230 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  3,  1903 
W. 
HE  BEE-KEEPER. 
■  i  -1  -  i  -  I 
■  I ^ t ■ 
Beeswax. 
This  is  familiar  in  every  household.  Its  eomposition  is 
generally  considered  to  be  80.20  percent,  carbon,  13.14  hydrogen, 
and  6.30  oxygen,  and  its  specific  gravity  0.069.  Beeswax  is  the 
result  of  a  chemical  process  in  the  body  of  the  bee,  which  requires 
certain  conditions.  A  temperature  of  85deg  to  OOdeg  is  neces¬ 
sary  for  its  secretion.  Much  honey  is  consumed  during  its 
elaboration,  and  to  obtain  the  requisite  temperature  the  insects 
cluster,  the  wax  exuding  on  what  are  termed  the  wax  pockets, 
which  may  be  seen  by  pre.ssing  the  abdomen  of  the  worker  bee 
so  as  to  cause  its  distention. 
On  these  ventral  plates  there  will  be  found  scales  of  wax 
forming  in  different  stages.  The  bee  seizes  these  little  pieces  of 
wax  with  one  of  its  hind  legs,  and  carries  them  to  its  mouth,  and 
after  masticating  them  for  a  moment  they  are  formed  into  the 
cell  walls  of  the  combs  they  are  building.  A  temperature  of 
85deg  to  OOdeg  is  necessary  for  working  the  wax,  as  it  only 
becomes  plastic  at  85deg.  JOeeswax  forms  a  considerable  articTe 
of  commerce,  large  quantities  of  it  being  imported  into  this 
country  when  it  is  used  for  various  purpose.s^ — furniture  and  boot 
creams,  phonograph  records,  and  it  is  used  largely  by  dentists 
for  making  impressions  of  the  gums  preparatory  to  fixing  false 
teeth. 
Pure  beeswax  is  bright  yellow  in  colour,  and  has  an  agreeable 
balsamic  odour  not  unlike  some  kinds  of  honey.  Vegetable  wax 
is  not  soluble  with  ether,  while  beeswax  is  partially  soluble.  Bees¬ 
wax  adulterated  with  oO  per  cent,  of  vegetable  \vax  would  be 
detected  by  ether.  A  simple  test  of  purity  is  to  chew  a  fragment, 
which  if  pure  will  not  clog  on  the  teeth. 
The  bee-keeper  should  preserve  all  scrap.5  of  comb  and  extract 
the  wax  when  convenient.  When  extracting,  it  should  not  be 
overlooked  that  the  wax  niust  not  be  subjected  to  oven  heat,  as 
it  makes  it  hard  and  brittle.  A  good,  simple  method  where  a 
rvax  extractor  is  not  possessed  is  to  partly  fill  a  large  pan  with 
water,  and  after  putting  the  rvax  into  a  muslin  bag  and  tying  it, 
place  it  in  the  pan  and  let  it  boil  over  a  medium  fire  until  the  wax 
rises  to  the  surface;  their  remove  from  the  fire  and  allow  it  to 
cool  and  settle.  When  cold,  the  refuse  will  all  be  at  the  bottom, 
and  what  little  remains  adhering  to  the  under  portion  of  the  cake 
of  wax  should  be  removed,  after  which,  if  it  is ‘thought  neces.=ary, 
it  may  have  another  boiling  in  clean  water,  which  will  refine  it 
still  more.  By  the  use  of  the  wax-extractor  all  old  combs  can  be 
utilised,  and  the  wax  made  up  into  foundation  and  again  given 
to  the  bees  for  the  reception  of  honey. 
