EXTRACTED TTOISKY 



ir.o 



EXTRATTET) ITONEY. 



]n\i some iilletl with empty coiiibs just un- 

 der them over the brooil. This occupied 

 little time, and the bees were not hindered in 

 ( heir work a single moment. We ha\e never 

 seen bees amass stores faster. Some colonies 

 (ilied four stories to repletion, and the whole 

 was left on the liives until the latter part of 

 ihe summer. In fact, we left them on so 

 long to be safe from tlie depredations of 

 the moth, intending to cut out the lioney 

 and sell it in the comb, or to extract it, 

 whichever form should prove most market- 

 aide. This honey was cut out of the frames 

 and sold the following winter; and it was 

 the nicest and richest lioney we ever saw or 

 lasted. To our astonishment, the liquid 

 portions, tliat ran out when the combs w^ere 

 cut, would not candy at all, even wlien ex- 

 jiosed to zero weather. The lioney was so 

 thick that a saucer full could be turned 

 over without sitilling 



p]xtracted honey, if taken out wliile 

 "■green" (as we liave often termed the nn- 

 ripened state), has a greenish tinge, which 

 well-ripened honey has not.* .Some speci- 

 mens have a turbid or cloudy look, and we 

 lielieve such honey is never really fine- 

 llavored. We are well aware that we are 

 condemning the very honey we once sold, by 

 these remarks, but we can not help it. If 

 we had now some extracted honey such as 

 was taken from those well-ripened combsi 

 we would feel that it was preferable, at 12 

 cts. , to that which sells at 5 or 6 cts. Prop- 

 erly ripened basswood or clover honey has a 

 sparkling clearness, of a slightly yellowish 

 tint, and the flavor is pure and exquisite. 

 We have never seen any iiice-looking comb 

 honey equal to it, for the market always de- 

 mands comb honey that is white, and lias 

 not remained on the hive a long time. We 

 do not mean to say that extracted honey 

 should be without color, like w^ater, for it 

 usually has a transparent pale yellow tint, or 

 it may be quite yellow. After it has can- 

 died, if it does candy, it should be hard, 

 and free from any liquid portion, like that 

 in unripened honey. This thin liquid por- 

 tion is the part that usually changes and 

 gives it the bad taste. In fact, if the liquid 

 l)ortion be drained off, the solid portion may 

 be melted, and it will be found very nearly 

 like that ripened in the hive. 



KIl'ENING HONEY BY ARTIFICIAL MEANS. 



The most that is done in the way of evap- 

 < rating honey that is not entirely ripe is to 

 put it in large tanks, covering the top with 



* Pure sweet clover and cleome are exceptions. 



a semi-porous cloth tightly tied down over 

 the edge of tlie can to prevent robber bees 

 from getting in. In California these tanks 

 hokl anywhere from 20 to 30 tons. In sinne 

 cases the tanks are contracted toward the 

 top, leaving an opening of about 18x24 

 inches. In other cases the tank has a large 

 d.ameter of about eight feet, and only four 

 feet high. This presents a large surface of 

 honey, and the evaporation, therefore, wou'd 

 go on DQore rapidly. These great honey-res- 

 ervoirs are usually set down outdoors, and 

 covered as before explained. As it seldom 

 or never rains in California during the dry 

 season the honey will evaporate down to a 

 good thick body, even if it was a little green 

 when taken out. 



Ml'. E. W. Alexander, of Delanson, N. Y., 

 uses oblong tanks in small buildings paint- 

 ed a dark color to draw the sun's rays. In 

 these he stores his partially ripened buck- 

 wheat until it thickens up. 



Whether such evaporated honey is equal 

 to that which has been ripened entirely in 

 the hives, we have our doubts. We have 

 sampled both kinds, not knowing which was 

 which, and we believe that in every case we 

 have been able to tell the nituial from the 

 evaporated article. Corami-sion men and 

 producers strongly urge that no honey be 

 extracted excei)t that which has been cap- 

 ped over; that while a few experts may 

 practice artiflcial ripening, the average bee- 

 keeper should leave that wholly to the bees. 



HOW TO KEEP EXTRACTED HONEY. 



Unless the crop has been secured early it 

 is best to dispose of it at once, when the 

 market is at the highest; but it is sometimes 

 advisable to hold the honey until the price 

 aga'n goes up, which it is likely to do after 

 the berry season is over, when every one is 

 thinking of the holidays, Christmas and 

 New Year's : for it is then that honey comes 

 into fresh demand again, and the market 

 becomes firmer. 



Extracted, or comb honey either, for that 

 matter, should be kept in a room about as 

 near summer temperature as possible. The 

 mercury ought not to drop below 65, and it 

 may go as much higher as ordinary summer 

 weather will permit— even 90 or 100 in the 

 shade. Extracted, if kept, should be stored 

 in b'g tin cans, or, better still, in a large 

 tank — one capable of holding eight or ten 

 barrels, if the apiarist is so extensively en- 

 gaged ill bee-keeping that he is likely to 

 have that amount of honey on hand at one 

 time. Where the cans hold more than 500 



