336 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 15 



the bird's beak, and when he paid his pa- 

 tient another visit in an hour and a quar- 

 ter the sound in breathing had totally dis- 

 appeared, and the sneezing- stopped also in 

 a few days. 



" I am firmly convinced,*' said the teach- 

 er, at the close of his communication, "that 

 in the case of catarrh, and in the first stages 

 of diphtheria in fowls, no better medicine ex- 

 ists than honey, to be g-iven every two or 

 three hours, and I should like to advise 

 every one to use this simple and cheap cure 

 in such cases." 



BEESWAX IN THE TROPICS. 



How its Production may be Made Profitable ; how 

 Extracted Honey and Wax for Market can be 

 Produced at One and the Same Time ; Squeezing 

 the Combs in a German Wax=press, and Selling 

 the Wax ; why Tropical Honey may be Just as 

 Good as any Northern. 



BY W. K. MORRISON. 



Some of the tropical apiculturists, owing 

 to the low price of honey, are disposed to 

 pay more attention to the production of wax, 

 which is now rather high in price viewed 

 from the standpoint of the buyer. Most bee 

 authorities have laid it down that wax pro- 

 duction would not pay. This may be true 

 of the temperate zone, while it may be very 

 different in the hot latitudes. By way of 

 preface, however, it may be pointed out that 

 the price of really first-class honey in the 

 English and Continental markets is not low 

 at all — rather it is that tropical-honey pro- 

 ducers neglect quality for quantity. More 

 attention to quality should be the watch- 

 word of the tropical bee-master, for I hold 

 the opinion that just as good honey can be 

 produced "way down south" as "up 

 north." It is all in the method. 



It is quite possible to produce a fair 

 amount of wax, and at the same time im- 

 prove the quality of the honey produced, 

 even though that great oracle, the A B C of 

 Bee Culture, should say otherwise; and if I 

 lay down the dictum that better honey can 

 be secured by dispensing with the centrifu- 

 gal extractor, don't all shout at me at once. 



One of the most important points in wax- 

 producing is to have no drone comb in the 

 brood-chamber. Now, this means just what 

 it says. Apiarists have often assured me 

 their brood-chambers contained no drone 

 comb, when, as a matter of fact, it contain- 

 ed what I should term a goodly quantity. 



As soon as the honey season arrives, or is 

 about to arrive, put on queen-excluders over 

 all the brood-chambers, and place on the 

 surplus chamber with frames containing 

 only starters. Having no drone comb be- 

 low, the bees will simply make a rush to 

 construct some upstairs long before the hon- 

 ey-flow has reached its zenith. If the bee- 

 keeper gets the chance he can cut out some 

 of the comb before the bees get honey into 

 it. But what will probably suit most peo- 

 ple is to wait and let the bees fill the comb 



with honey, allowing it to be sealed over 

 and fully ripe. 



The next procedure is to cut the combs 

 out, leaving about an inch in each frame as 

 a starter, immediately putting them back. 

 The combs so cut out may be put in the 

 (German wax-press, and the honey pressed 

 out. This is the most expeditious way, and 

 does away completely with the mussy job 

 of uncapping. If proper care is used in the 

 various manipulations the honey may be 

 run into packages at once, as squeezed hon- 

 ey requires no straining or settling. In 

 England and other European countries, 

 honey-presses are quite common, and can 

 be bought in London for $1.50. 



This may seem like going backward, but 

 it is far from it, as a little experience will 

 show. Fine combs built on foundation in 

 the brood-chamber, with queen-excluder 

 zinc, are things not thought of by old-fash- 

 ioned folks, and j'et these are the essentials 

 of successful wax-production in the tropics; 

 in fact, it is hardly worth while to trj' to 

 get along without them. 



A great many colonies can be handled by 

 one person in this way, swarming is efi^ec- 

 tually controlled, and worry reduced to a 

 minimum. For example, there is no trouble 

 in keeping the combs free from moths from 

 one season to the next. 



There is, however, another plan bj' which 

 more wax is secured and less honey. In 

 this case the same brood-chamber is used 

 with the zinc excluder. But, two surplus 

 chambers are used, preferably two Ideal 

 supers with shallow frames. The upper 

 one is allowed to be filled with honey, but 

 the middle one is cut every week or so be- 

 fore the bees get a chance to fill it with 

 honey. The apiarist, however, has his 

 work cut out to keep the middle chambers 

 clear of combs. The bees seem to " abhor 

 a vacuum," and constantly build up the 

 combs so ruthlessly torn down by the apia- 

 rist. Of course, this plan implies consid- 

 erably more work than the other, but more 

 wax is actually produced. 



One of the cardinal points in wax pro- 

 duction is to have no melting of the wax. 

 If melting is resorted to it adds to the ex- 

 pense, and is entirely unnecessary. A 

 Boardman solar can be used; but if I were 

 using it I would alter it considerably. I 

 would use aluminum instead of sheet iron, 

 as it keeps more heat, and is much cleaner. 

 I would abolish the strainer, and use a 

 dam instead to catch sediment. Wax should 

 be molded square, and shipped in boxes to 

 suit foreign markets, and the net weight of 

 the wax should be marked on the box. 



White paper should be used to line the 

 box; if not, dust gets in and reduces the 

 value of the wax; for if the least bit dirty, 

 the buyer has to refine the wax, and, of 

 course, that being so, he will pay less for 

 such wax. 



There is really no reason why a large 

 amount of wax may not be shipped from the 

 West Indies. The conditions are favorable; 

 and with intelligent care the product ought 



