522 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKK. 



Sept. 



implement, but it is reallj' a very simple, crude af- 

 fair. Ttio expense of the material to make it should 

 not bo over f'j.OO, depending on the price of glass, 

 and whether one or two thicknesses are used. 



As simple as it is, the one I now use is the third 

 one I m-tde before being satistled. The first was on- 

 1.7 for exp'jriment, and satisfied me of its utility. 

 The second was mide of 3 sheets of 20x38 tin, solder- 

 ed t 'gether, put i'lto a box similar to the one I now 

 use, onli' larger, and covered by some old windows 

 that I happened to have on hand. This was too 

 larg-e to be handled easily, and the 8had.)ws of the 

 pieces of sish that wer.' over the wax were an inju- 

 ry. I found that it took so long to render a charge 

 of wax that it would partly bleach, harming both 

 c^lor and quality. 1 then adopted the smaller size I 

 UDW use, which has nothing that can cast a shadow 

 on the wax whilj melting. 



Now, wh it practical use is this implement to us? 

 What are its advantages, and what its disadvanta- 

 ges? 1 do not think it willever be largely used if 

 at all, by those who have large quantiti^>s of old 

 combs to render up; but I think it will be found in- 

 valuable tc smull bee-keepers, and to every one 

 who produces extracted honey. Its chief advantages 

 are the little time and attention its use requires, 

 and the hirgc amount of honey it saves from cap- 

 pings. 



In the murniug, before commencing regular 

 work in the apiary, I usually empty the vessel con- 

 taining the honey and thin cake of wax left from 

 the previous day's running; fill up the extractor, 

 and pay no more attention to it until 3 or 4 o'clock 

 in the afternoon, when I dip off the melted wax into 

 mouldi, and the last thing before quitting work at 

 night, 1 take out the large tin, and clean off the re- 

 fuse while it is yet warm. 



Vei-y few are aware how much honey is wasted by 

 the ordinary method of rendering up the cappings. 

 1 first drain my cappings very thoroughly— more so 

 than can be done in drainiug-Ci'inP, such as those de- 

 scribed by Dadant in his pamphlet, and theu get 

 nearly or quite 3 lbs. of honey to one of wax. I save 

 at least 300 lbs. of honey each year, that, by any 

 other process, would be wasted. This honey is very 

 thick, and would be of extra fine flavor but for the 

 small amount of pollen that gets mixed with it while 

 melting. 1 always put this honey into a separate 

 barrel, notify the consignee that it is a different 

 grade of honey from the rest, and to pay me what it 

 is worth, and I have always been allowed the same 

 as for other dark or mixed honey. 



The one great drawback in the use of this imple- 

 ment is, that it can be used only on clear warm days, 

 and this i.-s a very serious inconvenience in this far 

 northern climate. I think the further south one is 

 located, the less this would trouble; and if I were 

 located in any of the Southern States. I thiuk I 

 should use no other form of wax-extractor. When I 

 first commenced its use several years ago I used to 

 leave it open to the light several days at a time un- 

 til the combs in it were all rendered out; but I soon 

 found out that wouldn't do, on account of its bleach- 

 lug and hardening the wax, and 1 now have a cover 

 of thin boards that I keep over the extractor at all 

 times, except when running, and never put any 

 more comb in it at a time than I thiuk will be ren- 

 dered out that day. If at any time during the day 

 the sky becomes cloudy, 1 cover up the extractor 

 and finish that run the next clear day. 



What may be an objectionable feature to some, is 



the fact that wax rendered by it is harder than that 

 rendered by other methods. I can not see but the 

 besswork foundation made from it just as quickly 

 as from any, but it will require experiments by 

 others who u?e fdn. made on roller or press ma- 

 chines to determine the facts. 



When wax is kept for several hours at a time in a 

 liquid cindition, as is the case when using this im- 

 plement, every impurity it may contain rises to the 

 top, when it may be skimmed off, or it settles to the 

 bottom, leaving the wax absolutely free from any 

 foreign matter; and wax that has been properly 

 handled in the solar extractor is as beautiful in color, 

 and a? free from all impurities, as it is possible for 

 wax to be. O. O. Poppi..eton. 



Williamstown, Iowa, August 31, 1883. 



Many thanks, friend P., for your very plain 

 and complete description of this scieiitific 

 instrument, for it truly deserves the name. 

 I, too, learned some to me very strange 

 thiiigSiWhen experimenting with bees under 

 glass ; and one of the strangest was the great 

 amount of heat that will be developed under 

 a double glass such as you describe. I have 

 often tliought it might be utilized for warm- 

 ing buildings, in place of burning so much 

 wood and coal. Why has it not been done ? 

 We all know of the curative properties in 

 the direct rays of the sun. Now, why not 

 have a sort of playroom for the children done 

 off on the south side of the house, to be 

 warmed only by the sun's rays ? Of course, 

 we should not expect the children to frolic 

 around in it m summertime; but even in 

 the freezing days of winter such a room 

 would be comfortable without a stove or 

 fireplace. I feel a strong temptation to make 

 these solar wax - extractors for sale ; but 

 when I think of the number of things we al- 

 ready offer for bee culture, I am almost 

 afraid to start out on another thing. With 

 your very plain description, perhaps our 

 ifriends can easily make them themselves. 

 And I believe it will be found a very useful 

 thing for converting all sorts of refuse into 

 nice bright wax. 



THE STANDARD LANGSTKOTH HIVE 

 AND FRAME. 



SOMETHING FROM FRIEND LANGSTROTH HIMSELF IN 

 REGARD TO THE DIMENSIONS OF THE ABOVE. 



^y^jEFORE inventing my movable frames I used 

 J8[r)^ ) bars, in a hive with movable top and bottom, 

 by which the bars could be worked to much 

 better advantage than by side-opening doors. My 

 latest style of bar hives were 18;8 by I81.8 by 6 inches 

 deep, all in the clear. At that time (18.51), honey, to 

 bring the best price, had to be in combs built in neat 

 glassed boxes, and this shape of the hive gave an 

 unusually large surface for such supers. The walls 

 of these hives were double glass, to give the dead- 

 air space, which protected the bees against extremes 

 of heat or cold, and sudden changes of temperature. 

 That fractional }i, which has puzzled so many, 

 gave room for two strips of wood, each one inch 

 wide by l-16th thick, against which the double glass 

 could be fastened with glazier's points. One pane of 

 glass, 18 by 13, a common commercial size, could be 

 easily cut so as to answer for one side. My movable- 

 frame hives were first made in the spring of 1853, in 

 the city of Philadelphia— some six months before the 



