1012 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 1 



RENDERING OF OLD COMBS BY STEAM. 



How to Get the Wax from a Lot of Foul- 

 broody Combs; a Home-made Steam 

 Wax-press. 



BY LESLIE BURR. 



For the rendering of wax, if you have but 

 a few pounds, almost any way will do; but 

 if you have a few thousand pounds it is a 

 different thing. To start with I will tell 

 how the bulk of the combs from about 800 

 foul-broody colonies were handled, and also 

 the bees. 



The yard was gone through, and every 

 comb that did not contain brood was taken 

 away, the honey extracted, and the combs 

 cut out of the frames (no care was taken in 

 working the colonies nor in extracting, as 

 they all had foul brood, and time counted 



A SERVICEABLE HOME-MADE WAX-PRESS. 



more than care). Hives were then made 

 ready, the frames fastened, using starters on 

 only the center frames, as full sheets of 

 foundation would have to be used later. It 

 was useless to use foundation as starters 

 when full sheets would be needed later. 



We then started in and shook bees all 

 day. In the evening the colonies were load- 

 ed on carts, and the next morning taken to 



a new location several miles distant. The 

 brood from the colonies that were shaken 

 was stacked up over colonies that were either 

 queenless or had the queens caged. When 

 this brood hatched, those colonies were 

 shaken and the bees moved to the new loca- 

 tion. 



This way of handling foul brood is not new 

 or original; but the way of cooking the 

 combs and pressing the slumgum was. 



The combs were cooked with live steam in 

 an ordinary barrel. The steam was con- 

 veyed to the barrel through a hose. The 

 pressure averaged from 60 to 80 pounds, and 

 a barrelful of combs could be cooked in less 

 than 15 minutes. 



The wax was then dipped from the barrel, 

 and strained through a wire screen, which 

 was nailed on to the bottom of a super, into 

 large t.ubs, in which it was possible to make 

 cakes weighing from 100 to 150 lbs. 



The slumgum was dumped into a sack, the 

 sack put into a barrel, and the steam-hose 

 thrust into the sack, getting it as hot as 

 possible before putting into the press. The 

 cut will give you an idea as to how the wax 

 was separated from the slumgum. The 

 power was a jug-jack, and the steam-hose 

 was for a persuader. The two combined got 

 every particle of wax. The box or basket 

 which held the slumgum had for the sides 

 and bottom a heavy gravel- screen. The 

 plunger on which the jack rested was made 

 of several pieces of boards with the grain 

 crossed. The machine was set on a platform 

 about 22 feet high. An apron was fixed to 

 catch the wax and run it into a tub. 



As to the value of the press, it was found 

 that, on an average, 40 per cent of the wax 

 from those old combs came from the press. 

 When you do not have steam, the next best 

 way is to make a fire-place out of doors. 

 Have a large can for cooking; and, after 

 straining, run the slumgum through a Ger- 

 man wax-press. 



In cooking old combs, always use plenty of 

 water, and it is also a good thing to have a 

 quart or so of water handy to douse into the 

 boiling wax when it takes a notion to boil 

 over. 



A CHEAP PRESS FOR A SMALL AMOUNT OF 

 WAX. 



For those who have but a small amount of 

 wax each year the simplest way to handle it 

 is to make a strainer and press combined. 

 To do this, take a comb-honey super and 

 fasten a wire screen over the bottom; and 

 to strengthen it, use several pieces of heavy 

 wire. Telegraph wire is about the right 

 size. Now take a piece of plank; cut it to 

 fit inside of the super. With an inch auger 

 bore a hole in the center of it, and into this 

 hole fasten a pole two or three feet long. 



You are now ready for business. Put your 

 strainer over a tub. When you have accu- 

 mulated two or three quarts of slumgum in 

 the strainer make use of the plunger. To 

 get out the last of the wax you will have to 

 stand on the plunger with both feet. Take 

 hold of the pole, and rack it back and forth. 



