io8 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



basket is about two feet long, one foot 

 wide, about seven inches deep, has a 

 wooden rim around the top edge of it, 

 and, as I have already said, is the shape of 

 an old, log sap-trough. 



These solar wax extractors should be 

 made about 32 inches high at one end, 

 and slant down to 8 inches at the other, 

 and when the comb basket ( wax-strainer ) 

 is hung up across the high end, it should 

 be six inches above the sheet of tin that 

 runs slanting down to the wax pan. Ex- 

 tractors like these should be bolted upon 

 a platform, so that any person can with 

 one finger turn it to face the sun. 



After the large plate of glass is put in 

 the sash that covers the extractor, the 

 sash should be fastened with hinges at 

 the lower end of the extractor. When I 

 melt wax over, and run it into pans, I al- 

 ways wind some papers around boards 

 and cover the pans so tightly that no air 

 can get at the wax; and, by doing that, 

 I have not had one cake of wax cracked 

 in over twenty years. 



WOODBURN, Ont. Feb. 8, 1S99. 

 RENDERING BEESWAX. 



An Improved Boiling Process; The Solar Ex- 

 tractor; how the Latter may be used 

 in Purifying Wax. 



C. DAVENPORT. 



PROBABLY few, if any, of those who 

 read these lines have done more ex- 

 perimenting, or tried more methods of 

 rendering old comb into wax, than I have. 

 I have had a great deal of this work to do, 

 and I will describe the method I have 

 practiced of late. 



First, however, I will say a few words 

 about solar wax extractors. There seems 

 to be considerable difference of opinion 

 as to their value for rendering old comb; 

 some asserting that a large per cent, of the 



wax is lost by this method, while others 

 say that all, or very nearly all, of the 

 wax can be secured by this method. I 

 have found that a great deal depends up- 

 on the extractor and the method of using 

 it. If an extractor is made right, very 

 nearly all of the wax can be obtained from 

 any comb, no matter how old; provided 

 it does not contain pollen. For use in 

 the North an extractor should have doub- 

 le glass, and be made with close joints, 

 so that it will hold the- heat; then, in or- 

 der to secure all of the wax, the combs 

 must not be piled on top of each other, 

 but spread over the inside, one deep, and 

 left until all wax ceases to drain out; the 

 time varying, of course, according to the 

 heat of the sun. I have taken the refuse 

 from old comb so treated, boiled it, and 

 then put it into a powerful screw press, 

 and obtained but very little wax; no- 

 where tiearly enough to pay for the ex- 

 tra work. I have not only tried this ex- 

 periment once but a ninnber of times, 

 with the same results. If, however, the 

 combs contain pollen, or are piled on top 

 of one another in the extractor, anywhere 

 from 20 to 50 per cent of wax will be ob- 

 tained from the refuse, if it is boiled and 

 put under a strong pressure. The length 

 of time required to treat old comb in a 

 solar .extractor, in order to obtain all of 

 the wax, is so great as to make its use 

 entirely out of the question; if much is 

 to be rendered; besides, as a rule, most 

 old comb contains pollen; so I have set- 

 tled upon the old fashioned method of 

 boiling, as being the quickest and most 

 effective way of rendering old comb. By 

 this method "s or more of the wax can be 

 obtained without the use of a press; as I 

 have demonstrated by careful tests and 

 actual weights. 



.\ very important part of the boiling 

 method is to first .soak the combs in wa- 

 ter two weeks or ten days. I take one or 

 two or more barrels, as may be required, 

 and fill them with comb; then pour in as 

 much water as they will hold, weighting 

 the combs down with stones. I should 

 have explained, however, that after I have 