For  sale  and  exhibition,  however,  wax  should  alwaj's  be  ex¬ 
tracted  in  a  double  vessel  .similar  to  a  glue  pot.  The  combs  are 
broken  up  and  placed  in  the  vessel  with  sufficient  water  to  cover 
them,  and  heated  until  the  wax  rises  quite  clean  and  of  the  best 
quality.  For  show  purposes  the  cappings  of  honey  cells  should 
be  used,  as  thej'  are  made  of  wax  only.  Brood  cap2hngs  have 
pollen  added  to  make  them  jiorou.s,  therefore  the  inferior  cap¬ 
pings  of  combs  should  be  rejected.  Wax  should  always  be  ren¬ 
dered  in  rain  water,  which,  besides  other  advantages,  will 
increase  the  yield  of  wax  considerably.  If  hard  water  i.s  u.sed  an 
acid  should  be  added  to  unite  with  the  lime  in  the  water,  and 
prevent  it  from  attacking  the  cerotic  acid  of  the  wax.  The  acid 
genemlly  used  is  hydrochloric,  or  nitric,  of  which  a  teaspoonful 
IS  sufBcient  for  half  a  gallon  of  water.  It  is  also  essential  that 
the  combs  should  be  thoroughly  soaked  in  water  before  rendering" 
the  wax.  "  “ 
After  refining,  the  wax  should,  if  for  sale,  be  moulded  pre- 
sentably.  The  moulds,  to  prevent  the  adhesion  of  wax,  should 
be  slightly  oiled  or  rubbed  with  glycerine.  Dipping  in  cold 
answer  the  same  purpose.  Some  of  thet^finest  wax 
poured  into  the  moulds  and  made  to  run  all  round 
^  jj  1  ^  shell.  This  must  be  allowed  to  cool,  and  then  more 
added,  afterwards  pouring  in  the  bulk.  The  obiect  of  this  is  to 
have  the  indifferent  wax  or  any  .Sediment  in  the  centre  of  the 
cake,  and  the  outside  perfect.  The  cooling  process  has  also  to 
be  carried  out  carefully,  or  the  cakes  are  liable  to  crack.  The 
moulds  should  be  placed  near  the  fire  and  covered  up  to  permit 
the  wax  to  cool  gradually.  During  the  melting  the  wax  should 
not  be  subjected  to  a  higher  temperature  than  its  melting  point, 
i.e.,  14odeg  to  loOdeg.— E.  E.,  Sandbach. 
Marketing  Honey. 
Many  of  our  bee-keeping  friends  have  now  some  honey  for 
^le,  and  are  naturally  very  desirous  of  disjiosing  of  it  at  once. 
But  thi.s  IS  one  of  the  greatest  mistakes  that  a  beginner  makes 
Do  not  be  in  too  great  a  hurry  ;  learn  to  wait,  and  vou  will  pro¬ 
bably  reap  your  reward.  In  the  first  place  the  yield  of  English 
boney  will  not,  in  all  probability,  be  heavy,  so  prices  will  be 
comparatively  high,  and  those  who  are  in  such  hast©  oftener 
than  not  sell  at  a  sacrifice.  Endeavour  to  create  a  private  con¬ 
nection;  sell  at  a  reasonable  price,  and  always  jirovide  a  good 
article.  Many  years  ago  I  learned  this  lesson  from  a  most 
successful  fruit  salesman  in  one  of  our  largest  markets.  In  the 
course  of  conversation  we  spoke  of  the  qualities  of  British  and 
American  Ajuiles,  and  he  said  :  *'  Whenever  I  oiien  a  barrel  of 
American  Aii^iles,  whatever  sam^ile  is  at  the  tep,  I  can  rely  on 
finding  the  same  at  the  bottom;  but  I  regret  to  say  that 
British  packed  A^ijiles  are  oftener  than  not  tojiped  with  tJie 
best,  and  they  decrease  in  ciuality  as  I  near  the  bottom.”  Let 
us  learn  a  lesson  from  this,  and  I  am  sura  your  friends  will 
never  desert  you,  and  your  customers  will  increase, but  perhajis 
slowly. 
Selection. — llemember  it  is  a  food,  and  all  of  us  like  to  see 
that  which  we  have  to.  eat  clean  and  attractive  in  appearance. 
The  best  cooked  dinner  badly  or  untidily  served  is  never  enjoyed 
nor  appreciated.  On  removing  sections  from  the  hive  grade 
them,' iilacing  all  of  one  quality  and  finish  together,  and  the 
highest  grade  ivill  command  a  higher  price.  Scrapie  the  wood 
well,  removing  all  propolis,  and  a  white  border  of  wood  will  set 
off  the  well  finished  Section  and  make  it  look  appetising.  If 
the  honey  has  to  be  sent  a  distance  use  spring  crated,  or 
disaster  will  certainly  follow.  A  home  macl©  one  may  be 
easily  contrived  out  of  an  orange  or  egg  box  by  the  aid  of  a 
few  springs  purchased  of  the  upholsterer.  If  the  honey  be  ex¬ 
tracted,  strain  it  well  through  a  piece  of  cheese  cloth.  Be 
certain  it  is  quite  ripe,  and  run  it  into  clear  glass  bottles  or 
jars,  with  neat  labels  bearing  your  name  and  the  guarantee 
that  it  is  “  pure  Briti.sh  honey,”  and  not  importecl  glucose, 
which  has  done  so  much  to  lower  the  price  of  the  British  pro¬ 
duction. 
