905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



iisr 



therein, and the pressure possible to apply 

 in a wax-press is comparatively slight. The 

 very fact that a stirring of the mass of hot 

 combs after they have been once pressed 

 yields more wax on again pressing proves 

 that pressing does not squeeze out all the 

 wax. The larger the press and the greater 

 the mass of material in it, the greater the 

 amount of wax retained in the slumgum. 

 The per cent of retained wax under the 

 most careful pressing and persistent "claw- 

 ing" over is large, and wax is too valuable 

 an article to be wasted, In my own case I 

 have always sold all I could produce for 50 

 cents a pound ; and from personal investiga- 

 tion I am satisfied that in all cities and most 

 large towns a good market at that price can 

 be found. It is the regular retail price for 

 the "pure" wax of commerce, and many a 

 manufacturer will gladly pay more than 50 

 cents if he is sure of getting an absolutely 

 pure article. The various substitutes and 

 adulterants will not do the work of the pure 

 article, and several lines of trade find it ab- 

 solutely necessary to have pure beeswax. 

 Beeswax is used by jewelry manufacturers, 

 saddlers, trunk and bag makers, tailors, and 

 in many other trades. It is really surprising 

 how many diff'erent industries use it and 

 how much they use of it. 



It may be impolitic to publish this, for it 

 doubtless will lessen the available domestic 

 supply for the foundation- makers. With a 

 possible increase of 60 to 100 per cent in the 

 revenue from wax it is quite worth while 

 for bee-keepers to exert themselves to pro- 

 duce all possible; and it is further worth 

 their while to use the least wasteful and 

 least laborious method for its extraction. 



You may recall, Mr. Editor, that when 

 you were in Boston last we discussed wax- 

 extractors; and that I suggested some 

 changes which appeared to you rather radi- 

 cal, but still worth considering. Since then 

 your company has developed the press, while 

 I have worked along other Hnes. I have 

 proved the inefficiency and wastefulness of 

 a press, and have discovered that the solu- 

 tion of the problem lies in some of the prin- 

 ciples I mentionod to you before. 



But be the method of extraction what it 

 may, let us urge the more profitable mar- 

 keting of what we do produce. 



Providence, R. I., Oct. 14. 



[We have a method which we believe to 

 be quite infallible for detecting the presence 

 of wax that may be left in slumgum. Al- 

 though we may be mistaken, we believe 

 that, when the directions are carefully fol- 

 lowed, all the wax available by any process 

 can be secured by the press. Wax, if pres- 

 ent in slumgum, can be detected in the fol- 

 lowing very simple manner: After the ref- 

 use has been treated, and is supposed to be 

 clean, take a small handful of it and squeeze 

 it while hot as it can be borne. If there is 

 the least particle of wax left in the portion 

 so pressed, it will show in the fine groov- 

 ing of the skin of the palm and between the 

 fingers. —Ed.] 



NOISE AND OTHER DISTURBANCES. 



The Studying of Bees and Other Insects for the 

 Mere Love of Them. 



BY EDWARD F. BIGELOW, 



Mr. Root:-Your Dr. C. C. Miller blew a 

 "Straw" in just a little the wrong breeze 

 when he states that I made "a strong plea 

 for tanging," and shows that he is looking 

 at the matter from a little different point of 

 view than what I had in mind when he in- 

 quires "whether he really thinks tanging 

 advisable." 



It seems to me that the utilitarian phases 

 —the what to do and how to do it — of the 

 honey-bees have had and are still having full 

 justice done to them. From the practical 

 standpoint of modern bee-keeping I neither 

 advise nor do not advise calling in all the 

 neighbors and enlisting their muscles in dent- 

 ing a fair share of the tin pans in the house. 

 The methods of artificial or of natural 

 swarming are another matter. 



I am inquiring into the natural history— f/ie 

 mental make-iip of the honey-bee. What I 

 want to know is what basis in fact is there 

 for the ludicrous antics and pandemonium of 

 our fathers and grandfathers— and their en- 

 tire families — at the time of a "runaway " 

 swarm. The question as I view it is, wheth- 

 er that custom was founded on the nature 

 of the honey-bee or on some unknown and 

 forgotten edict originally given to proclaim 

 ownership of the swarm. The funny papers, 

 the newspapers, and certain writers in books 

 practically claim that this ancient custom 

 made fools of our ancestors, and proclaims 

 as such any family who continues the custom " 

 at the present time. I claim that the cus- 

 tom arose and was continued in actual rela- 

 tion to the honey-bee. That is all. Please 

 strip your mind for a minute of the utilita- 

 rian phases and consider this matter of pure 

 science, if I may so call it. Since the arti- 

 cle was published, a bee-keeper of long ex- 

 perience personally laughed at my idea of 

 "advocating" this ancient and ridiculous 

 custom. I am not advocating any method. 

 I am trying to know the honey-bee as a 

 "Nature Study" topic; sc I do put in a 

 "strong plea," not as to whether you shall 

 leave the mirror on the wall, the pans in the 

 pantry, nor the gun in the corner, but for 

 more in Gleanings than how to do it or how 

 not to do it, various details of honey-ex- 

 tractors, shipping-cases, and prices of hon- 

 ey. Let's know more of the honey-bee. 

 Let's put interest into the subject. Nowa- 

 days we hear and read a great deal about 

 teaching elementary agriculture, not only to 

 raise better crops but to keep better the 

 boys and girls on the farm. Beyond the 

 drudgery and the utilitarian phases, show 

 the interest. Money isn't every thing. I 

 want our bee-keepers to use heads and 

 hearts as well as hands. 



So far as I have seen, my article was the 

 only one that has been published denying 

 that bee-keepers who made pandemonium at 



