BEEKEEPING.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1666, 3 February 1904, Page 69

BEEKEEPING.

HOMEY-PRESS AMO EXTRACTOR.

One bee-keeper is anxious to know si a honey-press. will not d!o away with a lot of work if used' in an apiary instead of an extractor. A simple answer “yes” or “no” to this query would) not be satisfactory. The honey-press is used solely, oir intended solely, for obtaining honey from combs filled With heather honey. This honey is so stiff when ripened and capped over, that it cannot he ejected like other honeys from the cells by the power exerted in an ordinary cylinder extractor.

If, therefore, heather honey is to he had in a liquid form, or apart from the comb, it must bei by pressing it out. A typical press for this purpose is the “G-an&tang,” with grooved plates. Wlith a press on this principle honey may be squeezed from the supers of a fail-sized apiary any afternoon or eivening. t This is all right in dealing with heather honey, and as far as the actual work is concerned, it would be equally well! with clover, sainfoin, and" other honeys before they candied, but just think what the result would be. We should in a short time destroy those most valuable combs, valuable mainly because after the honey is extracted they can be returned) to the supers and are quickly refilled. If we were to destroy the combs in this manner. and give foundation tinier, I am afraid we should be playing a losing game, except at the height of an exceptionally good honey flow. Looking well round the question I must say that I cannot encourage anyone in destroying combs by passing them through a honeypress instead of through the extractor, and thus having combs to return, for refilling. • WAX EXTRACTION. ' The finest samples of wax are these obtained by saving and melting the cappings taken from extracting combs, or whole combs from supers, that contain nothing hut virgin honey. We cannot always have such combs, but whatever combs we deal with we must endeavour by oareful manipulation to ‘ produce wax as nearly as possible equal to the A 1 grade. have) seen such dark, horrid-looking combs from which good wax has been, obtained; but the quantity from really old combs is So small as. to make the operation unprofitable.. The solar or sun. wax-extractor is not. to be beaten, but. this year it could beused very little for want of hot, sunny ■ day®. " ' v . J-^,a The homely method of obtaining wax from combs takes a lot of beiating.. -That I win describe first. Take a ifem or iron saucepan, deep in preference to wide, put .all the combs intfeeiE a piece of ooarse canvas,. and tie-

a thick string round it to a brick; doa'tf tie the canvas. Then pass the string round the brick, hut put the string round both together; drop them gently’ to the bottom of the pan, or put theifij into the pan and afterwards add water to the required height, which should be 2 or 3 inches above the canvas.' in mlind that as the wax melts the carii vas will become loose and rise a* Gradually bring the water to> boil, and) the wax will as gradually ooze out and feat to tjie top of the water.

After the water has bodied a* little, push the canvas about a Idttie to loosen the debris, among which wax may |jj& imprisoned. As soon as it isr that all the wax is melted, niove the pasot or let the fire go out. ‘When the watefl fes cold the wax will be found in a sheet at the top. It may be broken up afterwards re-melted, strained, if necessary and moulded.

The next method, is by ini applying which great care must be exeri. cased.

Take a tin plate or bowl, in fact any* thing of the kind that will bold wax* and stand over a small bowl of water in the oven. An old biscuit box wllth small holes made in the centre of the bottom will act admirably. Fill it with and then set it over a bowl of water in a fairly hot oven. In a very short time the wax will have- melted, ancß run through if the holes are sufficaentLy numerous. Draw the box out and turtf the debris about a little after lit fyaf been in the oven a short time, to* give* the heat access to all the wax. Remove the tin and howl, and let the water in) the latter cool, when the wax will aph pear in a cake. The next beet system of wax extraction to the solar is that known as the Gerster—after the bee-keeper who de*» signed the extractor. The oardinary observers the extractor is a saucepan and steamer. In the latter or upper com# partment a tray is fixed near the bottom, tipped to one side, out of wMoh the wax may run through a spout. Upotf the tray is placed, when filled with comb, a perforated rina basket. Water is placed in the lower or saucepan part* and as soon as it boils the steam, penetrates the perforated zinc basket, tha wax melts, trickles through the perforations, falls upon the tray, and passes through the spout into a basin of. water set beneath. By continually replenish# ins* the ztno> basket as much comb a# is wished can be dealt with. —“Farm*; Field and Fireside.”