io6 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



ially if it is filled with honey, and draw 

 the pin when I clean the section. 



I sometimes extract the honey before 

 cutting the comb from the brood frames; 

 but when one colony is building the 

 combs while another is finishing them, 

 that is not necessary; but if any honey 

 has been capped I uncap it, unless 

 a whole piece is capped evenly and 

 the comb is of proper thickness. 



I know of some writers who will say 

 this is too fussy. Of course, it is fussy; 

 and the same may be said of all the work 

 in the apiary; and, in my opinion, this 

 fussing pays as well as any part of the 

 work. 



I will mention some of the advantages 

 of this plan. 



No trouble getting the bees into the 

 supers; consequently a greater number of 

 filled sections, especially if the honey flow 

 is not very strong. 



The combs may be produced during a 

 flow of honey that is not desirable to have 

 in the sections. 



Such colonies as do not finish their 

 work neatly may build the comb and 

 others finish with white cappings. 



The sections will be but little soiled 

 and the cappings will have a cleaner and 

 neater apperance. 



The comb will be fastened to the wood 

 evenly on all sides. 



And "last but not least" no Jish-haiie. 

 Lander, W^'o. Dec. 20, 1S9S. 



RENDERING WAX. 



How Sulphuric Acid may be of Assistance in 

 the Matter. A Test for Ceresin. 



ARTHUR C. MIIvLER. 



w 



PROPOS of the article in the January 

 Review, on wax refining, and your 

 editorial thereon, I beg to call your atten- 

 tion to an item of importance. If old 



combs are properh' treated he/ore the 

 melting, the pollen and silk will not ab- 

 .sorb the wa.x nor produce the jelly-like 

 gum referred to; and much of the annoy- 

 ance of reduction will be avoided. I find 

 the best method is to place the combs in 

 a strong solution of sulphuric acid and 

 water ( cold ) about a week prior to the 

 time of melting. If the combs are well 

 broken up and occasionally stirred in this 

 solution, the acid will decompose these 

 troublesome substances and a large part 

 of them will remain behind when the 

 crushed comb is removed to the melting 

 pot. 



I wish to emphasize the necessity of 

 slow melting of the wax and not allowing 

 it to boil, as when the mass reaches that 

 temperature, the propolis is quite apt to 

 combine with the wax. If , after this, 

 the press is applied, all of the wax 

 will be recovered in the best possible con- 

 dition. 



Caution: When melting wax, always add 

 to the water acid of some kind, preferably 

 sulphuric, sufficient to neutralize any al- 

 kali in the water, otherwise said alkali 

 will affect part of the wax, forming a 

 sort of soap. 



If you will try the following experi- 

 ment, you may be able to arrive at an ap- 

 proximate idea of the amount of adulter- 

 ation from ceresin, to be found in any 

 wax under investigation. Take a 7-inch 

 test tube, fill it '.^ full of water, make 

 with it a saturated solution of potash, and 

 hold over an alcohol lamp until it boils. 

 At the instant of boiling, drop in a piece 

 of wax the size of a very small pea, and 

 instantly remove from the flame. If this 

 is done rightly, it will produce a perfect 

 soap or emulsion if it is pure beeswax; 

 but if it contains ceresin, the latter will 

 rise to the top. You may have to try this 

 experiment several times on what you 

 know is pure wax before you are able to 

 produce a perfect emulsion, as sometimes 

 an instant's too long of boiling will cause 

 the wax to separate from the solution. 



Providence, R. I. Jan. 31, 1899. 



