212 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



citic gravity indicate adulterations 

 with foreign substances. 



Pure wax, when melted, appears as 

 a clear, slightly yellow liquid, and, if 

 put into hot water, should not dis- 

 solve the same, nor leave any sedi- 

 ment. This is one of the most im- 

 portant tests, and in order to better 

 observe changes of transparency, or 

 a sediment, should be made in a test 

 tube. But it does not follow that the 

 wax is pure, if no discolored water or 

 sediment is noticed ; hence, we have 

 to apply other tests. 



Take a piece of caustic lime and 

 slack it in about four times its bulk 

 of water. After it has well slacked, 

 and been well stirred, it must be 

 filtered tlirough filter paper, using a 

 glass funnel for this purpose. Of tlie 

 now clear lime water obtained, add 

 some to the still molten wax, stirring 

 it well all the time. If now the water 

 becomes whitish or cloudy, or even 

 a sediment is noticed, it indicates 

 adulteration by stearic acid, which 

 combines with the lime, forming an 

 insoluble precipitate of stearate of 

 lime. 



A still more delicate test may be 

 performed by dissolving some of the 

 wax in ten times its weight of chloro- 

 form, and then adding some of the 

 clear lime solution. 



The above are the principal tests. 

 To detect other impurities, which are 

 added to increase the weight and 

 bulk of the wax, but do not combine 

 with it, will not be difficult, and will 

 show themselves by melting the wax. 

 The following substances have been 

 found to be added, to increase the 

 weight : Water, starch, phosphate of 

 lime, sulphate of lime, carbonate of 

 lime, ochre and sawdust. 



To adulterate wax the following in- 

 gredients are used : Stearine, para- 

 lijne. tallow, ceresine (or ozokerit), gali- 

 pot, and vegetable wax. 



To detect water, it is necessary to 

 submit quite a large quantity of 

 the wax to the test of melting, and 

 keeping it at the boiling point, for 

 sometime, to evaporate the water, 

 without burning the wax, of course. 

 Any decrease in weight indicates an 

 admixture of water, the amount of 

 which may be determined by the 

 scales. In the same manner, viz. : by 

 melting, other impurities may be de- 

 tected, as most, or all of them," will be 

 found as a sediment, either in the 

 wax on the side next to the water, or 

 will even sink entirely to the bottom. 



Tallow causes wax to feel fatty or 

 greasy to the touch. One cannot 

 write on such wax with a piece of 

 chalk, while on pure wax it can be 

 done. A little piece of such adulter- 

 ated wax thrown on a red hot stove. 

 or other iron or burning coals, will 

 emit a heavy, very disagreeably- 

 smelling smoke. 



For paraffine, the test is as follows : 

 Take a small piece of the wax, put it 

 into a watch glass, and pour sulphuric 

 acid on. Pure beeswax will be 

 charred, and the paraffine remain 

 without being changed. The same 

 test is applicable with reference to 

 any kitid of mineral wax, as ozokerit 

 or ceresine. 



If pure wax is put into either, about 



half of it will be dissolved, whilst 

 vegetable and mineral wax is entirely 

 soluble in it ; with this difference, 

 that the latter, in part, forms jelly 

 flakes. If wax, on being dissolved iii 

 either, loses more than half, it con- 

 tains either vegetable or mineral wax. 

 I'oungstown, O. 



For the American Bee JournoJ. 



Spring Management of Bees. 



FAYETTE LEE. 



I am located 60 miles west of St. 

 Paul, on the Manitoba railroad. I 

 have been in the bee business six 

 years; the average yield, per colony, 

 spring count, is 92 pounds. Our sur- 

 plus honey is from basswood and 

 golden rod. I do not claim that the 

 way I manage bees is perfect, but by 

 putting our experiences together we 

 can learn sometliing. Wlien I first 

 began keeping bees, I borrowed all 

 the bee papers I could find, besides 

 subscribing for three others. 



