G MEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Jan. 15 



down v/ith rocks, so that all the dross or 

 slumgum will be forced below, and the wire 

 frame covered with two or three inches of 

 the water. You can see the necessity ©f 

 having the frame fit nicely, so that all the 

 dross will be forced below the water. The 

 pan may yet simmer a little (but care must 

 be had or it may burn on the bottom) , and 

 then left to cool, and any remaining wax 

 can be taken off. 



I am fully aware of the value of beeswax. 

 If this work has been properly done, there 

 will be no worry over the loss of wax; you 

 will have the wax, practically all of it. 

 What is thrown out of the pan will be simply 

 dross. 



Now that the wax has been secured I 

 again partly fill the pan with clean water 

 and remelt the wax and dip or strain it so 

 as to make it clean, and free from impuri- 

 ties. 



That the readers of Gleanings may know 

 what can be done in this way, I will say 

 that, in the spring of 1904, I sent to Messrs. 

 Dadant & Son nearly 300 lbs. of fine wax, 

 all of my own raising. This was made in 

 two batches, or boilings— part of it in one 

 day, and finished the next. A great advan- 

 tage of this plan is that all the free wax is 

 disposed of as soon as melted. In the fore- 

 going batch, perhaps 200 lbs. of wax was 

 skimmed off the first day, and then the pan, 

 two-thirds full of waste, was left to cool. 



Lone Tree, Iowa, Nov. 21. 



[This method of rendering wax is used by 

 a number of bee-keepers. For cappmgs, 

 burr-combs, or perhaps even brood combs 

 that are rot so very old, it ought to give 

 excellent results. For large quantities of 

 old black combs, however, we doubt very 

 much whether such treatment would remove 

 all the wax. By all the wax we mean, of 

 course, all that can be profitably removed. 



We have had no experience with the plan 

 here given, but we base our conclusions on 

 the statements of those who have found it 

 profitable tc buy up such refuse and render 

 it in some form of wax-press making use of 

 screw pressure.— Ed.] 



THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BEE AND 

 POULTRY QUESTION. 



BY FRANKLIN G. FOX. 



The Dec. 15th issue of Gleanings arrived 

 a few days ago. It is the finest magazine 

 of its kind that I have ever seen. I have 

 been reading at it during my spare moments, 

 and reflecting on what I read when my hands 

 are busy at other work. One of the articles 

 that has held my attention is the one on 

 bees vs. poultry, by Frank McGlade. While 

 I am deeply interested in bee culture, which 

 I believe I am now making a success, I do 

 not wish to see other occupations misrepre- 

 sented. Of course, we were not all cut out 

 for bee-keepers, poultry-fanciers, farmers, 

 etc. Each of us has our calling; and, while 

 we may be able to make a living at some 



other occupation, our success will not be as 

 great as the work for which we are natural- 

 ly adapted. While Gleanings is not a 

 poultry journal I want to give a few facts 

 on the other side of the poultry question. 



About two years ago an aunt of mine, who 

 had followed professional nursing for some 

 years, accepted a proposition of my father's, 

 and went into the poultry business with my 

 mother as partner. They bought three in- 

 cubators, two double brooders, and had five 

 colony houses built; fit up two rooms in an 

 old house for the brooders, and began busi- 

 ness. Of course, it was all outlay for about 

 eight months, except what was derived from 

 the sale of young cocks. The breed chosen 

 was the renowned Barred Plymouth Rocks. 

 The feed and eggs all had to be bought. A 

 strict account was kept of all expenditure?. 

 Corn was high two years ago. The eggs 

 and cockerels were sold to a commission 

 man. By marketing the cockerels as broil- 

 ers we got from 14 to 15 cents a pound for 

 them. 



About Sept. 1, one year after the hens 

 began laying, an inventory was taken and 

 books balanced. Stock on hand, 300 head of 

 hens, good for another year's work; about 

 300 head of young stock; net profit above 

 all expenses, $300. This does not include 

 the hen manure, which was worth $100. 



There was something woefully wrong with 

 Bro. McGlade's feeding or managing, or 

 those young pullets would (Certainly have 

 shelled out bushels of eggs through the 

 winter. Rock pullets begin to lay at eight 

 months of age, and can be kept up with 

 their good work till July. He says that fat 

 hens will not lay. Well, he should see our 

 flock. They are fed a balanced ration, and 

 have it dished out to them five times a day. 

 You can not get something for nothing, and 

 poultry will not work for nothing and board 

 themselves as some think bees will do. A 

 poor wild chicken can not and will not do 

 good work. Our hens are very tame and 

 happy. They have their every need looked 

 after. Hens will not thrive on neglect. 



A man at no great distance from here 

 keeps about 300 White Leghorn hens. He 

 does a little trucking also, and has made a 

 comfortable living for years. 



The paths of the bee-keeper are not all 

 paved with flowers and sweetened with hon- 

 ey. Misfortune often waylays the apiarist 

 on the road. 



So far I have had had more experience in 

 bee-keeping than profit. I will copy a few 

 figures from my book account: 



1901, inv-sted $ 7.92: received $ 5.89; 



lft02, " 4.91; " 14.78; profit .? 7.84 



1903, " 114.81; " 13.07: loas, 11!. 74 



1904, '5 " 135.86; " 245.25; profit, 109.34 



I might add that, in 1903, my yaid v/as 

 stricken with foul brood. I treated it. then 

 fed up for winter, but went from 32 colonies 

 in the fall to 6 nuclei in the spring. Last 

 winter I went from 32 colonies back to 20. 

 I have learned a great many things by the 

 dear hand of experience. 



The great trouble with most men, and es- 



