THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



455 



In the first place the bee-keeper 

 should have a box handy into which 

 to throw his old comb ; that which 

 is free from cocoons should be kept 

 separate from the rest. If the millers 

 commence their depredations, a little 

 burning sulphur will disturb their 

 feast and make you master. 



Next a Swiss wax extractor should 

 be provided (see engraving). For 



Swiss Wax Extractor. 



the sake of some who, perhaps, have 

 not seen one of these instruments, I 

 will attempt a brief description. It 

 consists of a can divided a few inches 

 from the bottom by a tin perforated 

 with large holes near the cireumfer- 

 ance, and inclining from all directions 

 toward a snout which protrudes from 

 one side on a level with tlie tin. 

 Above this hang.s a basket m»de of 

 perforated tin, so placed as to hang 

 entirely within the holes punched in 

 the dividing tin. The melting wax 

 will then fall upon the tin and escape 

 by the snout, and not leak through 

 into the water tank below. Connect 

 a tube from the outside with the 

 water tank to enable you to refill the 

 tank without removing the extractor 

 from the stove. Cover the snout witli 

 a tight-fitting jacket open to the in- 

 side. This will prevent tlie wax from 

 hardening in the snout, and save 

 much trouble. Make a tight-fltting 

 cover for the whole, and the thing is 

 finished. 



You will then want two or three 

 Moulding cans, such as the figure 

 below. 



Moulding Can. 



^ is a frustum shaped can encased 

 in the cylindrical can, b,-cis a tube 

 for filling 6 witli water, and ti,a faucet, 

 is for emptying the can ; c and d con- 

 nect only with the outer vessel. Thus 

 equipped, you are prepared for busi- 

 ness. Select a day in the fall, after 

 the bees are prepared for winter, and 

 you have plenty of time. Drive the 

 women out of the kitchen, and make 

 it as comfortable for yourself as pos- 

 sible. Then prepare your extractor 



by filling the water tank with water, 

 and the wax basket with comb. 

 Place a moulding can under the 

 snout, allowing the wax to fall into it, 

 at the same time having b filled with 

 boiling hot water. VVlien the can is 

 full remove it, substituting another. 

 Allow the wax to stand 4 or 5 min- 

 utes, then draw off the hot water and 

 fill with cold water. As often as the 

 water around the wax gets warm, re- 

 place it with that which is cold. The 

 larger your extractor, and the more 

 moulding cans you have the faster 

 you can manipulate. When the cake 

 is hard dump it out, and the can is 

 ready to use again. The dirt will 

 Ijave settled to the bottom of the 

 cake you have just taken; tliis you 

 must cut off together with a generous 

 slice of wax, so as to be sure you get 

 it all. You can run the refuse over 

 again and get the wax from that. 

 The cakes are now in a convenient 

 form for shipment, and should be 

 sold in the early spring to some supply 

 dealer. You can continue to get dirt 

 from the wax as many times as you 

 will run it through, but by running 

 it through once it will all be prime 

 yellow. Pure beeswax is pure white, 

 and the slightest color is the sign of 

 the presence of foreign matter ; hence, 

 if all the foreign matter be withdrawn 

 the wax will be white. I have a 

 further addition to the extractor by 

 which I can prove my statement. A 

 cake of the dirtiest, blackest wax that 

 I ever saw was made white by this 

 instrument, and it was not exposed to 

 the sun nor any bleaching substance 

 for a moment. But most of us are 

 satisfied to luive our wax all yellow 

 and in convenient cakes, and this is 

 the easiest method that 1 know, or of 

 which I have ever heard. 

 Hillsdale, Mich., Sept. 1. 1883. 



Putnam County, Ind. Convention. 



The Putnam County Bee-Keepers' 

 Association met Saturday, Aug. 18, 

 at Greencastle. The attendance was 

 not large, but it was enthusiastic. 

 After the necessary business had been 

 attended to, the different members 

 reported the condition of their bees, 

 and their prospects. 



