4 
COLORADO EXPERIMENT STATION 
great difficulty. The presence of a small amount of fatty nmtter seems 
to facilitate the process. The melting point of beeswax varies with dif¬ 
ferent samples, due to the fact that the proportion of its constituents 
may vary. The melting point is higher in old than in fresh wax, i. e., 
the melting point increases a little as the wax ages. Yellow wax melts 
between 61° and 63° C. (141.8° and 145.8° F.) Its specific gravity 
varies from 0.96 to 0.97 at 4° C. 
The average composition of beeswax is, cerotic acid, soluble in alco¬ 
hol, 14.4% ; myricin, insoluble in alcohol, 85.09%. There are, further, 
other compounds present, two hydrocarbons having been definitely rec¬ 
ognized. The composition of genuine beeswax is approximately con¬ 
stant, and is not changed by natural bleaching, but chemical bleaching 
may increase the relative percentage of acid to 17 or 18%. 
Comb Used. As the comb varied considerably, care was taken to get 
a fair sample for each experiment. The comb used was mostly old black 
comb which had been used as brood comb and was furnished hy some of 
the beekeepers of the state and the Entomologist of the Station. The 
comb was sorted into three different grades; that designated as comb 
number one was white comb which had not been used for breeding pur 
poses. Number two comb was light brown, which had been used as a 
brood comb. It was darker than number one but not as dark as number 
three. Comb number three was a real dark comb and had been used for 
breeding purposes for a long time. Almost all of the experiments were 
conducted with combs numbers two and three, as almost all methods are 
very efficient with comb like number one. 
Samples. Realizing that a little difference in the samples taken for 
the experiments would make a greater difference in the final result, we 
were very careful in the sampling of the material for the experiments. 
The comb was cut into pieces about an inch square and placed in a pile. 
The pile was stirred until well mixed, divided into quarters and the two 
opposite quarters placed in a pile. This pile was stirred and sampled 
as before. This process was continued until a sample of the proper 
weight was obtained. 
SOLAR EXTRACTORS. 
Two kinds of solar extractors were used, known as numbers one and 
two. Number one consisted of a wooden box thirty-two inches long, 
(•ighteen inches wide, and four inches deep. At the lower end a small 
box is placed to hold the pan which catches the wax. Twenty-four inches 
from the top there is a screen to hold back the comb. The upper portion 
of the box is lined with tin and the waste wax and brood comb are placed 
in this part of the box. The box is covered with a pane of glass held in 
a frame which fits the upper edge of the box. The heat from the sun 
melts the wax and it runs down, is strained by the screen, and is col- 
jected in a pan at the lower portion of the tin. 
Number two extractor consists of a wooden box sixteen inches 
broad, seven inches deep and thirty inches long and has legs near one 
end so that it can be raised up at an angle toward the sun. The interior 
