Vol. IV. No. 79. 



THE AGR [CULTURAL NEWS. 



129 



BEE KEEPING. 



The Preparation of Honey for the Market. 



Mr. T. J. Weston writes in the Journal of the 

 Board of Agricidture (Great Britain) on this subject. 

 In view of its importance to bee keepers in the West 

 Indies, this article is reproduced for the benefit of 

 readers of the A[/ricultiiral iVctcs : — 



The bee and honey classes of the shows now held during 

 each season, both in London and the country, have taught 

 the consumer what to recjuire in a first-class honey. Comb- 

 honey (in section cases) should be translucent, showing the 

 clarity and light colour of the contained honey, evenly and 

 delicately worked out to the sides and bottom of the section, 

 and with a scrupulously clean surface. The finest liquid 

 extracted-honey should be l)right and clear, of a light straw 

 colour, and delicate in flavour and aroma. Granulated 

 extracted-honey should be of fine, even grain, creamy white 

 in colour, and of good flavour. There are many grades of 

 medium and dark-coloured honeys below this first-class 

 standard, but the latter is what the bee keeper must strive 

 to attain, in order to command a ready sale for his produce. 

 In regard to comb-honey, the iirejiaration commences 

 with the fitting of the wax foundation in the section boxes. 

 To ensure a well-worked-out section this should be cut so as 

 just to clear the sides of the box and hang to within -j?,,- inch 

 of the bottom, thus allowing for a slight stretching of the 

 foundation caused by the heat of the bees clustering on its 

 surface. The fitted boxes must next be placed in the section 

 rack, with separators between the rows, reaching to within 

 'g inch of the top and bottom, and wedged up perfectly 

 sc|uare and tight; this is in)portant, for the bees will place 

 propolis over every crack or small space, causing disfigure- 

 ment and extra work in cleaning ; also sections ' out of 

 -scjuare' are nuich more liable to breakage when packed 

 for travelling, owing to the unavoidable spaces between 

 them. The rack must be placed perfectly level on 

 a hive containing a strong colony of bees, it will then 

 be filled with good, straight, and even combs. Removing 

 filled racks from the hives should be done with as little 

 disturbance to the bees as possible: the best method is 

 to i>lace a ' super-clearer ' on a stool or box by the side of the 

 hive, raise up the bottom edge of the i-ack and insert 

 a small wedge ; puff a little smoke between the rack and 

 tops of the frames, then remove the rack steadily with 

 a screwing motion, and put it down gently on the ' super- 

 clearer;' place a cloth, on which a few drops of carbolic acid 

 have been sininkled, over the top of the frames, and in 

 about ten seconds remove it, the bees will have been driven 

 down, leaving the tops clear ; then immediately take up the 

 rack with the 'super-clearer' and place them on the frames. 

 If this operation is carried out in the afternoon, by next 

 morning every bee will have found its way down to the body 

 of the hive through the bee-escape in the centre of the 

 ' super-clearer,' and the rack can be removed with comfort 

 to the bee keeper and without disturbance to the apiary. 

 When sections are taken out of the racks while the latter are 



still on the hives or full of bees, the disturbed bees will 

 frequently pierce the cappings in many places to gorge 

 themseh-es \\-ith honey, and wliere\'er this happens ' weeping' 

 will be caused when the sections are kej^it for any length of 

 time in store. 



The full racks should be carried into a bee-proof room, 

 the wedges and back-board removed, and the centre section 

 of the exiiosed row taken out. Do not attempt to lift it 

 straight out, the results would probably be a damaged 

 section, but tilt it backward on its bottom edge, and 

 when loosened it will come away easily, as also will the 

 two side ones. Sort the sections as they are taken 

 out, [lutting all well-filled clear ones as the first grade ; 

 those not well worked to bottom and sides, and therefore 

 not fit for travelling, make a second grade, and any 

 only partially filled nuist be given back to the bees to finish, 

 unless the ' honey -flow ' has ceased, and in that event they 

 nuist be emptied by the extractor. Carefully scrape all 

 propolis from the edges of the sections, and, if not already 

 sold, store them in a dry, warm cupboard, protecting them 

 from dust by tying in packages of four or six in clean 

 paper ; be very careful not to place anything having a strong 

 odour near the honey-comb, or it will spoil the flavour. 



If the sections are sold to wholesale dealers for re-sale 

 to traders, no further preparation is needed. To pack them so 

 as to travel safely, not more than from four to six dozen 

 should be [lut into one package, preferably the smaller 

 quantity. Procure a strong wooden box, bore two holes in 

 each end, about one-third down, and knot firmly into them 

 rope handles, by which the box can be safely and easily 

 lifted ; i)Ut into the bottom of the box a bed of coarse hay, 

 and on this place, quite close together, a layer of the 

 wrapped-up packages of sections, leaving at least 2 inches 

 between the sides of the box and the sections : this space 

 nuist be filled with hay, tightly pressed in, and, to prevent 

 possible damage to the comb, the ends of the packages may 

 be protected by pieces of straw-board or thin wood ; continue 

 with layers of packages, filling in round the sides as before, 

 until within 2 inches of top, then fill up tightly with hay, 

 and screir on the lid. Label the package plainly : ' Comb- 

 honey, with care.' Retailers of honey-comb prefer to have 

 the sections sent them glazed, it preserves the comb from 

 injury by careless handling, and, what is still more impor- 

 tant, it is kept free from the dusty impurities unavoidably 

 present in shops. 



(7'o /je concluded.) 



WEST INDIAN AGRICULTURAL 

 CONFERENCE, 1905. 



The following despatch from the Secretary' of 

 State for the Colonies to his Excellency the Governor 

 of Trinidad, dated Downing Street, February 25, 1905, 

 is published for general information : — 



Sir, — The Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture for the 

 West Indies has sent me a report of a very successful Agri- 

 cultural Conference recently held at Port-of-Spain, and has 

 brought to my notice the share which the efforts of you and 

 your officers and the unofficial ctimmunity of the colony had 

 in promoting its success. 



I have much pleasure in expressing my appreciation 

 of the cordial reception extended to the delegates, and the 

 active participation of the Government and peoi'le of the 

 colonj" in the i>roceedings. 



I have, etc., 

 (Sgd.) ALFRED LYTTELTON, 



