CHAPTER XI
POINTS ABOUT BEESWAX
HOW TO MAKE IT
Beeswax is a unique product; the little socialists of the hive have formed a trust for its manufacture, which for many and good reasons has never been infringed upon. The special value of beeswax is that it retains its cohesiveness and ductibility, under both higher and lower temperatures, than do other kinds of wax. It has a specific gravity of 960–972, and melts at 143–145° F.
Beeswax has been in demand in the world since ancient times, being put to many and diverse uses. Now, however, the making of foundation-comb is the most important of these uses and most affects the beeswax market of to-day. Countless thousands of sheets of wax-foundation are manufactured yearly in America. When foundation was first used it was thought that it might be adulterated safely with parafiine, but it was soon found that beeswax thus adulterated, when subjected to the heat of the hive in summer, would invariably bulge, buckle and sag. We know an apiarist who lost money, honey, bees and temper through trying to use this kind of foundation, which did not stand firm.
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