No. 6. UEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 37^ 



iu a dish that contains oven a very little granulated honey, it will 

 hasten the granulation of the whole. 



Comb honey does not granulate so readily as extracted, but it is 

 likely to begin granulating by the time it is a year old, especially 

 if it has {Suffered from hard freezing. If it has been kept in a hot gar- 

 ret through the summer it may stand a good deal of freezing without 

 liarm. There i« no way to bring candied comb honey back to the 

 licpiid form and still have it in the comb. It should be melted slowly 

 without being overheated, as already described for candied extracted 

 honey. Then when it has become cold, lift oft' the cake of beeswax, 

 and you have a nice article of liquid honey for the table, unless it 

 has become soured as well as candied. 



TREATMENT OF SOURED HONEY. 



The question may arise, what shall be done with honey, either in 

 the comb or extracted, which has become thin or sour? In some cases 

 it will be greatly improved by allowing it to stand a sufficient number 

 of days on the reservoir of the cook-stove to get the benefit of the 

 mild heat. Sometimes a crock of granulated extracted honey that 

 seems quite bad may be made good. The surface is about as thin 

 as w^ater and somewhat soured, but farther down it is solid grains. 

 Turn the crock upside down or on its side over another crock, and 

 give it two days or more to drain oif. Then melt slowiy the solid 

 part left, and there will be no sourness about it. Of course, there 

 will be no need to melt it for those who prefer it candied, but the thin 

 part must be drained off. 



HONEY VINEGAR. 



But even if the honey is so thin and sour that there is no possi- 

 bility of making it fit for table use, there is no need of its being 

 wasted. It can be used for vinegar, and it is a fact that the very 

 finest of vinegar can be made from honey. When the thin, sour 

 part is drained off candied honey, it can be thrown into the vinegar 

 barrel. When honey is extracted, there will always be more or 

 less honey in the cappings, and after there is saved for the table 

 what will easily drain oft", there will be still some left adhering to 

 the cappings. A little water may be added to the ca])plngs and 

 thoroughly stirred up with them, and then drained off to be added 

 to the vinegar. This draining will be more complete if it is done in 

 a cellar. 



Besides using such odds and ends for making vinegar, some think 

 it profitable to use good honey for the purpose. It is said to keep 

 pit^kles longer than other vinegar. Make water sweet enough with 



