1381

THE HONEY BEE.

i Sure'f Kl T> i ’ (Honey , lb. ij.; Distilled Vinegar , Oj. [wine-mea-

a svr' *-bem in a glass vessel, with a slow fire, to the thickness of

I honey 1 ^-' y emovln S the scum, D.—The London College directs lb. x. oferro r • C . ar ’^ e d] and Oiss. of acetic acid. But there must be somea den, 111 * ,le Hrge proportion of acid ordered). Oxymel is employed asSj.to au( i pectoral. Dose of oxymel as usually found in the shops’

$. Wax.

posed ? T r 0F ^ EES ’ Wax. —Bees’ Wax ( cera ) was at one time sup-ho\ Veve ° Je merely the pollen of plants elaborated by bees. Bonnet,Scales ’tt° earl y as 1768, asserted it to be a secretion from the ventral(Dently un *" er (Phil. Trans, for 1792, p. 143) and Huber have subse-^deed provec l the correctness of this assertion. The latter writer,of ’ P rov ed that the pollen is not at all essential to the production

the u ’ . or bees fed on honey and water equally secreted it, and formedthe cel] WaXy Cells ‘ With this wax they construct the comb (favrn),thei r rn S ./ a ^ eo /t) of which are hexagonal with angular bottoms. (OnHee ; Pematical form, consult Waterhouse in the Penny Cyclop, art.ftat[ pi ' j orc l Brougham’s Dissert, on Subjects of Science connected withC °dected°h V °^' E P- 21 8, 1839.) The substance called Propolis isand i s the bees from the buds of trees. It is of a resinous nature,

sed for lining the cells of a new comb, stopping crevices, &c.'PWav,:_i

Thus the larva of the Cicada limbata or white wax insectwaxy powder, which is communicated to the trees uponwhich these insects are found, and is collected by thenatives, who esteem it highly as a medicinal substance.(See Donovan’s Insects of China .)

Wax is also a product of vegetables; but vegetable waxis not employed in this country. Myrtle wax is obtainedfrom the berries of the Myrica cerifera , a native of theUnited States of America . These are boiled in waterand pressed. The wax exudes, floats on the water, isskimmed off, and is remelted. This kind of wax has agreenish-yellow colour. The bloom of plums is owing toa layer of wax. The wax palm of the Andes has beenalready noticed (see p. G17).

°t Cl^^als secrete wax* ls covered with a

Pm. 250.

c °mb

Cic “4a limbata.

Preparation.— Wax is extracted from thePrZ’ 1,art l v by allowing the latter to drip, partly by subjecting it to^bsilT 6 ’ Tlle comb is then melted in water, by which the impuritiesp,, > and the wax is allowed to cool in moulds. , ,

fenm ? PERTIES of Yellow Bees’ Wax.— Yellow wax (cera flavaj has ain* i ble and peculiar odour; its colour is more or less yellow, but varj -hg „ degree; its specific gravity varies from O'960 to 0'965. t is sa n

ablp ! net bnes adulterated with suet, which gives it a fatty feel and isa » 'be ail as * ,e ' Resin may be recognised by its solubility in cold a co ,\y,° r P ea meal, by its insolubility in oil of turpentine. . ,

ip a X BLEACHiNG.-This is effected by melting yellow wax (eitherit off COp . P . er vessel, or in a large vat or tub, by means of steam), runningat th!,T ule m the melted state, into a trough, called a cradle, perfoi tof with holes, and placed over a large water tan ', a on

this h . C * i s a revolving cylinder, almost wholly immersed in na er. ^ >v ey 0( i eails the wax is solidified, converted into a kind of rib on, an conWn the surface of the water to the other end of the tank. 1 lese