BEE MANUAL, 91, 
however small, were saved and put away in some moth-proof 
place till the end of the season, and then cleaned, the proceeds 
from this source would make a sensible addition to the profits 
of the apiary. 
It may not be out of place here to show the importance of 
the trade in beeswax, in the United Kingdom alone, during 
the years 1882 and 1883. The imports in the former year 
amounted to 1,776 tons 18 cwt., valued at £126,926, and in 
the latter to 1,409 tons 12 ewt., valued at £87,146. The 
exports of wax from Chili to all parts in 1883 were 93 tons 
1 ewt., valued at 85,617 dollars. These figures are taken from 
official records, and will serve to give some idea of the impor- 
tance of wax as an article of commerce. 
METHOD OF RENDERING WAX. 
No doubt one great cause for the waste of wax in this part 
of the world has been the want of means and knowledge to 
clean it in a quick and inexpensive manner. This want is now 
Fig. 28.-THE GERSTER WAX EXTRACTOR, 
supplied by what is called the “wax extractor,” a figure of 
which is placed above, and the following is the method by 
which it is accomplished :— 
The basket B is made of perforated tin, and it is into this 
that the pieces of comb, etc., are to be put. When the basket 
is filled, the cover of the vessel A is to be removed, and the 
basket placed inside, resting on the fixed shallow pan, shown 
where the side is cut away. This pan has three pieces of tin 
