1883 



GLEAKINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



125 



given It a trial. The plant in your ofBce has proba- 

 bly become offended, because no one noticed how 

 hard it was trying, and now it has decided to stand 

 on its dignity; or, perhaps, beinjr among so many 

 bee-folks, it has learned all about bee culture, and 

 is aware of the fact that bees gather no honey in 

 winter; hence there is no necessity for secreting 

 any. I trust that it is not in the condition of the 

 geranium I once read of in a comic poem, as com- 

 prising part of the baggage belonging to a medical 

 student, which was described as being " stalky, but 

 leafless." 



I have held 50 or 60 flowers of the Boule de niege in 

 my hand, suspended by their stems; and by giving 

 my arm a swing through the air, the nectar would 

 descend from them like a miniature shower; this 

 was in the winter time, in a greenhouse. 



I have seen the bees working on a large plant in 

 the greenhouse during July; this plant was covered 

 with flowers (about 300 of the handsome bells in full 

 bloom). The bees were around the plant in a swarm, 

 all spraying a liquid, I judge, in the act of condens- 

 ing the nectar. 



The Boule de neige, when three or four years old, 

 will produce great quantities of flowers, without any 

 intermission, from Jan. Ist until Dec. 3l8t, if grown 

 under glass, permanently. For outdoor culture, I 

 fear its only merit will be that of a handsome, orna- 

 mental, but not useful, plant (looking at it from a 

 honey standpoint). Abutilons are too large a species 

 of plant to be grown with profit for honey. "Where 

 would you put them in the winter time? Surely not 

 in chaff hives. F. Hahman, Jr. 



Philadelphia, Pa., Jan. 26, 1883. 



You see, friends, there are plants that 

 yield honey enormously, were we only in 

 possession of the facts in regard to them, 

 and this sight of a single plant keeping al- 

 most a swarm of bees busy, right in the 

 summer time, just when we want it, is a 

 fact worthy of record. Any plant that 

 bears honey in such quantities that it may 

 be shaken out, is worthy of investigation. 

 Who can tell us more about itV 



SOnE INTERESTING EXPEKIItlENTS IN 

 WAX. 



FRIEND HATCH'S " WAX-WORKS." 



^N the days before comb foundation was known 

 it did not matter much whether wax was pure 

 or not, for it was mostly used for candle mak- 

 ing; and if there was tallow or a little rosin in it, no 

 great harm was done. But nowadays, when nearly 

 all the wax is given back to the bees in the form of 

 foundation, it is of first importance that the article 

 should be of the purest possible make; for these 

 delicate chemists will not only detect and object to 

 a small per cent of rosin or tallow, but show no 

 scruples of conscience in tearing out and destroying 

 any thing objectionable; not only wasting their 

 precious time, and causing us much anxiety, but ab- 

 solute loss. 



Having the foregoing facts In view, I have, during 

 the past season, conducted a number of experi- 

 ments to determine the following points, not only in 

 regard to purity of wax, but to ascertain other 

 points desirable to know. 



Experiment A was with 1% lbs. of cappings; 1st, 

 to determine the per cent of wax in cappings; 2d, to 

 determine if the use of an acid was of any benefit 



in rendering wax. Divided the 7^ lbs. of cappings 

 into 2 equal parts of 3J£ lbs. each. Put each half 

 into a cheese-cloth bag; rendered one in the usual 

 way; i, e., by putting the bag into a kettle of water, 

 heating, and then squeezing out the wax. The oth- 

 er half rendered in the same way, except I added 26 

 per cent of vinegar to the water. The results were 

 as follows:— 



With vinegar, 2 lbs. 13 oz. I _- |v,b 7 n? 

 No vinegar, 2 lbs. 11 oz. )' ~^ ^°^- ' °^- 

 Amount of wax from 7'/^ lbs. cappings, 5 lbs. 7 oz., or 

 nearly 73 per cent, which is quite a per cent more 

 than as reported in the Bee Journal by Mr. Bingham, 

 I think. The wax rendered with vinegar seemed 

 more yellow, and I imagined some softer; but as it 

 gave only 1-34 increase, it is scarcely profitable; or, 

 to state it differently, if one had comb enough to 

 make 33 lbs. of wax by putting vinegar in the water, 

 he could get 34 lbs., or 1 lb. of wax to offset the vine- 

 gar; as it would take about 1 gallon, worth, say, 20 

 cts., there would be no money in it. And we do not 

 think there is enough difference in the quality to pay 

 for the extra trouble. 



Experiment B was to determine whether pollen 

 would mix with wax, combs heavy with pollen being 

 taken, mostly new combs, and rendered by putting 

 in water only— combs inclosed in cheese-cloth bag. 

 Result, a mixture of wax and pollen of a dark or- 

 ange color, and a decided pollen smell. The wax 

 was soft in texture, but at the same time brittle, or 

 rather "short," if I am allowed the expression, 

 something like a mixture of flour and lard — only, of 

 course, not so much so. Next, to get rid of the pol- 

 len was the problem. I succeeded by simply heat- 

 ing the wax in a dish containing no water, until it 

 was almost to the burning-point; this turned the 

 pollen to charcoal, and it settled at the bottom of 

 the dish as a black sediment, like salt in meat-fry- 

 ings. There may be other ways of purifying wax 

 containing pollen, but I tried none. The heating 

 process is rather risky, on account of the danger of 

 burning the wax. But if it is watched and removed 

 from the fire as soon as the pollen begins to settle, 

 there is not much danger. 



Experiment C was to determine whether it would 

 pay to melt up drone comb to make foundation, for 

 every bee-keeper knows what a nuisance too much 

 drone comb is, especially if you run your bees for 

 extracted honey. And I am of the opinion, good 

 authority to the contrary notwithstanding, that bees 

 fill worker combs quickest; I am sure that honey 

 ripens in them first. 



To ascertain the facts, I took 410 square inches of 

 drone comb, about one-half new, the rest old, and 

 melted it up, which resulted in 1 lb. 4 oz. of wax. 

 This would make, of foundation running 5 ft. per 

 lb., 900 square inches, or nearly 2 1-5 times as much 

 comb surface as was contained in the combs melted. 

 So my conclusions are, it will pay. I also found, 

 while conducting this experiment, that it would pay 

 to have a press to use in rendering the wax, espe- 

 cially if the combs are old and full of cocoons; for 

 nothing but strong pressure will take all of it out of 

 such combs. C. A. Hatch. 



Ithaca, Richland Co., Wis., Jan. 25, 1883. 

 I have for some time been of the opinion 

 that vinegar does not give us a greater 

 amount of wax, perceptibly, but some seem 

 to think it makes it separate from the debris 

 quicker. I am a little surprised at the re- 

 sults from cappings, given by both yourself 



