STATE bee-keepers' ASSOCIATION. 173 



the pitch of the screw so that it would have less than half 

 the power of the first screw sent out, because the difficulty 

 would be, they would put too great pressure on and break it. 

 Mr. France is right when he says a press should not be full, 

 only enough to make a cheese about an inch and a half 

 thick. Then you can get all out but about five percent of 

 the wax. What we are working for now is to get that five 

 percent. 



Mr. Dadant — We have had considerable experience in 

 melting beeswax and old combs. We used to melt old combs 

 by breaking them up fine, soaking them in water, and then 

 rendering them. But the great principle is, if you get the 

 combs well broken, those combs that contain cocoons or the 

 skins of the larva lodge in the cells, and no matter what 

 amount of pressure they will not come out ; that is, they 

 will not allow the wax to come out. If you have every- 

 thing well broken, and well soaked in water, the beeswax 

 will come out sooner or later. 



Dr. Miller — That is very good, I believe, but I failed 

 on that. 



Mr. Dadant — I never did much of it myself, but I know 

 we did it. 



Dr. Miller — I am merely saying I didn't know enough 

 to do it, and I would like to know how. 



Mr. Dadant — If you do it in warm weather it will not 

 do it so well, but in cold weather it will do it better. We 

 have used the German wax-press, and I believe we are one 

 of the few who have not broken the iron casting given in 

 the first place. We had customers who bought those through 

 us and who all complained of breaking them. We took it 

 for granted that it was easily broken, and we must be care- 

 ful, and I think we got the wax out of the combs about as 

 well as anybody could. We put the wax in and put on the 

 pressure, and keep it on all day long. You will find every 

 few minutes, or half an hour or so, you can make another 

 turn with but a little pressure, and keep on getting your 

 wax away from the center. We have the same thing in 

 pressing grapes. You take a large cheese of grape-pulps and 

 press it in a hurry, and the juice in the center has no time 

 to get out; but give it time to press out, as the pressure 

 goes on it it gives more room; you press it gradually, and 

 therefore you can get better results with less fatigue to 

 the operator. 



Dr. Miller — Do I understand that the metal casting had 

 broken? 



Mr. Root — The first press we sent out had a cast-iron 

 frame built exactly as they build them in Germany. I sup- 

 posed if we followed the plan given in Germany we would 

 be perfectly safe. Those who have had experience in mak- 

 ing castings will know that sometimes there are flaws in 

 the casting. Mr. Dadant may have had one without any 

 flaws. Those flaws are covered up by galvanizing. We re- 

 placed all that we knew about, and sent out the wooden tops. 

 I sent Dr. Miller one. Then we discovered that the com- 

 bination of metal and wood — wood protected by a piece of 



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