FORTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES. 307 



bees are flying out all the time, and of course they fly out 

 only to meet their death. But it would probably njake 

 matters still worse to make the cellar dark, for the in- 

 creased heat, together with air less pure, would probably 

 kill more bees, even if they should not fly out of the hives. 



DRIPPING-PAN WAX-EXTRACTOR. 



Before the introduction of the solar wax-extractor, 

 the rendering of wax was generally reserved as winter's 

 work, and indeed after the introduction of the solar it was 

 often convenient to work up in winter some of the mate- 

 rial saved up. A very simple arrangement on a small 

 scale did excellent work on much the same principle as 

 the solar extractor, only the heat of the stove was used in' 

 place of solar heat. 



An old dripping-pan (of course a new one would do) 

 had one corner split open, and that made the extractor. 

 The dripping-pan is put into the oven of a cook-stove 

 with the split comer projecting out (Fig. 107). The 

 opposite corner, the one farthest in the oven, is slightly 

 raised by having a pebble or something of the kind under 

 it, so that the melted wax will run outward. A dish set 

 under catches the dripping wax, making the outfit com- 

 plete. Of course the material to be melted is put in the 

 pan the same as in the solar extractor. ^ 



SOLAR WAX-EXTRACTOR. 



I do not know that the solar extractor has any ad- 

 vantage over the dripping-pan arrangement, except that 

 the sun furnishes free heat. In either case, when old 

 combs are melted, a good deal of wax remains in the ref- 

 use or slumgum, because the cocoons act much like 

 sponges. Especially is this the case if more than a single 

 thickness of comb is placed for melting. 



