THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



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i'lisiblc at 95° F. The myrtle wax, wliicli for 

 many years has been an arlicle of coinmcrce in 

 Uu' I'niti'd Slates, also known as '' eaiuHebcrry 

 \va\"'anil as^'bayberry tallow," occurs as an iu- 

 (•iiistali<»n on the berries of tlic wax myrtle or 

 bayberry. Tlie berries are enclosed in bag's of 

 coarse V-lotli, and kept immersed in boiling 

 water until the wax collects on the surface, 

 which is then cast into moulds and sold without 

 further i)re])aration. It varies in color from 

 grayish yellow to deep green, has a balsamic 

 and slightlv aromatic odor, a specific gravity 

 of 1,004 to "1,006, fuses between 117° and 120° 

 F., antl is much harder and more brittle than 

 bees-wax. It is composed, according to Mr. G. 

 E. Moore, of •one-fifth part of a substance called 

 palmatine, which exists in palm oil, Japanese 

 wax «S:c., and four-fifths of palmitic acid, with 

 a small quantity of lauric acid. This wax 1 

 appears as a candle-making material, to be i 

 worthy of more attention than it has hitlierto : 

 received. Its illuminating power is scarcely j 

 inferior to that of the best" bees-was; it hardly 

 costs one quarter as much, cnn be obtained 

 more free from color, is easily bleached, and 

 from its superior hardness can be cast instead 

 of being moulded by hand like bees-wax. The 

 plant grows abundantly on the poorest soils 

 along the coast of New England. Plantations 

 of it have long existed in Europe, and its cul- 

 tivation has lately been tried in Algeria. The 

 berries of ?w?/n'crt quercifolia. natives of the Cape 

 of Good Hope, growing on dry sandy plains 

 along the- coast, also yield a greenish wax, 

 which can be bleached, and when made into 

 candles gives a very good light. The sugar 

 cane yields a wax called cerosine, which Is sol- 

 uble in boiling alcohol and slightly so In boiling 

 ether. The sorghum also secretes on the sur- 

 face of the native stalks a white resinous pow- 

 tler, from which candles could be made. A 

 wax}' substance called suberine has likewise 

 been obtained from cork. 



Several mineral substances resemble wax in 

 physical pro]ierties, the principal of whw;li are 

 ozocerite and hatcliettlne. Tlxe principal use 

 of the different kinds of wax are : 1, for the 

 manufacture of candles, either from pui-e wax, 

 the consumption of which is especiallj' great in 

 Roman Catliollc countries, or of wax mixed 

 with stearic acid, palm oil, &c., as in compos- 

 ite candles ; to whicli purpose every variety, 

 whether animal, vegetable, or mineral seems to 

 have been applied in different countries; 2, as 

 a vehicle for colors In certain kinds of painting, 

 and as a protecting coating for them ; 3, for 

 giving a polisji to furniture and floors, for ))oth 

 which purposes it Is generally us'hI In France 

 and other parts of southern Europe ; 4, in medi- 

 cine, in which bees-wax is employed as an inter- 

 nal remedy against diarrhoea and dysenter}', as 

 an ingri'dicnt in almost all ointments, cerates 

 and plasters, and also for filling eailous teeth ; 

 o, as a lute or cement of much utility for chem- 

 ical and other purposes, and also as an imper- 

 vious coating for vessels formed of porous mater- 

 ials; G, as a material for modelling; and 7, 

 formerly for seals instead of sealing wax. 



'Send us the names of bee-keepers, with 

 their Post Oftice address. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Mk,. JOmTOK : — In submitting (lie following 

 practical experience in rtpleiilture to you (and 

 iftiionght by you worthy of a place in the 

 .louHNAL, to tlie rcad(!rs thereof,) I wish to be 

 regarded as a mere "novice'' in bee-culture. 

 My sole object is, ^r.?i!, to coinmunicate a few 

 facts learned by ])ractical expcrienc(! during tlie 

 present season ; tKcondli/, totclliiow I learned 

 these facts ; and, thirdlij, to invite ctunnvmts 

 bj' experienced a|)iarians. 



First.— I learned the fact that a good colony 

 of bees can be started and established by the use 

 of a very small piece brood comb with eggs 

 and young larva; in it, two or three .sheets of 

 dry clean conil), and a quart or more of stran- 

 ger \\orker ])ees. And, second, 



That almost, any nufnlx'r of young queens can 

 be reaiHHl, by starting a few such colonies at 

 the proper season of the year ; and that artlti- 

 cial swarming can be successfully managed and 

 carried to any desirable extent by this modi' of 

 management witli reasonable care on the part 

 of the apiarian. 



I learned these fixcts by practical experience 

 as follows : 



On the 17th of April last, on examining one 

 of my old colonies of bees, I found drone brood 

 sealed or capped over ; and I at once went to 

 one of my neighbors, and by his permission 

 and assistance, cut out of one of his Italian col- 

 onies a piece of brood comb about three by four 

 inches square, with eggs and young larva; In it. 

 After taking it home, t divided It into two pie- 

 ces, which I fastened into two sheets of dry 

 comb— one piece of brood comb in each sheet 

 of dry comb. 'J'lnts prepared, I placed them 

 Into two empty hives; and after putting in each 

 hive two other dry sheets of comb, one on each 

 side of the comb in which the brood had been 

 inserted, I filled the remaining spaces in the 

 hives with empty frames. Having then\ thus 

 prepared, 1 removed two of my stronge-^t colo- 

 nies from their stanils to other stands, and 

 placed my empty hives prepared as before sta- 

 ted on the stands from wiiich I had just remo- 

 ved those strong colonies. This was done 

 about two o'clock in the afternoon of a warm 

 day, when mj' bees were flying freely. 



The result was that, after a tew minutes con- 

 fusion, the Incoming bees took possession of the 

 hives on their old stands, and after tlu^ first 

 evening all seemed harmonious and happj'. 



On the 11th day thereafter, being the 28th of 

 April, I opened these young colonies and found 

 in one iwi» and In the other/i9«r new and per- 

 fect queen cells, four of which I removed and 

 useil as a basis for other arti tidal colonies, and 

 also started another colony with brood comb in 

 the same manner as on the 17th. This reared 

 five (lueens, which I used, as before, in start- 

 ing artilieial colonies. 



hi this inaniu'r I have started, and by sup- 

 plying one or two that seemed weak with full 

 brood combs after they had fertile queens, have 

 made several good Italian colonies of bees. I 

 have also secured colonies whicli, without an 

 exception, have nice straight combs. 



If anv reader of this communication knows 



