VINEGAR. 



455 



VINEGAR. 



rangement for ventilation than that furnish- 

 ed by the entrance. See Wintering. 



ViriTIiG-AR. This is one of tlie legiti- 

 mate products of honey ; and when properly 

 made it has a quality quite superior to any 

 other vinegar, especially for making pick- 

 les. It will not die, nor lose its strength like 

 most other vinegars ; and one can have light 

 or dark vinegar by taking light or dark hon- 

 ey to make it from— at least so says R. R. 

 Murphy, of Fulton, 111., who has made and 

 sold large quantities of honey vinegar. 

 Speaking of pickles made of honey vinegar, 

 Mr. G. W. Gates, of Bartlett, Tenn.,says: 

 " We have used no other for two years ; and 

 nearly every one who tastes our pickles asks 

 my wife for her recipe for making them. 

 When told that we use nothing but honey 

 vinegar, they are surprised."' Mr. E. France, 

 of Platteville, Wis., asked the wife of one of 

 the merchants why she always bought his 

 vinegar ; and her reply was, that the stuff 

 from the store always ate up her pickles ; 

 but that, when she uses honey vinegar, her 

 pickles keep, and have a beautiful fine flavor. 



Notwithstanding the fact that vinegar 

 from honey is the finest in the world, the 

 very low price of the ordinary product from 

 cider makes it impossible to get a very high 

 price for honey vinegar. The length of time 

 it takes to make it, and the quantity of hon- 

 ey required, would make the vinegar too 

 high-priced to compete with the other kinds 



on the market. But every bee-keeper always 

 has some poorer grades, some from broken 

 combs. w;ishings from honey-barrels, honey- 

 cans, etc., that will be practically wasted 

 unless made into vinegar. Mr. E. France 

 always uses the washings of his honey- 

 barrels ; and this sweetened water he con- 

 verts into vinegar. When we can utilize 

 honey that would practically all go to waste, 

 and convert it into cash, we are just that 

 much ahead. 



HONEY VINEGAR, HOW TO MAKE. 



Tlie honey - water and honey - washings 

 should be put into a barrel with the top head 

 taken out. To determine whether the water 

 is sweet enough, drop in a fresh egg. If the 

 egg will just float so as to leave a spot above 

 the liquid, about as big as a ten-cent piece, 

 then it is " all right," according to E. France. 

 Another bee-keeper, Mr. G. D. Black, of 

 Brandon, la., uses an ordinary hydrometer, 

 which he says he bought for 35 cents. When 

 this sinks into the liquid so the scale regis- 

 ters at 11, it is of the right consistency. 

 Next cover the top of the barrel with cheese- 

 cloth, and let it stand in a warm place where 

 it can work and sour. In winter it should be 

 put into the cellar. It will take anywhere 

 from one to two years to make good vinegar. 

 But the process can be greatly hurried by 

 putting in "mother" from another barrel. 



VIRGIN QUEENS. See Queens. 



