1894. 



THE . I MERH . I \ BEE- KEEPER. 



TELLING Mil BEES. 



Out of the house where the slumberers lay 

 Grandfather came one summer day, 

 And under the pleasant orchard trees 

 He spoke this wise to the murmuring bees: 

 " The clover-bloom that kissed her feet. 

 And the posie-bed where she used to play, 

 Have honey store, hut none so sweet 

 As ere our little one went away, 

 bees sing soft, and bees sing low, 

 For she is gone who loved you so." 



A wonder fell on the listening bees 

 Under those pleasant orchard trees, 

 And in their toil that summer day 

 Even their murmuring seemed to Bay ; 



" Child. < ) ( hild, the grass is cool, 

 And the posies are waking to hear the song 



Of the bird that swings by the shaded j 1, 



Waiting for one who tarrieth long.'' 



'Twas so they called to the little one then. 



As if to call her back again. 



O gentle hees, 1 have come to say 



That Grandfather fell asleep today, 



And we know by tlie smile on Grandfather^ 



face, 

 He lias found the dear one's biding place* 



So, hees, sing soft, and, hees, sing low. 

 As over the honey tit-Ids you sweep — 

 To the tree- abloom and the flowers ablow 

 Sing of grandfather fast asleep: 

 And ever beneath these orchard trees 

 Find cheer and shelter, gentle bees. — Ex. 



REXDKKI.Ni; COMBS IMo WAX. 



The very best method of all to ren- 

 der clean comb into wax is l>y sun- 

 heat. The sun wax extractor of some 

 shape is an indispensible adjunct of a 

 well-conducted apiary. The only case 

 in which the sun wax-extractor can 

 render no service of any value, is 



when the combs are so old and thick 

 that the wax, when melted in the sun, 

 would be absorbed by the residues. 

 In tin- case we melt the combs with 

 water. In the first place, the combs 

 should be crushed as well as possible 

 while cold and brittle, to break the 

 cocoons or cast-skins of the larvae, 

 which, if left entire, would in many 

 cases encase small particles of wax 

 which it would be impossible to dis- 

 lodge. Then these combs should be 

 soaked in water for a few days to 

 dampen all impurities and prevent 

 them from becoming soaked with melt- 

 ed wax. 



The wax will be lighter if clean 

 water is used when melting, as the 

 water in which the combs are allowed 

 to soak will be quite darkened by the 

 soaking. 



The combs should be melted in soft 

 or rain water, in any kind of tin or 

 copper boiler, the boiler kept two- 

 thirds full, and heated slowly to pre- 

 vent boiling over. If the floor around 

 the stove is kept wet any wax that 

 may drop, may easily be peeled off. 

 During the melting, lower into the 

 boiler a sieve made of a piece of wire- 

 cloth bent into the shape of a dipper, 

 from which you will dip out the wax 

 with a ladle as it strains into it- If 

 the whole is thoroughly stirred and 

 well heated with plenty of water, very 

 little wax will be left. 



The wax that is dipped out can be 

 put into any kind of a vessel, and 

 later on remelted with water and al- 

 lowed to cool slowly to thoroughly 

 purify it. The slower the wax cools, 

 the cleaner it will be, as the impuri- 

 ties settle to the bottom. As a matter 

 of course, cappings and bright combs 



