EXTRACTION OF BEESWAX 
5 
ip fitted with a concave ‘tin lining to hold the pieces of comb, separated 
by a wire cloth straining screen from the wax pan, at the lower end of 
ihe box. 
These two extractors were used because it was thought they repre¬ 
sented, as nearly as possible, the average of the solar extractors used in 
this country. Some beekeepers have solar extractors which are much 
larger than either of these, but it is doubtful if they remove a greater 
p'^rcentage of the wax from the comb. 
The experiments conducted with the solar extractors were made, as 
nearly as possible, under the same conditions. They were made on the 
same day and within a few feet of each other, on the south side of the 
Chemical Laboratory, so as to get the same outside temperature. 
Number one held about twice as much comb as number two. On 
this account, it was necessary to fill number two extractor twice while 
number one was filled once. The first experiments were made to deter¬ 
mine the comparative efficiency of these two solar extractors. For num¬ 
ber one comb, extractor number two produced on the average about one 
per cent, more wax; for number two comb, about two per cent, more, and 
for number three comb, about one per cent, more than extractor number 
one. 
The temperature of the extractor varied so much on different days 
that it was very hard to tell which extractor had the higher temperature. 
One day.^umber two would have a higher temperature and the next day 
number one would. Taking an average of all the experiments where the 
temperatures were taken I find extractor number two exceeded extractor 
number one by about 0.4°C. 
Solar Extractor with Lamp. It is the practice of some beekeepers 
tc operate a lamp, stove or furnace in connection with the solar ex¬ 
tractor. The extractors were inclined at an angle of about thirty degrees 
and an inclosure built back of them, to keep the wind from blowing the 
lamp. A lamp was placed inside the inclosure and a hole made in the 
bottom of the extractor so that the flame would strike against the tin 
lining of the extractors. 
The addition of the lamp helped the extractor to heat up in the 
morning, to remain warm in the evening, and on a cloudy day, to keep 
the extractor warm when the sun was under a cloud. 
By the use of the lamp the efficiency of the extractor was increased 
on an average about one per cent. The best results were obtained by 
having the heat from the lamp strike directly under the wire screen. 
Often on a cloudy day the wax will run down as far as the screen and 
then cool. By having the heat from the lamp warm the screen and the 
surrounding metal the wax is kept from cooling and runs down into 
the pan. 
Double Glass. It was thought that the addition of an extra pane 
of glass might increase the yield. In order to try this an extra pane of 
glass was placed on extractor number one with one-half inch space be¬ 
tween the panes. It was found that the use of the second pane increased 
the inside temperature on an average about 9.4° C. (17° F.) It was 
