THOUSAND ANSWERS 63 



boiler or other vessel on the stove, weight down the sack, work- 

 ing it occasionally with a stick, and skim off the wax as it rises. 

 With old combs, in which many generations of bees have been 

 reared, it hardly paj's to render the wax without water, for a 



Fig. 13. — A modern wax-rendering equipment. 



great deal of it is soaked in the cocoons and cast skins of the 

 larvK. Soaking these in water first, prevents the wax adhering to 

 the residue, or slumgum, as they call it. 



But in these latter days it's hardly worth while for you to fuss 

 extracting wax from your combs when you can send the combs to 

 those who advertise to receive them and extract the wax for you, 

 (and they'll get out more wax than you will), and allow you pay 

 for the combs in wax or foundation. 



Combs, Straight. — Q. I have one colony with combs built 

 crosswise. How would you manage to get them straight? 



A. It may be part of the frames are straight and the others 

 only a little crooked. In that case you might be able to cut away 

 the attachments and straighten the comb into its own frame. If 



