128 
THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL 
of the Queenslander, and it does its work 
admirably. The principle is this : — A tin box 
(trough-shaped) has a false bottom laid in it, 
and on this are placed the wax cappings and 
combs desired to be melted ; over this is laid 
a pane of glass supported by rabbets on the 
inside of the box ; a space of half an inch is 
allowed, and then another pane of glass is laid. 
It is essential that these glass panes fit 
accurately to the box so as to prevent the 
escape of the heated air below. All being 
ready, the box with the wax in it and the 
panes of glass fixed, is placed out in the full 
sunshine ; then a reflector, the same size as the 
panes, is fixed at right angles with the glass 
so as to reflect the sun’s rays upon it; this 
reflector can be made of bright tin, and Mr. 
Edman’s was so made, but he intends sub- 
stituting looking-glass. Upon placing my 
hands on the surface of the glass it felt 
pleasantly warm, but apparently not near the 
heat required to melt wax ; but, lifting off the 
glass, Mr. Edman desired me to put the tip of 
my finger on the wax. Thomas-like I did, but 
quickly withdrew it, for the temperature was I 
absolutely scalding. It seems incredible that 
so much heat can be got without the applica- 
tion of fire, but it is so, nevertheless, and it 
led me to think that the attempts of French 
scientists to utilise the great solar heat in 
their Algerian colony for domestic and cook- j 
ing purposes will yet be successful. For 
melting wax Mr. Edman says the apparatus is 
simply perfect ; it is no trouble, and the 
quality of the wax is never injured, for 
there can be no burning or discolouration. 
It is almost needless for me to say that the 
whole of Mr. Edman’s bees are more or less 
Italianised, for the superiority of the strain over 
the ordinary black bee is almost undisputed 
by those who have kept the two species side 
by side in this colony. The potency of the 
bleed is shown in the fact that the majority of 
the bees wild in the bush within thirty miles 
of Brisbane now show traces, more or less, of 
Italian blood, yet it is only six years since 
the breed was introduced by Mr. C. Full wood, 
of North Quay, Brisbane. — The Queenslander, 
22nd January, 1887. 
