58 



SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



with the new extractor, and have you 

 used it? 



Pres. Dadant — No, I wish to say that 

 in regard to the wax extractor, the one 

 that I thought gave the best resuhs 

 was the one exhibited by Mr. Hershiser, 

 of New York; but the German wax- 

 press sold by the manufacturers is very 

 good. Have your beeswax very hot, 

 and press slowly; leave it on the fire, 

 and keep pressing. I believe Mr. Her- 

 shiser's machine, if manufactured, would 

 be very satisfactory. 



Mr. Ripps — I had experience with the 

 wax while using rainwater, and used ap- 

 ple vinegar instead of sulphuric acids. I 

 used that, and it does pretty well. 



Mr. Rouse — Is there enough in it, in 

 clarifying the wax, to pay all bee-keep- 

 ers to do that? The manufacturer of 

 the comb foundation will always have it 

 nice and clear, and I believe he can do 

 it cheap enough; and in the remarks 

 I made awh'le ago I mentioned it in 

 that direction, so I believe the solar 

 wax-extractor will clean the wax out 

 enough. That is what I had reference 

 to. I don't believe it will pay individ- 

 uals to go to so much trouble to get a 

 purifier. 



Mr. Johnson — I am one that is not en- 

 tirely interested in bee-culture, in mak- 

 ing money, but I have had some ex- 

 perience these 40 years, and I have 

 found, in regard to the solar extractor — 

 . I use my cappings. I take the comb and 

 boil it, and run it through some old 

 gunny-sacks; then I have another ves- 

 sel full of hot water, say a 6-gallon can, 

 and put the wax into this, and I find 

 when it is cool that I have nice, yel- 

 low wax. It gives satisfaction to those 

 that I have sold it to. 



BEST SMOKER-FUEL. 



"What is the best material for smoke 

 to subdue bees?" 



G. H. Adkins— I find that the best 

 material for the smoker is the stems 

 from a cigar factory. 



Dr. Bohrer — ^The kind of bees has 

 something to do with the case. With 

 the Cyprians I would suggest sulphur 

 in a mild form. 



Mr. Werner — I use dry elm wood, 

 hickory wood, or willow. 



Mr. Parsons — I use titi, and find that 

 very good. 



Mr. Victor — In regard to the smoker- 

 fuel I use, the most convenient thing 

 is something that is always handy, that 



is, chips from the woodpile, and the 

 Corneil smoker is what I prefer. With 

 a few dry shavings, an old gunny-sack, 

 and chips from the woodpile, it is 

 good. It does not matter what kind 

 of wood you use, but chips are as good 

 as I have ever used. 



Mr. Stone — I would like to ask Dr. 

 Bohrer, as he suggested sulphur, if he 

 would put it in his smoker. I want to 

 say that some parties were repairing 

 a church in our neighborhood; they 

 found a swarm of bees in the roof, and 

 they came to me to borrow my smoker 

 to smoke the bees out. When they 

 returned the smoker I could smell sul- 

 phur, and it did not last 3 months until 

 it was worthless, and I could not use 

 it; it was covered with little holes. 



E. J. Atchley — The best material 1 

 use is dry moss, which is always at 

 hand; it is in great abundance around 

 our apiaries, and I have found it to 

 work all right. 



Pres. Dadant — You will have to ship 

 it to us, because we don't have it up 

 North. 



Mr. Holekamp — It would not be nec- 

 essary to ship moss from Texas. Old 

 rags are plentiful, and the leaves in 

 the fall are as good as moss; they are 

 everywhere, and you don't have to go 

 South for them. 



Mr, Hilton — The smoker-fuel depends 

 usually upon the locality. In some lo- 

 calities I can secure one thing, and in 

 another I cannot secure it. In Michi- 

 gan the best thing I find is rotten elm, 

 that we find in the inner part of the 

 elm tree, and I cut it up into chunks 

 about 4 inches long, and then put in 

 something that the bees don't object to, 

 and that will not injure them in any 

 way. Some of these things that have 

 been talked about would be very ob- 

 jectionable, and I would have something 

 to say to that, as well as the bees. 



W. H. Laws — I wish to enter a pro- 

 test against cigar-smoke; those that live 

 with it under their noses think it is a 

 good thing. I think what we need is 

 something to frighten the bees — some- 

 thing that is not offensive, and will not 

 anger them. We should give them a lit- 

 tle kind that will frighten but subdue 

 them; that is all right; but this obnox- 

 ious smoke is injurious. 



Mr. Jouno — I gather rotten wood, 

 post-oak, live-oak, hickory; then I ham- 

 mer this up and put into the smoker. 

 I find this is a good smoke. I have tried 



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