural bee-keeper, 

 having taken great delight when but a boy 

 at home in watching the operations of bees, 

 and working among them in a fearless man- 

 ner ; since which time he has given more or 

 less attention to the apiary, until 1871, when 

 he gave it his whole time and study, thus 

 bringing his apiary to a state of perfection 



