338 
Beekeeping 
is much wax still in the dirt it may be kept to put in the 
next melting and the dirt will gradually be eliminated. 
Extensive dealers in wax use a little sulfuric acid to 
assist in cleaning the wax. Manufacturers of comb-founda¬ 
tion usually advise against this practice because beekeepers 
often use too much acid. A proportion of not more than 
one pint to forty gallons of water should be used, this water 
being sufficient for the melting of 750 pounds of wax. 
Granulation of wax. 
In rendering, wax may be formed into an emulsion due 
to the presence of gums in the honey which adheres to the 
combs and on hardening this resembles a thick paste of 
corn meal. Many beekeepers believe that this is pollen 
from the combs and throw it away. It is, however, almost 
solid wax. In melting up combs which had contained honey- 
dew on one occasion the author found the whole mass of 
wax in this condition after cooling. Such granulated wax 
(as it is usually called) should be melted slowly by dry 
heat (not in water) and with care the wax may be saved. 
It is claimed that this emulsion is less common when sul¬ 
furic acid is used in clearing and Dadant claims that it is 
increased by excessive heat. The important fact for the 
beekeeper is that this is not pollen and should be saved. 
Bleaching wax. 
The bleaching of wax is rarely done by the beekeeper and 
requires little mention in a book on beekeeping. It is inter¬ 
esting to note, however, that waxes from various regions vary 
greatly in bleaching, some of the darker waxes being easily 
bleached while some lighter waxes do not respond to this 
treatment. Presumably this is due to the kind of honey 
and pollen available to the bees when the wax was secreted. 
Wax dealers claim that wax from some of the southern 
States is the best obtainable in the United States for bleach¬ 
ing. Usually wax is cut into thin ribbons and exposed to 
sunlight, but chemicals are sometimes used in bleaching. 
