189b. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



763 



Italian drones, brothers of the same drone that fertilized the 

 original Carniolan. Also the articles state that from the 16th 

 generation they have been fixed as to characteristics, working, 

 ■etc. I have been figuring thus : 



The first daughter was ^i Carniolan, the granddaughters 

 J^, and the great-granddaughters 'a Carniolan ; and so it has 

 continued in geometrical progression. The queens of the 16th 

 generation had l/'65,536 of Carniolan blood, and their bees 

 14 as much. The queens of the 2-ith generation have 1/16,- 

 777,216 of Carniolan blood, and their workers J-j as much. 

 Now would you not call them homeopathic Carniolans ? 



1. The question I wish to ask is this: Does such a small 

 quantity (a mere speck, and hardly that) of foreign blood in 

 rtalian stock make any difference with them ? Could not 

 pure, choice Italian stock, by just the same course of selection 

 and in-breeding, be modified just as much, and be made to be- 

 come just as good ? 



2. If one is aiming to produce a characteristic Carniolan 

 and Italian cross, to be bred into a race having the combined 

 character, should he not establish the proportion of blood 

 desired, as half Corniolan and half Italian, or quarter Carnio- 

 lan and three-quarters Italian, and then breed from such pro- 

 portion in both queens and drones to the 16th or 24;th genera- 

 tion, having several parent stocks of crossing from unrelated 

 pure bloods, to mitigate the in-breeding ? 



These questions are asked sincerely, for information. 

 Monterey, Calif., Oct. 22, 1895. A. Norton. 



CONDUCTED BY 



X)K. jr. F. M. BROMTV, AUGUSTA., GA, 



[Please send all questions relating to bee-keeping in the South direct 

 to Dr. Brown, and he will answer in this department.— Bd.1 



Rendering Beeswax. 



There is no ve.Kation of the flesh to be compared with 

 what I have had in my search for the best method in render- 

 ing beeswax. Every article on the subject, that was within 

 my reach, I read and studied with care. I tried fire, hot air, 

 steam, and the sun processes, but with little satisfaction. The 



A— Iron- Kettle. 



B— Network of wire or of 

 spiral form, at one end 

 of the wire press, 



C and G— Wire Press. 



r> -Tin Can. 



K— Piece of wood to keep 

 the wire press In place. 



I -Comb In bottom of Can. 



II -Smoothing-iron. 



Arrangement for Bendering Comb into Wax. 



extracting was either too slow, and wasteful, or proved dam- 

 aging to the wax. The straining process has virtually meta- 

 morphized my good nature into ill-temper, and made me ex- 

 ceedingly unpopular with the women of the kitchen. The 

 last time I strained wax over the kitchen stove, the wax 

 •caught fire, ran all over the stove, and over the floor of the 

 kitchen, and so furious was the conflagration, that the wonder 

 was that the house was not burnt down to the ground. After- 

 wards, the effluvia of that stove was for a month intolerable ; 

 and the wax on the floor was a sticky nuisance for over a 

 year! After such a dynamitic pyrotechny, would you blame 



the ladies of the kitchen if they objected to having wax 

 brought within their culinary quarters again ? 



Some philanthropic beo-man may suggest to me to use the 

 " wax-extractor." I know nothing about that machine, but I 

 know enough about the adhesiveness and gummification of 

 beeswax, on a philosophic theory, to believe that it cannot be 

 thoroughly and economically rendered by machinery. If it 

 had the nature of pure oil or water, I would not have these 

 pessimistic views about it. 



It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. Re- 

 cently I had a great amount of wax to extract. I had again put 

 on ray armor of wax-troubles. But this time I cut loose from all 

 precedents, and made it a serious, sober study. A noctural 

 meditation — an intellectual insomnia, induced by a hearty sup- 

 per with an extra cup of Java, solved the problem to my satis- 

 faction. I fixed on a plan which was at once put in execution, 

 and with most gratifying results. 



My present mode of extracting beeswax is as follows : A 

 large iron wash-kettle is filled about one-third full of water, 

 and placed over a fire. The comb to be rendered into wax is 

 placed in a sack of cheese-cloth, and packed down by pouring 

 over it boiling water. This is done in a tin can of about a 

 foot in diameter, and three feet high. After the bag is nearly 

 filled, the tin can containing it is placed inside of the iron 

 kettle. To keep the bag with the wax fixed to the bottom of 

 the can, and at the same time under the hot water a few 

 inches, insert a press made of wire, with two uprights, but 

 united above. To the cross piece of the wire above suspend a 

 smoothing-iron, with a hook, in order to keep the bag under 

 water, and to maintain a constant gentle pressure. A brisk 

 fire is maintained under the iron kettle ; and the water in 

 both vessels is kept to a boiling-point, until the wire press has 

 settled so far to the bottom to show that the wax may have 

 been ail extracted, and was now floating on the surface. 



After the above process is completed, withdraw the fire, 

 and when the water gets cold, remove the wax from the can. 

 If removed in broken pieies, which is usually the case, it is 

 afterwards melted on a stove in a suitable cake for the market. 

 If the cake in the can is likely to be too thick, the wax had 

 better be skimmed ofl' before it consolidates. 



Now, this way of rendering wax is to do quick and very 

 neat work, with no mishaps, and with little or no waste. And 

 the cost of the machinery is in keeping with the business I 

 Some times, after removing the wax from the tin can, I give 

 the debris a second boiling, should the first boiling not bring 

 all the wax to the surface. Through this process of ebullition, 

 the wax of black comb becomes comparatively pure, leaving 

 its pigmentous properties in the water, which is turned black 

 and dirty. For a second or subsequent boiling, change the 

 water in the can. Dr. G. P. Hachenbbrg. 



Austin, Texas. 



Changing the Liocalion of Hives, and Packing 

 with Leaves. 



1. I have 19 colonies of bees, and the hives stand in all 

 directions. How would it do to turn them all with the front 

 towards the east, and place in a row, about six or eight inches 

 apart, and cover and fill in between with leaves, and protect 

 the back end by building up and filling also ? 



2. If I should move them and put in a row, how can I 

 keep the bees from coming out on a warm day and going to 

 the old stand ? J- J- W. 



Mayking, Ky. 



Answers. — 1. I am of the opinion that it would he use- 

 less to pack your bees in the manner you suggest for winter 

 protection in your location. The most desirable consideration 

 would be to see that each colony had from 20 to 30 pounds of 

 stores, or sufficient to carry them to the first of April. 



2. I would move them some cold day, and set up pieces 

 of boards, or some other obstruction in front of the entrance, 

 to assist the bees in marking the new location. During the 

 first flight you may expect some little confusion, but nothing 

 to amount to anything. Very few bees will get lost. 



The International Bee-Keepers' Congress. 



The City Hall has been secured for the meeting. Excur- 

 sion rates to the Exposition can be obtained from all the 

 principal towns and cities. Rooms can be had at the Jackson 

 Hotel (near the depot, and one block from the place of meet- 

 ing) for 75 cents per day, and 50 cents for meals. The Jack- 

 son is a new hotel, and good place. Those who want less 

 rates can find them at the Adkins House, 12 Broad Street. 



