The record-union., 1893-11-29

their yellow product requires TO trans
form it into the handsome white plates OF
the drug stores. The following from the
Scientific american will interest all who
keep bees and sell wax:
The greatest honey and waX-produclng
States are New York, California, ONO,
Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan,
Kentucky. North Carolina and Dakota.
These States produce about 200, 600 pounds
of beeswax yearly. About twenty pounds
of honey are required to produce one
pound of wax. Large quantities OF wax
are imported to this country, in cakes OF
twenty-five and fifty pounds each, from
Cuba and Africa. 1t comes In two coIors,
light yellow and dark brown.
Bees that gather most OF their money
from grape and tobacco flowers produce
the dark-colored wax, which IS hard TO
bleach. That produced from clover,
buckwheat, ETC., IS lght-colored ana
bleaches easily. The bleached wax Is
used mostly by sperm-candle makers,
wax-foWer makers, druggists, and IN the
manufacture Of carbon paper. The large
cakes are first broken up into small
pieces and put into large circular tub or
vat made of cedar. This tub IS about nVe
feet in hight and about three feet IN dl-
emeter. Across the bottom of the tub
are two square, hollow wooden pipes, one
crossing the other at the center, the tops
of which are perforated with a number
of hole. Placed into the end Of one OF
these pipes is a perpendicular pipe, which
is connected at the top to brass steam
pipe.
About 500 pounds of wax is placed in
the tub. and enough water poured on to
it to swim it well. From torty-fve to
sixty pounds of steam Is then turned on,
which rushes down TO the perforated
pipes and is forced up through the holes
and distributed through The wax, when
in about three hours becomes thoroughly
melted, the dirt and grit, II any, sinking
to the bottom. 1t is then drawn from the
tub and run through a sieve, where 1t
falls down on to a revolving wooden
wheel or roller, about four and half feet
in length and eighteen inches IN diameter.
The bottom of this roller rests IN bed
of water about eighteen inches IN depth
and about six feet length, the tempera-
ture of which is about TO-. AS the melted
wax leaves the sieve it strikes or falls on
top of the wooden wheel in small pieces
of ribbons, sticking fast and becoming
instantly chilled.
This roller makes about sixty-four
revolutions per minute, the wax dropping
of the instant it comes In contact with
the water. The material Is then taken
out of the water bed by means Of wooden
forks, and placed in boxes and carried
out to the bleaching frames. These frames
are made of wood, about 100 feet in
length, fourteen feet in width and ABOUT
eight inches in depth, ana raised three
feet from the ground. About 1,000 pounds
OF wax is placed on each frame, and left
out day and night for the sun TO bleach
for four weeks. 1t is sprinkled with wa
ter four or five times daily to keep the
hot summer sun from melting 1t, as the
temperature reaches as high as l20- Once
a day a ty-four-prOnged wooden rake
is drawn back and forth through the ma
terial, which turns it over, allowing the
sun to act on every particle. The wax,
when first taken out to bleach, is yellow.
After four weeks exposure III the sun it
becomes a creamy white. 1t is then
gathered up and taken back to the tubs
and melted over again, going over the
same operation and out again to the
bleaching frames, TO remain out two
weeks longer, with the same sprinkling
and raking operation. This second bleach
ing turns the wax almostto a snow white,
and it is ready to be formed into cakes for
the market.
About 600 pounds is then melted uD at
q time in tub and drawn of, to be made
into cakes as needed. These cakes are
made by running melted wax from a
horizontal movable copper cylinder into
circular mOldS. These molds are Of
heavy tin, four inches III diameter and
about One-quarter inch in depth, and are
placed one after another on a long table,
the sides of which are fitted up with
tracks over which the movable cylinder
can be drawn back and forth. This
cylinder is ten inches in diameter. five
feet in length and double. The outer
cylinder contains hot water, which sur
rounds the inner one, containing about
fifteen pounds of melted wax. The hot
water ana wax are poured into the cyIIn-
ders by means of capped tubes at each
tfr,~r fh,o 4 in
der and connecting with the inner cylin-
der are a number Of small hollow tubes,
through which, when the attendant turns
the cylinder over, the wax runs out into
the molds. AS soon as the molds are
filled the cylinder is drawn back again
and pushed forward to the next set Of
molds, the operation being repeated un-
til the molds are all filed. TO keep the
wax from cooling, the hot water is
poured when cool and fresh added after
ninety pounds of wax has been drawn
of. The nodded wax becomes cool in
about one hour, and it is packed into
boxes and ready for market.
FRUITS AND THE MINES.
The attention of California producers
has in recent years been so largely de-
voted to fruit culture that it has become
the foremost State in the Union in almost
every manner of fruit production. De-
ciduous fruits of all varieties find the
highest excellence here, and citrus fruits
are produced in great abundance. Prunes.
grapes table, raisin and winel, peaches
nectarines, apples, cherries, pears, april
cots, plums, figs, olives, berries OF ali
kinds, and great many others too nu-
merous to mention are included in the
list which attain the most systematic and
successful cultivation in California
There are some States which produce
greater abundance of particular fruits
Florida more oranges, many States more
apples and pears-but in the mass of
fruits California has no peer. 1t Is safe to
assert that the value OF all its fruit pro-
ducts is several times greater than that of
any other State, aud the industry has by
no means reached the limit OF its growth.
California is the only State which is the
largest producer OF more than one variety
of fruit. More pruneS are raised here
than In any other State; more peaches,
more grapes, more olives, more figs, more
nectarines, more apricots. The time will
probably come when it will raise more
oranges. 1t produces more wines than all
others put together. Apricots, raisin
grapes, ngS and olives are raised IN no
other State.
California ranks high as a producer of
wheat and barley, and exports perhaps a
greater relative surplus than any other
state. California IS a large producer of
wool, and one OF the largest of hons. And
so the list might be extended indefinitely.
All these things are excellent. and 90 to
make up great commonwealth, All
contribute to the wealth, prosperity and
hanpiness of the people. Nav no branch
of industry ever be diminished! Nav ain
grow to the maximum predicted by their
most hopeful followers!
But it is not amiss to call attention to
the fact that in all this development of
trnit and other interests one other branch
of industry has not been surpassed in
value or importance. There is an i'm
,,raseioy, in some quarters that the nninipc