3i6 Saving the Wax. 



such trouble in my apiary. In Germany it is recommended 

 to press the foundation for extracting combs onto a board 

 and so have the cells built out only on one side and elon- 

 gated so as to hold much honey* This gives strong combs 

 and saves turning the frames when extracting. But wired 

 combs are strong, and our improved extractors make turn- 

 ing very easy and rapid. Again evaporation or ripening 



Fig 



Wire Imbedder, 



in deep cells is very slow. I have also found that bees 

 object to foundation on a board and often bite it off. 



SAVE THE WAX. 



As foundation is becoming so popular, it behooves us all 

 to be very careful that no old comb goes to waste. Even 

 now the supply of wax in the country is scarce equal to the 

 demand. Soiled drone-comb, old, worthless worker-comb 

 all the comb in the old hives if we use Mr. Heddon's 

 method of transferring, and all fragments that cannot be 

 used in the hives, together with cappings, after the honey 



is drained out through a coarse bag or colander which 



process may be hastened by a moderate heat, not sufficient 

 to melt the wax, and frequent stirring — should be melted 

 cleansed and molded into cakes of wax, soon to be again 

 stamped, not by the bees, but by wondrous art. 



METHODS. 



A slow and wasteful method is to melt in a vessel of 

 heated water, and to purify by turning off the top, or 



