JUNE 1, 1916 



447 



AN EFFICIENT SOLAR EXTRACTOR 



BY C. D. CHENEY 



It is a known scientific fact that a bright 

 polished surface ladiates much less heat 

 than a dark dull surface. Tin and galvan- 

 ized iron are materials mostly used for lin- 

 ing the solar extractor, which, in view of 

 the fact just mentioned, are not well suited 

 to the purpose. Therefore, applying the 

 principle, make the lining of " black iron," 

 also known as stovepipe iron. T believe 

 there need be no fear of the iron affecting 

 the wax, nor of any rusting inside. It 

 would be advisable to paint the outside to 

 prevent any rusting there. Put in some sort 

 of insulation (the more the better) between 

 the lining and the ease. I would say, pref- 

 erably several layers of old woolen carpet 

 or horse-blanket, neatly fitted and securely 

 tacked in place before tlie lining is set in. 

 the lining should fit snugly against the in- 

 sulation all around. 



An apparatus of this kind deserves as 

 much care in construction as any capping- 

 melter or honey-tank, if compensating re- 

 ."ults are desired. It will be readily under- 

 stood that the purpose of the black iron and 

 insulating material is to get as much ab- 

 sorption of heat as possible during sun- 

 shine, the same to be conserved and utilized 

 to the limit. 



Then, departing quite radically from 

 present practice, place the extractor the 

 long way from east to west (assuming it is 

 made longer than wide), with the bottom 

 pitched toward (he south; and have the low- 

 er (or front) angle of the lining slanted 

 from the ends toward the center, where the 

 outflow should be, at the lowest point, so 

 that the wax can get away from the residue 

 by the shortest route, and find a gutter free 

 from obstruction to the outflow. 



Then, again, make the case something like 

 a hotbed frame, shallow at the front and 

 deeper at the back (noi'th) side, say 3 



inches at the front and 6 at the back. This 

 may seem rather shallow ; but it should be 

 remembered that the combs are melted by 

 the direct rays of the sun, so that piling 

 combs one on another causes a joositive loss 

 in efficiency, at the same time causing the 

 melted wax to flow down over unmelted 

 combs where it may be held indefinitely 

 instead of flowing promptly to the outflow. 

 The main reason for this shallowness is 

 to bring the glass as near to the combs as 

 practicable, and, no less important, to elim- 

 inate useless air-space, so as to utilize the 

 solar rays with the least loss and to the best 

 advantage. 



If gTeater capacity is required it would 

 be better to increase the suj^erficial area 

 rather than to increase the depth at the loss 

 of efficiency. 



It may be necessary to make a sash spe- 

 cially to suit the sidewise pitch ; but aside 

 fi'omthis no additional cash expense is in- 

 volved. No crevices or openings should be 

 allowed — in fact, a solar should be as near- 

 ly air-tight as possible, not considering the 

 outflow. The sketch will make the descrip- 

 tion more plain. 



Hoboken, N. J. 



THE CHANGES WHICH OCCUR IN THE EGG 



BY DR. JAS. A. NELSON 



[A book has been recently published by Dr. James A. NeUson, of the Bureau of Entomology, entitled 

 " The Embryology of the Honeybee." We gave an editorial notice of the book on pase 96(i of our Dc emi er 

 15th issue, and the same is now advertised in our columns. It is evident that beekeepers have supposed this 

 work to be too technical to be of any practical use. As a matter of fact, it can be and shovild l;e of immense 

 help to them. In order that the reader might have some idea of what it is, we have asked Dr. Nelson, the 

 author, to tell lis very briefly some of the things that are in the book, especially those relating to the changes 

 that occur in the egg. This is the time of year when beekeepers can take a look into the hive and see some 

 of the things that Dr. Nelson describes. — Ed.1 



The editor has suggested that I write for 

 the readers of Gleanings a brief summary 

 of the results embodied in my book " The 

 Embi-yology of the Honeybee." This is a 

 difficult task, since changes which take place 



in the egg are so wonderfully intiicate 

 that they cannot all b? successfully con- 

 densed into a summary which would not 

 seem dry and technical. Instead I have 

 endeavored to sketch certain phases of the 