I use a two-story hive with a loose 

 bottom-board. I believe they are the 

 best. I use the American hive, nine 

 frames in each story. Early in April, 

 I put the bees on their summer 

 stands, and raised up every hive and 

 cleaned the dead bees from the bot- 

 tom board, and closed the entrances 

 half an inch. The next thing is to 

 know if they have honey. I take off 

 the cover and roll back the quilt ; if 

 they have capped honey in sight, I 

 close the hive and mark it : " honey 

 for ten days." All hives not having 

 honey in sight, I mark. " short of 

 honey." Beginners should not open 

 a hive when bees need feeding,and tear 

 out all of the frames to see the 

 queen, or ascertain if they have 

 brood. The way I handle weak colo- 

 nies is : I only take out one frame of 

 comb, just as close to the brood as 

 possible, and in its place I put a 

 frame of honey from some heavy hive, 

 or till a comb with honey, or syrup 

 made from sugar. 



Careless handling is the cause of weak 

 colonies swarming'out in early spring; 

 you disturb the bees and queen by 

 handling the brood combs too much ; 

 it causes robbing, and out they go, to 

 be killed by trying to enter other 

 hives; tuck them up, warm, till there 

 is plenty of honey and pollen coming 

 in, and then it will do no harm to 

 liandle the combs, or look for the 

 queen. I get all the brood possible 

 by the time that fruit and dandelions 

 bloom ; by spreading the brood in 

 strong colonies, and taking out now 

 and then a frame of brood, to build up 

 the weak ones. The best moth-trap 

 is a few young turkeys or a pair of 

 ducks ; try them and see. As the 

 bees get strong, give them wider en- 

 tances ; it will not pay to unite weak 

 colonies in early spring ; do not think, 

 because they are weak, that the queen 

 is poor ; give them brood and bees, 

 and you will see plenty of eggs in a 

 short time. 



Early in May I want every hive full 

 of brood, in order to get a large yield 

 of honey from every hive, and a good 



increase. I want nine frames of 

 bi'ood in every hive by May 2.5 ; and 

 the way to get it done is by s'preading 

 the brood combs. I take the outside 

 comb and put it in the centre of the 

 brood-nest ; I do this every seven 

 days, until I get nine full of brood. 

 I handle the brood very carefully. In 

 April I have all hives full of brood. 

 If honey is coming in, I get some 

 swarms in May and June, but more 

 in .July. I put on the top-story as 

 early as June 1. I have surplus combs 

 in the top story, from the last season, 

 and what I lack is hlled by frames of 

 foundation. The increase that gives 

 me the most honey is one swarm from 

 two. I put one frame of brood in 

 the upper story, when I put it on ; 

 this causes the bees to go up there to 

 work, I save the queen-cells from 

 the first colony that gives a swarm. 

 In seven days after, I take out all but 

 one frame, and make as many nuclei 

 as I have cells, and take two frames 

 of brood and put with them from 

 other hives, I do this every six days 

 until they are full of brood ; as fast as 

 they swarm I return them to their 

 own hive, and take three frames of 

 brood from them, give them a new 

 location, put the three frames of 

 brood in an empty hive, and put it on 

 the old stand , In this way I keep all 

 strong colonies by adding brood, I 

 do not like too much swarming in 

 July ; it spoils the honey harvest. By 

 retuKning them, giving them a new 

 location, and removing some brood, I 

 keep them just where they will give 

 us a large yield of honey. June 

 swarms always pay me best. A swarm 

 will fill its hive with comb in two 

 weeks in June. 

 Cokato, Minn. 



For the American Bee JoumaL 



Are Half-Pound Sections Desirable ? 



E. N. WOOD. 



As much has been said about the 

 size of sections, I have taken some 

 pains to find out how our bee-keeping 

 friends felt about the matter, in this 

 section of the country, and I have not 

 heard from one that favors the half- 

 pound section, from parties that have 

 a home market for all their product. 

 We all ought to strive to liold to the 

 present sizes of boxes and hives, as 

 changes mean great expense and 

 trouble. It seems to me that a gen- 

 eral cliange in the size of honey boxes 

 will soon bring new styles of hives that 

 will be supposed to be better adapted 

 to the use of the new box, and these 

 new styles will catch many who are 

 young in the pursuit, and as first im- 

 pressions are strong, many of them 

 would never change ; many more sizes 

 would be added to our now standard 

 sizes of hives, frames and boxes. 

 There are four general or standard 

 sizes of boxes, 4I4X4I4, 5J4X.5I4, 53^x- 

 .53^, .514x6,^. The few sizes of boxes 

 now in use has enabled the manufac- 

 turers to bring the prices down to the 

 present very low rates, as they make 

 large quantities of each size at a time, 

 whereas, if the half-pound section 

 comes into general use, I think the 



