164 ADVANCED BEE CULTURE. 



The H.eiiderlii^ of Bee^ 



N nearly every apiary there are more or less odds and ends of 

 combs which are well-worth saving to be made into wax. When 

 an apiary is run for extracted honey the wax from the cappings 

 is no small part of the income. If there are many combs to be 

 rendered, as is often the case when foul brood 8:ets into an apiary, 

 the manner of doing the work becomes an important question. The 

 small bee-keeper who has only a few scraps to melt up, may resort 

 to almost any make-shift; and, by the way, here is one such primi- 

 tive plan: Take an old dripping pan, or any large, flat, metal dish 

 that is of little value, and punch a hole in one corner. Set the dish 

 in an ordinary stove oven, letting the end with the hole in it project 

 from the oven. Put the scraps of comb into the pan, where they 

 will melt, and the wax will run out of the hole, where it may be 

 caught in a dish set upon the floor. If the scraps are of nearly pure 

 wax, like cappings, or new comb, this plan will answer quite well for 

 rendering wax upon a small scale; but, if the combs are old, the 

 cocoons will absorb so much of the wax that a large portion will thus 

 be lost. A plan that will secure a larger percentage of wax from 

 old combs, but requiring some more labor to put into operation, is 

 that of crowding the combs into a sack made of cheese cloth or bur- 

 lap, tying up the mouth of the sack, and immersing it in a boiler of 

 water set upon a stove, and then bringing it to the boiling point. 

 While the water and the sack and its contents are still hot, the sack 

 should be thoroughly turned and pressed with something like a 

 garden hoe, thus stirring up the contents and pressing out the wax. 

 The water will largely take the place of the wax, which, being lighter 

 than the water, will rise to the top, where it may be taken off in a 



