REXDERING WAX, 



«5 



for the wax motli. imless fumigated with buriiiiig sulpliiir or exposed to 

 the fumes of bisulphide of carbon two or thief* times ench month until 

 no more eggs of the moth remain. 



The okl way of rendering wax was to put tlie combs into a sack made 

 of some oi^en stutf, weight this down in a kettle of water, and boil for 

 some time. The wax rose, and when cold was removed in a cake. 

 This i^rocess, besides being dauby, often yielded inferior wax — burned, 

 water-soaked, or filled with settlings. 



The most approved method of rendering wax is, for moderate-sized 

 apiaries at least, by means of the solar wax extractor (fig. Gl), already 

 mentioned under the head of ^'Implements." Its management is very 

 sinqde. The machine is placed in the sunniest spot in or near the 

 apiary, and all of the wax cappings, after having been drained of honey 

 or worked over by the bees, as well as bits of comb, are thrown into 

 the receiver above the wire 

 strainer, the glass is adjusted, 

 and the whole is turned so that 

 the direct rays of the sun enter. 

 More bits of comb are added 

 from time to time during the 

 day. The melted wax trickles 

 through the strainer and col- 

 lects in a tin placed at the 

 lower edge of the tank or 

 melter. The cake is removed 

 each moru-ing, it having cooled 

 and contracted during the 

 night sufficiently to cause the 

 mass to cleave readily from 

 the vessel. 



Tlie solar wax extractor can 

 be used during four or five mouths of the year in the more northern 

 States, and for a longer time in the South. To render wax at other 

 times steam heat is best. When available a Jet from a boiler ma}' 

 be connected with a barrel or vessel containing the combs and a large 

 amount rendered in a short time. In smaller apiaries a steam extractor 

 for use over a boiler on the stove may be employed (tig. 36). The 

 manner of using these extractors is simple. The cappings and bits 

 of comb to be rendered are placed in an inside basket made of per- 

 forated metal, l^pon i)lacing this over a water boiler, into which it 

 fits closely, the steam rises through holes in the bottom of the upper 

 can and readily i)enetrates the mass. The melted wax runs out 

 through a spout at the lower edge of the upper can and is caught in a 

 l)an partly filled with warm water. As fast as the mass in the perfo- 

 rated can settles away more bits of comb are added. The dark residue 

 remaining is composed of cocoons, jxtlleu, and accidental impurities. 



Fi.i. 61.- 



-The Boardman solar wax extractor. 

 G]eanin''S.) 



(Fron. 



