1883 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



521 



you have just mentioned. Doolittle says he 

 never succeeded even once : you say that 

 your failures are so few that the loss of time 

 in waiting three days is a much greater loss. 

 Now, I agree with' you; but what shall we 

 think of friend Doolittle V As a great many 

 agree with him, should we not conclude it 

 lies mostly in the different ways we manage, 

 and also in the different notions we have, 

 and the different ways we have got used to? 

 I agree with yon, that friend Ileddon's 

 section is a splendid one, and I have just 

 been thinking about trying to buy 100,000 or 

 more for next season's use. Still, I think 

 the one-piece section will hang together un- 

 der some circumstances when Heddon's 

 would not; and Heddon's is a great deal 

 more work to put together. I know our 

 basswood sections mildewed because the 

 lumber was not seasoned enough ; but we 

 are making preparations now to have sec- 

 tions enough for next season, putup months 

 before they are wanted. As the bee-world 

 has got to be a pretty large world, I am not 

 sure we shall be able to do it ; but we are 

 going to try hard. It might be a good idea 

 for many of the bee-keepers to have their 

 sections'made and in store, even this fall, for 

 next season's use. I presume 100 manufac- 

 turers of sections would be glad to take 

 orders now for sections at a low rate for 

 next season's use. There ought to be man- 

 ufacturers of sections, not only in every 

 State, but in different parts of every State, 

 to save expensive shipping rates, and also to 

 prevent those who have, during the past 

 season, been trying to fill orders, from being 

 so overcrowded as we all have been. And 

 you think you never want any more artificial 

 swarming, friend IT.? May I caution you 

 again about being too positiveV I rather ex- 

 pect to see you change your mind in a good 

 many respects, and on a good many points, 

 during the next ten years, if you will excuse 

 so much from an old friend. 



THE SOIiAR TfTAX-EXTRACTOR. 



A VALUABLE PAPER FROM FRIEND POPPLETON. 



SOME seven or eight years ago I experimented 

 with the idea of giving bees a flight in the win- 

 ter by means of the sun's rays passing through 

 glass. The story of these experiments might make 

 interesting reading, but would probably be of no 

 practical value to bee-keepers. These experiments, 

 however, taught me the use of two of the most im- 

 portant fixtures in my apiary; viz., the chaff hive 

 and the solar wax-extractor, both of which haA'e 

 been largely used by me since first learning their 

 utility. 



The solar wax-extractor seems to be a new idea to 

 a great many bee-keepers, so I will give a descrip- 

 tion of the one I use, and some suggestions as to 

 how to use it, etc. Mine is only a rough affair; one 

 can be made by any person who can use a saw and 

 hammer (except the tins from the tinsmith); but 

 mine has answered my purpose very well. I am in 

 hopes, however, that some ingenious mechanic who 

 has the proper facilities will improve the shape or 

 position of the glass so as to give greater heat, and 

 make the implement more effective. 

 jMioe i8 made of H-iocb lumber, planed tax^ paint- 



ed red (I think black would be better), but inch lum- 

 ber would do just as well. It is simply a square box 

 40'/i inches long, 25 wide, and I314 deep, with an ir- 

 regular bottom. The following is a side view of the 

 implement, one of the sides being removed, showing 

 the zigzag bottom. 



WAX-PAN. 



SOLAR WAX-EXTRACTOR. 



The highest part of the bottom is for holding the 

 tin contaiaing the combs to be rendered, the lower 

 part holds the vessel that catches the drippings. 

 The tin comb-holder is simply a sheet of any kind of 

 tin, 20x38, cut in this shape: That is, 

 two of the corners are cut beveling, 

 and the entire outer edge of the tin, 

 except the point, is turned up about 

 V2 or 94 of an inch, and the corners 

 soldered, leaving an open place at 

 the lower end of the tin, about two 

 inches wide, for the melted wax and 

 honey to flow off into the dish placed 

 to catch it. This dish may be a com- 

 mon 10-qt. milk pan, or a flaring-top 

 tin pail, the latter being preferable. 



I make a frame of the right size for holding a 24x 

 •tO-inch glass, out of inch lumber; rabbet the inside 

 edges of the frame, so the glass will fit in the rab- 

 bets and allow thin strips of the same width as 

 are the pieces of the frame to be nailed over frame 

 and edges of glass to hold the glass securely in its 

 place. This is an easier and safer plan than to use 

 putty. I use two thicknesses of glass, one on each 

 side of the frame, which leaves them about 54 inch 

 apart. I do not think this is absolutely essential, 

 but it furnishes more heat than does a single thick- 

 ness of glass. If glass 24x40 can not be obtained, use 

 two frames 20x34, letting the edges of the glass come 

 together in the center of the frame or sash. I set 

 the implement on any firm support that keeps the 

 lower end one or two feet above the ground, "and in- 

 clined to the south enough so the rays of the sun 

 will strike the glass at as nearly right^anglesras pos- 

 sible. The tin comb-holder wants to be inclined so 

 the melted wax and honey will run^foff;, freely, but 

 not so much as to allow the bulk of the refuse mat- 

 ter to run off also. Mine has an'incline of,l inch in 

 oYi, which is about right. When I open the imple- 

 ment for any purpose whatever, I raise the lower 

 end of the sash, slide it back until it overbalances, 

 and let the back end rest on a post driveng in the 

 ground at a proper distance. 



For dipping the melted wax into molds, I use a 

 small tin cup, V2 pint, made with one^ straight side, 

 and the handle nearly on top when the cup is laid on 

 the straight side. Leave the straight side of the 

 cup smooth, without either wiring or turning over. 

 This all sounds like the description of a complicate4 