Mr. Tenant, of Greencastle, said 

 that two years ago he started with 

 but one colony. Since that time he 

 had sold over $100 worth of bees and 

 honey, and had six stands left in 

 strong condition, two of them with 

 upper story full of honey. Mr. 

 Homan, of iJussell township, reported 

 tliat his bees had done well, consider- 

 ing the wet weather in blooming time. 

 He had taken 675 pounds of noney, 

 and increased to 2(i colonies. He 

 stated tliat there were large numbers 

 of bees in the woods. Mr. O'Neal 

 stated that his bees were strong, and 

 since honey harvest had been carrying 

 honey from upper stories to brood- 

 chambers. He had caught a stray 

 swarm of bees, apparently full Ital- 

 ians. The president said he was more 

 certain than ever that bees were 

 profitable property, if properly hand- 

 led. His bees had done well. He 

 had sold several stands and quite a lot 



of honey. The secretary remarked 

 that he had taken some 800 or 900 

 pounds of honey, and had increased 

 from 20 to 50 strong colonies with but 

 9 natural swarms. Had sold all hia 

 honey at from 20 to 35 cents. Others 

 reported similar success. W Mason 

 gave an account of a visit to the 

 apiary of W. Smith, of Johnson 

 county, and stated that Mr. S. had 

 sold $500 worth of honey, and had 65 

 colonies of bees in cliaff packed hives, 

 Mr. S. told him his bees yielded a 

 better income than his 160 acres of 

 good farm land. 



Our society meets the third Satur- 

 day of each month, the next meeting 

 being Sept. 22. — Indiana Farmer. 



Tot tne American Bee Joumalo 



Bees in Shenandoah Valley, Va. 



A. R. KOHNKE. 



Having gone there, with the object 

 of finding a better locality for bee- 

 keeping than I have about Youngs- 

 town, O., I tliought I would give to 

 the bee-keeping public what I have 

 seen and learned with reference to 

 our pursuit. 



Following the most urgent invita- 

 tion of Mr. Jordan, of White Sulphur 

 Springs, I went there the last week in 

 July. Arriving at the Springs, which 

 I made my headquarters, I received 

 a most cordial welcome by Mr. E. C. 

 Jordan, the proprietor. This gentle- 

 man has some 53 colonies of bees in 

 Langstroth hives ; but owing to hia 

 time and attention being required to 

 look after the welfare and comfort of 

 liis guests, his bees are rather neg- 

 lected. There are two springs on this 

 place, a sulphur and an iron spring. 

 1 have met people wlio were broken 

 down in lieaUh,not being able to obtain 

 relief by any medical treatment, who 

 bad been almost entirely cured within 

 a few months at these springs, which, 

 if it proves anything, proves that that 

 particular place is most conducive to 

 health. Space does not permit me to 

 describe that locality in detail, but 

 Mr. Jordan will furnislivery willingly 

 any information in regard to it. 



As to the bees, their main honey 

 source is blue thistle, which, to judge 

 by what I have seen, must be one of 

 the best, if not the best honey plant 

 this country produces. The honey 

 from it, if not better, is surely equal 

 to white clover ; it being of the same 

 color and consistency as the latter, 

 but of a milder taste. Besides blue 

 thistle, locust grows there in great 

 abundance, as also the different kinds 

 of berries, especially blackberries. 

 But where blue thistle abounds white 

 clover is scarce and vice versa. 



One day Mr. Jordan and myself 

 drove down to Berryville, about nine 

 miles from the Springs, to visit some 

 bee-keepers there. One of them, Mr. 

 Diehl, who has been quite sick, hence 

 not able to attend to his bees properly, 

 has an apiary of about 200 colonies, 

 blacks, Italians and Albinos. Ilia 

 crop was about 5,000 pounds of comb 

 honey. Another gentleman, in tlie 

 same town, had 90, blacks, hybrida 

 and Italians, and Mr. Showers, also 