Price. — I  was  reading  a  standard  work  on  the  price  of  honey, 
and  the  writer  says  the  price  for  section  honey  varies  from 
Is.  4d.  to  Is.  8d.,  and  extracted  from  lOd.  to  Is.  This  is  very 
wide  of  the  price  that  any  friend  of  mine  ever  realises.  Last 
year  I  disposed  of  about  2601b  at  9d.  iier  lb,  and  I  was  very 
well  jileased,  for  it  worked  out  at  a  profit  of  nearly  £9  when 
all  had  been  paid  for.  By  endeavouring  to  obtain  a  fancy 
price  you  lose  in  the  long  run.  An  acciuaintance  of  mine  would 
not  sell  any  honey  at  less  than  Is.  per  lb  or  section,  with  the 
result  that  he  baiely  cleared  exjienses  ;  and  by  selling  at  9d., 
and  jilacing  it  within  the  reach  of  a  greate-r  number,  he  would 
have  secured  a  handsome  profit. — Hybla. 
■«< 
All  correspondence  relating  to' editorial  matters  should  be  directed 
to  ‘'The  Editor,”  12,  Mitre  Court  Chambers,  Fleet  Street, 
London,'  E.C.  It  is  requested  that  no  one  will  write  privately 
to  any  of  our  corresiiondents,  seeking  information  on  matters 
discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing  so  subjects  them  to  unjustifi¬ 
able  trouble  and  expense.  In  naming  plants  we  only  undertake 
to  name  species,  or  well-marked  varieties,  and  onij'  six  on  any 
one  occasion. 
TENNIS  COURT  (G.  R.). — Tlie  ground  for  a  tennis  court 
should  be  level,  smooth,  firm,  and  well  drained.  For  how  to 
mark  off  a  court,  see  our  issue  for  April  2,  this  year,  where  there 
i^  also  given  an  illustration,  size.s,  Ac. 
CINERARIAS  DYING  OFF  (P.  K.).— The  Cinerarias  are  not 
infested  by  any  disease,  but  are  killed  at  the  roots  and  root-stem 
level  with  the  soil,  and  is  probably  due  to  watering  them  with 
Little’s  soluble  jiheuyle  in  too  powerful  solution.  In  no  other 
way  can  we  account  for  the  death  of  the  plants,  the  roots  being 
certainly  destroyed,  and  we  did  not  find  the  eelworm  and  Radish 
grub  you  allude  to  as  being  present,  though  you  do  not  attribute 
the  collapse  of  the  Cinerarias  to  them.  We  think  the  evil  is  in 
giving  the  plants  “too  much  of  a  good  thing,”  the  soil  also  being 
wet  and  sour  ;  and  the  plants  also  seem  to  have  been  badly  potted. 
CHRYSANTHEMUM  LEAVES  BROWNED  AND 
WITHERED  (X.  Y.  Z.). — The  leaves  have  the  appearance  of 
attack  by  Chrysanthemum  leaf  blight  (Cylindrosiiorium 
Chrysauthemi),  but  we  did  not  find  the  fungus,  though  the 
blotches  have  the  yellow  marking  at  the  circumference  of  the 
browned  parts  that  indicate  the  presence  of  the  mycelium  in  the 
tissues  of  the  leaf.  This  appearance,  however,  obtains  when  the 
leaf  tissues  are  destroyed  by  wet  lodging  on  them  for  a  con¬ 
siderable  time,  as  has  been  the  case  during  the  recent  and  con¬ 
tinued  rainy  weather,  and  we  should  attribute  the  browning  to 
that  cause.  Possibly  dusting  with  black  sulphur  (sulphur  vivum) 
would  have  a  good  effect.  The  Orchid  is  an  Odontoglossum,  but 
we  do  not  recognise  the  particular  variety.  Consult  an  Orchid 
specialist  in  your  locality,  as  it  is  impossible  to  name  varieties 
without  comparison. 
