570 



more and more. By a jirocess of oxydation 

 the color changes to dark brown, or nearly 

 black, in time. Melting up the combs, this 

 coloring-matter remains in the wax and de- 

 cides its color. In time the color is modified 

 if exposed to air and light. During renewed 

 meltings the oxvdized coloring-matter sep- 

 arates m Hakes," and settles. Xewly made 

 waxes often vary in color; but old wax is usu- 

 ally more uniform. Even though general- 

 ly the color of the pollen balsam is of a yel- 

 low, we find such of greenish yellow and the 

 different shades of red, even to bluish red; 

 and wax jjroduced during times when pollen 

 of such colors is carried into the hives plen- 

 tifully may at first show these colors blend- 

 ed with the yellow; but in time by oxyda- 

 tion these colors revert to dark brown, and 

 the wax will be again of the usual yellow. 



The acidity (tannic acid) of the coloring- 

 matter is apt to attack metals, and thus the 

 color of the wax may be affected if metal re- 

 ceptacles are used "in making wax. It is, 

 therefore, advisable to use granite ware ex- 

 clusively. 



In melting large quantities of ])ropolis 

 (fresh) and wax together, the latter becomes 

 darker in color, although in old propolis the 

 oxydation has advanced far enough to make 

 but little difference. Much .of the propolis 

 remains in the wax, and lowers its melting- 

 point. 



Propolis in its fresh state is very soft, ad- 

 hesive, has a strong aromatic odor, and is 

 bitter in taste. In very small quantities we 

 find it in transparent yellowish-brow^ldrol)s. 

 Old propolis is hard, almost black, and the 

 .odor is not prominent till warmed up. 



Propolis has its use in plasters, with soft- 

 ening effect. It is good for closing wounds 

 and applying to boils. Taken internally it 

 is of no value. It has been successfully used 

 to give soai)s a pleasant odor. 



Among the plants or trees said to furnish 

 propolis we hear the poplar and horse-chest- 

 nut named as the i)rincipal ones. The sub- 

 stance, howeN er, found on the buds of these 

 w'hen gathered artificially does not resemble 

 the propolis of the hive. It is colorless and 

 almost without odor. The buds, too, fur- 

 nish balsam at a season of the year when 

 bees do not fiy freely. There can be no 

 question along this line. The melting-point 

 of balsam from poplar {Populus nigra) was 

 found to be 158° F.; that of the horse-chest- 

 nut, 165°, while ]>ropolis melts at 150°. 



If the bees gathered balsam of our i)ines 

 and fir-trees or spruce, we could detect it 

 easily by taste and odor. The balsam of 

 the hive is much more fiuid than any of 

 the balsams found as mentioned. The bees 

 could not carry it in their pollen-baskets. 

 It would run out. 



To test whether or not bees would attempt 

 to carry balsam to their hives, I offered 

 them numerous different balsams of the 

 consistency of propolis, but with only nega- 

 tive results, although the bees were at first 

 attracted by the odor. Hives which were re- 

 ally in need of the propolis used wax and 

 refuse instead. 



Gleanings in Bee Culture 



From frost-cracks of tree-trunks some- 

 times oozes a sweet substance and also a 

 balsam. All sorts of insects collect around 

 such places, bees included, but they do not 

 touch the balsam. 



The evidence that bees collect their sup- 

 ply of propolis as a finished product is en- 

 tirely lacking. 



The explanation of Mr. Kuestenmacher as 

 to the originof propolis looks quite plausible 

 to me. I would otfer the following as a sup- 

 plement: Dr. K. speaks about melting pro- 

 polis and wax together. Of course, we can 

 heat up these two substances in one recep- 

 tacle, but they do not form a union. If we 

 melt a kettleful of scrajjings after cleaning 

 hives, frames, sections, etc. (and many of us 

 might save a lot of such in the course of a 

 year) , the wax will separate; and, being of 

 less s])ecific gravity, it will rise to the sur- 

 face. The larger portion may then be pour- 

 ed off and dipjjed off. Even if melted up 

 in an old iron kettle the color of the wax 

 will be better (nice bright yellow) than any 

 wax resulting from any machine that I have 

 ever operated, including the Boardman so- 

 lar, which goes to show that the coloring- 

 mattf r of the i)ropolis does not unduly in- 

 fluence the wax, as Dr. Kuestenmacher as- 

 serts; but, of course, my propolis-scrapings 

 from cleaning wide frames and sections of 

 comb honey may be considered old. 



The specific gravity of propolis is greater 

 than that of water, and it therefore drops 

 down to the bottom of the (Ush if put into 

 the water-bath. Wax is lighter, and rises to 

 the top of the water. If we melt the scrap- 

 ings in sufilcient water a separation of wax 

 and propolis takes place which is rather con- 

 venient; but the work is not done thorough- 

 ly — at least not so far as I have tested. Par- 

 ticles of wax may be seen sticking to the 

 propolis. 



Dr. Kuestenmacher says the drops of bal- 

 sam, as they separate from the pollen, rise 

 to the surface in the stomach of the bee. If 

 the specific gravity of the propolis as I find 

 it on my bench and on the floor is the same 

 as that of the fresh product, the contents 

 of the stomach being largely water, it would 

 seem that the propolis would drop to the 

 bottom of the stomach rather than rise to 

 the top. I liave no doubt that the perhaps 

 oily substance will separate from the watery 

 substance, when the bee might get hold of 

 it and spit it out. 



Naples, N. Y. 



Short Crop in St. Lawrence Co., N. Y. 



The honey harvest of St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., this 

 year, is one ol the poorest crops. I^ast year there 

 were about seven carloads of comb honey of 30,000 

 to 40,000 lbs. each that were sent out of the county. 

 This year I do not know of enough to make one 

 carload. A few have one-third of a crop, but the 

 average is about the same as our own, which is as 

 follows: 1910, 260 colonies, very nearly 24,000 lbs. of 

 comb honey; 1911, ;^00 colonies, not quite 2000 lbs. of 

 comb honey. \Ve think the cause was the intense 

 lieat in May, followed by drouth to quite an extent, 

 and cool weather. Then the heat of the first days 

 of July "burned" the basswood. Then, too, the 

 honey is not what it should be in appearance, 

 probably becaviseof the time required in making it. 



Depeyster. N. Y., Aug. 14. R. Thompson. 



