Vol. XIV. 



MARCH 1, 1880. 



No. 



TERMS: «1.00Prr VVNUM, IV Advancb;! l?,,-/ ^ 7, 7," r. 7. ^ x7 Vti 1 Q 'y 9 f Clubs to different postofflces, NOT LKFs 

 3CopiesCor8l.90;3for$2.75;Bfor«4.00, I lliblLiULLblltiv III' lO / cj . | than 90 cts. each. Sent postpaid, in the 



10 or m jre, 75 cts. each. Single Number 

 •T cts. Ailitions to clubs may be made f 

 at club rates. Above are all to be sent , 

 TO ONE POSTOFFICE. J 



I'UBLISUED SKMI-MONTIILY UY 



U. S. and Conarias. To all other coun- 

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 To all countries not ot 



A. I. ROOT, MEDINA, OHIO. I fh^^^P. U.'.^o plryia'eTt/a" 



OUR OWN APIAEY. 



EXPEIU.MENTS WITH THE SOI.Alf \V AXEXTIi ACTOIf 

 IN THE MONTH OF FEBIUTAHV. 



«BOUT the l:.'th day of February was beautiful 

 balmy weather, during- whieh time the out- 

 side temperature raiTgcd about 50 . While 

 strolling- among- the hives, listening- to the 

 happy hum of a few bees in the air, the 

 thought came all once to me, Why not, with an out 

 door teniperatui-e of .50% make a test of the solar 

 wax-extractor J. A. (ireen has just sent'-* In re- 

 sponse to the request made in (iEEANiN(is, he con- 

 structed this as he would have it, and forwarded the 

 same to us. A moment later I could be seen tug- 

 ging- at a big- brown box, wondering- what could be 

 done with it in a February sun. I soon had it in po- 

 sition—both the retleetor and the tray itself, so as to 

 g-ive the best effect. I then placed, inside the ex- 

 tractor, a 1.5-cent thermometer in one corner, and 

 some old scraps of comb. With bated breath I anx- 

 iously awaited the results. Inside the extractor, 

 almost ipamediately, but slowly, the mercury began 

 to rise very perceptibly ; soon the thermometer in- 

 dicated 100°. Scarcely imag-ining- that it would g-o 

 higher, I went away; and when I returned, short- 

 ly after, the temperature indicated was 155 '. 



"Whewl" thought I; "it can never get higher 

 than that, this weather." 



It is laid down in the text-books, that wax uiel s 

 at about U5''. Sure enough, the wax in the ex- 

 tractor was now melting at a fair rate. Again I 

 left; and when I came back, the tube of the ther- 

 mometer was " clear up lull." so that the mercury 

 could rise no higher. 'J.'ho temperature thus indi 



'>A <-Ht and description will npp^nr i" next OLEAsiN'o.s, 



cated \Vas \TA°. It did not take me long to procure 

 the best thermometer we had; but by the time 1 

 had put it in jilace of (he cheaper one, the sky be- 

 gan to grow a little hazy, so that 1 could not deter- 

 mine what the results would have been. 



While the temperature was up to ITO", as before 

 stated. 1 lemarked to fatlier, who was otherwise 

 occupied in his prepared garden soil, "The comb 

 doesn't melt any more." 



" Oh, yes," said he, on coming- up, "it is all melt- 

 ed." 



I took out a piece of comb (whewl it's hot!), and. 

 sure enough, below the perforated metal were as 

 beautiful yellow wax pellets as one ever saw; and 

 all that remained of the comb now was the cocoons. 

 In appearance, the comb Avas as perfect as before, 

 though the wax was all, or nearly all, melted off. 

 Of combs that were not more than a year old. 

 scarcely any thing remained. For this reason, one 

 is liable to be deceived and think that his solar 

 wax-extraetor is not working. If the combs were 

 mashed u)) into balls, different results would doubt- 

 less be obtained, though I did not tiy it. 



Surely, if the sun extractor will give tolerably 

 fair results in this climate, no one will argue that 

 they are not adapt d to the colder climates in sum- 

 mer. 



EKIE.M) IIUEEN'S EXTltACTOl! WITH OUK MODIFI- 

 CATIONS. 



Our I'oi-eman of the lumber dei)artment con- 

 structed another like the one sent us, with a few 

 slight changes. The modification consisted in us- 

 ing a single sheet of glass, instead of two, as in the 

 one friend Green made; furthermore, in place of a 

 looking-glass for a reflector, a sheet of bright tin 

 was substituted, and the box was painted black so 

 tis to absorb as much lifi'ht its possible, and, in con- 



