336 
Beekeeping 
and is drained off. In the hot water press (Fig. 140), the 
whole process takes place under hot water, the liberated 
wax rising to the top where it is removed. A method in 
common use is to melt up the combs in a boiler and dip off 
the melted mass into a burlap bag which is then subjected 
to pressure, no additional heat being supplied. Small presses 
of these types may be purchased from dealers in supplies 
but if there is much wax to be rendered, larger machines of 
the hot water type 
should be made to 
which more pressure 
may be applied. In 
any type of press it is 
desirable to press the 
bag of comb thor¬ 
oughly and then loosen 
it to allow the combs 
to be filled with water • 
before pressing again. 
This may be repeated 
several times until no 
more wax is liberated. 
It is advised that 
soft water be used 
in rendering combs. 
The residue after the removal of the wax is commonly 
known among beekeepers as “slumgum” and since bee¬ 
keepers seem to have a vocabulary of their own and since 
there is no other name for this substance we must perforce 
accept it. In most cases, slumgum contains a considerable 
amount of beeswax, some samples supposed to be practi¬ 
cally free being found on analysis to contain forty per cent 
beeswax. Cocoons entirely free from beeswax are brown¬ 
ish-gray and cannot be pressed into a hard cake. If then 
the slumgum after removal from the press forms a black 
hard mass, the beekeeper may rest assured that it still con¬ 
tains wax. This may be shown quickly by putting some in 
Fig. 140. — Hot water (Hershiser) wax press. 
