12 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



January 



laying the eggs so thick was that she needed room 

 and more bees to take care of the brood. 



Hoping that some day I may be able to answer 

 such questions correctly, I am, yours respectfully, 

 Gi:o. Saundeus, Jk. 



QUERIES. 



YELI^OW WAX AND SI,OW COOLING. 



1st. In rendering beeswax, what is 

 responsible for tlie variation of color '? 



3nd. Will (lark brown wax become 

 bright yellow if cooled slowly? 



3rd. Would wax of a bright yellow 

 color ever result if a hurried process of 

 cooling w^re employed ? 



ANSWERS. 



1st. Wax is readily colored by various sub- 

 stances, and it is easy to incorporate into the wax 

 the coloring matter contained in the pollen and 

 dirt, when the mass of comb is so rapidly heated 

 that the wax melts before the pollen is water- 

 soaked. The same process (and boiling) also 

 causes more or less of the propolis to combine with 

 the wax. The receptacle in which it is melted 

 sometimes affects it. Strongly alkaline water is 

 detrimental. I break the combs up line, submerge 

 and allow to soak for a week or more in acidulated 

 water and then heat slowly in clean water. Do 

 not boil it. 



2nd. Not necessarily. 



3rd. Not from a "dark brown." 



Akthih C. Miller. 



1st. Age of comb and impurities, such as dirt, 

 the coloring matter it receives from the vessel 

 stored or rendered in, etc. Where cappings or 

 comb containing more or less honey are allowed 

 to stand or steep for any length of time in a rusty 

 iron vessel, the wax will be a dingy yellow; if in 

 corroding brass, a greenish yellow, etc. 



2ud. t'ooling slowly helps to clarify wax by 

 allowing all .si]ecks of dirt or foreign substances to 

 more thoroughly settle to the bottom or rise to the 

 top. Hut if the dark brown comes from that im- 

 parted by the vessel stored or rendered in, no 

 amount of time in cooling will change it to a bright 

 yellow. 



.3rd. Wax, when it first exudes from the wax- 

 pockets of the bee, is wliite and, unless contanii- 

 nated by some foreign substance, would remain 

 white whether cooled slowly or rajiidly in render- 

 ing. After a time, through coming in contact with 

 the vapors of the hive and the cocoons from the 

 brood reared in the waxen cells, the white wax is 

 changed to a yellow color, the yellow shade becom- 

 ing deeper with age; and the rapid or slow cool- 



ing has nothing to do with this shade, only so far 

 as the latter gives a greater length of time for specks 

 of dirt or rubbish to separate from the wax. By 

 adding a quart of water and a pint of strong vine- 

 gar to every twenty-five pounds of rendered wax, 

 when melting, the dirt will separate from the wax 

 in one-half the time it would otherwi.se. 



G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



1st. The use of iron or rusty tin utensils is 

 liable to darken the color of wax. The keejiing of 

 wax in a melted condition lor some length of time 

 purifies it from foreign substances which may be in 

 it, and because of that often gives the wax a 

 cleaner and brighter appearance ; but I doubt 

 about its causing any appreciable change of color 

 otherwise. 



2nd. No. 



3rd. If wax has been allowed to remain in a 

 melted condition for a long enough time, the slow 

 or hurried process of cooling makes no difference. 



O. O. POPPLETOX. 



1st. More or less coloring matter and other im- 

 purities from the old cjmbs are responsible for the 

 variation in the color of wax. 



2nd. Dark brown wax does not become bright 

 yellow by slow cooling. The impurities are so 

 finely divided and held in suspension that they are 

 not separable without the use of acid; at least I 

 know of no practical way. 



3rd. This question can hardly be answered by 

 a simple yes or no. The larger and heavier the 

 impurities are, the less time will be required for 

 these to settle. In hurrying the cooling process 

 many of the smaller particles would surely remain 

 and thus impair the color. Wax made from new 

 combs hurriedly cooled off would still have a 

 brighter color than that made from old combs 

 slowly cooled. F. Gkeinek. 



1st. In fixing the responsibility, there are many 

 things to be taken into consideration, as indicated 

 by the foregoing answers. Wax appears to become 

 so effectually stained by contact with old cocoons 

 as to make it impossible to render it yellow by 

 other means than a treatment with sulpl:uric acid. 



2nd. Never. 



3rd. If the wax has not been stained to deeper 

 or darker color, it would be as yellow if cooled in 

 one minute as if ten days were consumed in the 

 process. The length of time occupied in cooling, 

 after the wax has been kept in a liquid condition 

 by heat, for a few hours, has nothing to do with 

 imparting a yellow color. Editor. 



The offer of the publishers to give 

 away thirty-five dollars' worth of sup- 

 plies is worth investigating. It's a rare 

 chance. If you miss it you'll miss it. 



