1894 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



323 



any good-si/od tub or the half of a korosene- 

 barrol, if well cleansed, will Hnswer. The wa- 

 ter should be soft, and it is (luiie important that 

 common salt be added at the rate of a quart to 

 ten or twelve gallons, and the water should be 

 well heated the evening before^ the dipping is to 

 l)e done, and made somewhat warm again in 

 tlie morning if it entirely cools. 



The next thing to be done is the preparation 

 of the wax for dipping, and this is the most 

 critical part of the whole proc<'Ss. The most 

 natural way to do this is to keep up a hot (ire 

 and l)ring tln^ contents of the boiler to a hard 

 boil in order to hasten the mejiing of the wax; 

 init this is very objectional)le. for it not only 

 makes the room unnecessarily warm, but it 

 brings the wax and water to such a high tem- 

 perature that it takes longer to cool them suffi- 

 ciently for dipping than to prepare the wax 

 with a fire kept luore under control. Following 

 the course I shall now describe will prevent 

 much discomfort, loss of time, and vexation 

 arising from a failure to understand a variety 

 of difficulties wliich the other course produces. 



As early in the morning as may be, put into 

 the boiler at least three or four inches of rain 

 water and as much moVe as maybe necessary 

 to fill it to within three or four inches of the 

 top after all the wax, intended to be melted at 

 first, is put in, and make a good fire of light 

 wood; then, as soon as the water begins to 

 warm, commence to put in the wax. and con- 

 tinue to do so as fast as a convenient place is 

 found for it. keeping up a moderate fire of the 

 same kind of wood. If the wax is in thin 

 cakes, or well broken up, it will be an advan- 

 tage, as it will thus melt quicker with less heat. 



As soon as a good proportion of the wax is 

 melted, a thermometer that will register the 

 boiling-point of water is well nigh indispensa- 

 ble. Now hang the thermometer into the con- 

 tents of the lioiler, and observe the tempera- 

 ture indicated. But he prepared to know cer- 

 tainly whether thehiiibof the thermometer is 

 in the wax or the water. You may be inclined 

 to think th.nt. if you let the thermometer reach 

 170°. it will soon cool sufficiently. You set 

 the boiler off the stove at that point, but you 

 are surprised to find that, instead of cooling, 

 your wax continues to get hotter and hotter. 

 The reason is, the bulb hangs in the wax, and 

 fails to reveal the fact that the water has be- 

 come much hotter than the wax; and after it is 

 removed from the stove it continues to impart 

 its heat to the wax. It is well, therefore, to 

 pay attention to the heat of the water as well 

 as to that of the wax. 



The aim is, to get the wax to 1.").')° F., the 

 right temperature for dipping, and at the same 

 time have it all melted. It is impossible, owing 

 to the varying proportions of water and wax, 

 and to the difference in the amount and size of 

 the pieces of unmelted wax, to give an exact 

 rule for removing the boiler; but in a grneral 



way, where the wax is at al)oul 155°, there be- 

 ing but little unmelted wax left, it will be found 

 nearly right, and at this point it is to be set off 

 on a box of convenient height. If there is oth- 

 er wax to be added, that should, in the mean 

 time, be heating, and also a kettle of water; 

 for it is by the addition of hot wax and boiling 

 water that the temperature of the boiler is to 

 be maintained. A close-fitting board as a cover 

 for the boiler will also assist if put on whenever 

 dipping is intermitted for even a short time. 



The thermometer is to be retained in the wax, 

 and its standing observed from time to time. 

 Some lots of wax will dip at a little higher tem- 

 perature than others; and the higher the tem- 

 pi'rature at which it is dipped, the thinner can 

 the sheets be made. When it is at from 155° to 

 1()0°, and all or nearly all melted, try it with a 

 dipping-board. If the sheet cracks irregularly, 

 either the board is too cold, the wax too warm, 

 or there is a cold draft in the room. Shut out 

 the draft. A little use will warm the board, 

 and the wax. if too warm, will soon cool suffi- 

 ciently. If there is a straight horizontal crack 

 in the sheet there has been a sudden jar or 

 sharp stoppage of the board in its descent into 

 the wax. 



When every thing is ready, remove the boards 

 from the tub to let the water drip off a little; 

 then take each one in turn by the leather head 

 of the screw and let it steadily and rather 

 quickly down into the wax to the upper edge, 

 but not so that the upper edge is covered with 

 wax, and withdraw it at once. Letting it drip 

 a moment, pass it to the other hand, reversing 

 it at the same time, and sink the other edge 

 into the wax an inch, more or less, according to 

 the weight you desire to give the sheets. When 

 the board has dripped a moment, drop it into 

 the water already in the tub. Almost at once 

 the sheets may be removed from the board, 

 when it is ready to be used again. A little cold 

 water should be added from time to time to that 

 already in the tub, to keep down the tempera- 

 ture. 



When every thing is right, the sheets present 

 a smooth even appearance, and break evenly 

 all around from the ribbon of wax on the edge 

 of the board; and with a small boy or girl to 

 l)ass the boaids promptly, the dipper can keep 

 both his hands busy, so that the dipping is done 

 quite rapidly. The hand which dips the boards 

 the second time must be protected by an old 

 glove, to prevent the inconvenience of a blister- 

 ed thumb and finger. 



As soon as it is perceived by the thermometer 

 that the wax is sensibly cooling, some hot wax 

 must be added, or, when that is not to be had, 

 boiling water. A tea-kettle of water may be 

 added atone time, but not so much of the hot 

 yvax. 



Even when a film of wax liegins to form on 

 the surface, dipping may still be carried on if it 

 is kept pushed aside; but more satisfactory 



