THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



137 



coloring matter of the precipitate extracted by 

 means of boiling alcohol, which became colored 

 intensely yellow, with a slight tiugo of green. 

 The alcohol was then evaporated in a water 

 bath, and the moist powder which remained as 

 a residuum dried on tissue paper. After desic- 

 cation it formed a greenish yellow, amorphous, 

 inodorous, and nearly tasteless powder, readily 

 soluble in ether, alcohol, and aqueous alkalies, 

 having a brilliant yellow color, with a faint 

 greenish tinge. 



This greenish tinge is derived from another 

 substance accompanying the coloring matter, 

 the resin, namely, already referred to, (Cerin- 

 thin,) which adheres obstinately to the yellow 

 coloring matter. Only a very small quantity 

 of this powder (which I will call Erithalin) is 

 obtained chiefly because the greater portion of 

 the coloring matter was extracted by the ether 

 with which it was treated. 



The Erithaliu is contained entirely pure in 

 the red wax obtained by the above-described 

 process. One grain of this wax suffices to color 

 live ounces of alcohol a splendid yellow, so 

 intense is its coloring quality. 



Hence, according to my investigations, bee- 

 bread consists of the following substances ; 



Of the enumerated fifteen substances only 

 three — al-bumen, hyppui ic acid, and pollenin — 

 are nitrogenous. The rest consist of carbon, 

 hydrogen, and oxygen. 



The most important nutritious substances are, 

 unquestionably, albumen, (7 per cent.,) pectin, 

 grapesugar, and the fats, (5 per cent.) Pos- 

 sibly, also, the hyppuric acid. The other sub- 

 stances play a subordinate part as nutriment; 

 and some, such as cellulose, are of no account 

 whatever, being discharged undigested by the 

 bees. 



The Anthosmin and Erithaliu (perhaps the 

 Cerinthin likewise) are exhalations from the 

 body of the bee, and seem to penetrate the 

 entire mass of the combs and the whole interior 

 of the hive; the Anthosmin communicating its 

 peculiar odor to the wax, and the Erithaliu im- 

 parting thereto its yellow color, frequently 

 coloring also the frames and the internal sur- 

 face of the hive. Both substances are readily 

 procured from yellow wax. 



It certainly appears strange that beings whose 

 form differs so widely from that of man as that 

 of insects does, should nevertheless make a 

 much nearer approach to his intellectual supe- 

 riority than any of the vertebrate animals. 

 Not one of the latter, in fact, can be compared, 

 in this respect, with the bee or the ant. 



For the American Bee Joiircal. 



Making Bees-wax— A Simple Process. 



I have just been renovating a quantity of 

 bees-wax. There were dirt, cocoon linincs, 

 and other impurities in it, so that it was unsal- 

 able, unless at a very low price. I will sivo 

 your readers the plan, as it may be of service 

 to some of them. 



I would say here that in making Avax no 

 more vessels should be used than areabsolutely 

 necessarjr, as it is considerable trouble to clcaii 

 them. Besides, the simplest way is the best. 

 Now for the process. 



VESSELS USED. 



I use only one vessel for melting the wax, 

 and one for moulding purposes. These are 

 enough, unless the cakes are made small. For 

 melting large quantities of comb a tin boiler is 

 just the thing, but for wax a milk pan will 

 answer every purpose. 



THE PROCESS. 



Tj keep the wax from burning, put a small 

 quantity of water into the pan^ and then fill 

 it with wax. Place the pan directly over the 

 fire, with the griddle removed. As soon as 

 melted, take the pan off, so that the sediment 

 will pass to the bottom. It will settle in a few 

 minutes, and the wax will be quite free from 

 any impurities. Noav dip off the wax with a 

 large spoon into the moulding-dish, being care- 

 ful not to dip into the settlings. No strainer 

 will be needed if care be used in this respect. 

 When most of the wax is taken off, fill the pan 

 again, and proceed as before. When through, 

 pour into the pan a quart or so of boiling water, 

 and set it away to cool. The wax remaining 

 will form on the top, and when cold can be 

 taken off, and the sediment adhering to the 

 lower surface cut away. Now throw the 

 settlings away, and melt the wax again, if there 

 be enough to pay the trouble. Water should 

 be used, so that the sediment remaining may 

 be out of the way of the last dipping. "Mould 

 this wax into a separate dish; but before doing 

 so, put a small quantity of Jtot water into the 

 dish. When cold, scrape the bottom of the 

 wax. This finishes the purification of the wax, 

 and renders it marketable. The wax from 

 comb is secured in the same way. There are 

 other methods, but 1 jjrefcr tliis, as it is simple, 

 practicable, and easily understood. 



The vessels for moulding should be greased 

 with lard, or dipped into cold water to prevent 

 the wax sticking to them. 



TO CLEAN THE VESSELS 



Dip them into boilinrj Avater, and then quickly 

 rub them with paper. This repeated two or 

 three times will clean them thoroughly. 



31. M. Baldridge. 

 St. Charles, Kake Co., Ills. 



It seems impossible to conceive how any 

 naturalist who takes nature for his guide, could 

 think of placing the headless and almost inani- 

 mate oyster higher in the scale of creation than 

 the bee and the ant, because the former happens 

 to have a heart, while the latter have none. 



