518 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



too vehemently the necessity of care 

 and intelligence in selection, and 

 pains-taking in all the work of breed- 

 ing. 



The great work of Major Hallett, 

 of England, in developing very valua- 

 ble races of wheat, if I may use the 

 expression, is full of important sug- 

 gestions to bee-keepers. I have often 

 thought and stated that the most 

 hopeful path towards the progressive 

 apiculture of the future lies through 

 the improvement of our stock by 

 following the principles as laid down 

 and followed by all of our most suc- 

 cessful breeders whether of plants or 

 animals. 



Agricultural College, 9 Mich. 



The sleepers were suddenly awak- 

 ened by sounds that suggested a small 

 cyclone raging among the bees. One 

 of the men got up, looked out of the 

 window, and what was his consterna- 

 tion and terror to see the faint out- 

 lines of a huge, brown-colored mon- 

 ster upsetting the bee-hives and work- 

 ing destruction with property that 

 required the toil and economy of a 

 number of years to accumulate. 



The surprised spectator hastened to 

 his brother's bedside and told what 

 was going on in the apiary. The two 

 rushed out, one taking his rifle. The 

 bear was evidently hungry, for he 

 made savage lunges at the boxes filled 

 with delicious honey. He would take 



THE HONEY-EATING BEAR OF CALIFORNIA. 



Exchange. 



A drizzly Bear and tlie Bees. 



SCENE IN A CALIFORNIA APIARY. 



The Hutchinson brothers have a 

 large apiary up at Victor Tejunga, 

 says the Los Angeles (Calif.) Express. 

 It is an isolated place, far from real- 

 estate booms and the haunts of men. 

 But it is a good place for bees, and 

 there, as a rule, they toil unmolested 

 except by their owners, the Hutchin- 

 son boys. The country is romantic. 



The quiet life of the little rural re- 

 treat was turned into the greatest 

 excitement last Thursday night. 

 While the Hutchinsons were asleep 

 and dreaming of the great sums of 

 money they would make this season, 

 a stranger entered the camp. He -was 

 not slow in making his presence felt 

 and heard. 



a few mouthfuls out of one frame and 

 then go for another. 



The Hutchinson boys concluded 

 that if they did not act on the instant 

 the bear would soon leave them with- 

 out an occupation. The gun was 

 leveled and discharged. The ball 

 found its way through the thick hide 

 of bruin back of the left shoulder. It 

 was evidently almost a " center-shot," 

 for the animal fell. But he remained 

 on the ground but a second. He 

 arose, enraged with pain, and made 

 frantic plunges at the nearest hives. 

 Meanwhile the men advanced a little. 

 The bear caught sight of them and 

 made a rush at them. When within 

 20 feet of where they stood his pro- 

 gress was arrested by another leaden 

 messenger. It struck a vital part, 

 and once more the huge bear fell. 

 This time he did not get up. 



A third ball was put into his side, 

 which caused his death. Upon ex- 



amination it was found to be a grizzly 

 cub about two-thirds grown. Next 

 day he was dressed and weighed. The 

 scales tipped at 700 pounds. This is 

 the second or third bear ever killed or 

 seen in that section. 



For ttie American Bee Joumat 



Tie Solar fax-Extractor. 



G. W. DEMAREE. 



I commenced my experiments with 

 solar heat to melt and separate wax 

 and prepare it for use, in the fall of 

 1881. Flat melting-pans, and per- 

 forated holders over the pans, and all 

 like devices look more ingenious than 

 they are really useful and effective. 

 None of these old devices will sep- 

 arate the wax from old combs in 

 quantity and quality to pay for the 

 trouble. They do some better with 

 the soft cappings that come from the 

 honey-knife ; but upon the whole they 

 are no improvement over the Swiss 

 steaming apparatus, which, under my 

 skill, is well-nigh a failure to sep- 

 arate the wax from old pollen-filled 

 combs, and old combs of any sort 

 whatever. 



After I invented my cylinder-form 

 melting-pan, and put my improved 

 solar wax-extractor in operation, I 

 was astonished to see how much good 

 wax I had been throwing away. The 

 cylinder-form pan gives double drain- 

 age to the melted wax, at the sides of 

 the pan, and down its centre towards- 

 the wax moulds at the," dip " end of 

 the pan. When the old combs are hot 

 and melted down, they are broken up 

 with a paddle, and the mass is drawn 

 up the sides of the pan, making an 

 opening in the centre of the pan 

 lengthwise with it, so that the hot 

 wax, more subtile than the refuse, 

 drains down the sides of the pan, and 

 down into the wax moulds. The 

 " pitch " to the pan is obtained by 

 blocking up the legs at the north end 

 of the frame or box. A little experi- 

 ence will soon enable any one to regu- 

 late all these matters to the best ad- 

 vantage. 



When rendering cappings, the pan 

 must set nearly level if the weather is 

 very hot, otherwise the melted pro- 

 polis will slide down with the wax 

 and honey, which cannot be entirely 

 avoided, but if not in excess, it will 

 settle under the cake of wax. When 

 rendering old combs some water is 

 put in the wax-molds to give room 

 tor the sediment under the cake of 

 wax. When rendering cappings, the 

 honey they usually contain makes 

 water in the molds unnecessary. 



I have thus particularized to an- 

 swer letters of inquiry from persons 

 interested on this subject. The sev- 

 eral experiments that I have been 

 conducting this season with solar 

 heat, has led me to believe that this 

 powerful agency is capable of serving 

 bee-keepers in many ways heretofore 

 undreamed of, when inventive genius 

 brings it under proper control. I 

 have found that combs infested with 

 worms and moths' eggs can be heated 



