oo BEES. 
from the other side is removed. The combs can then be returned to 
the bees to be refilled, or if the honey flow is over, they can be returned 
to the bees to be cleaned and then removed and stored until needed 
again. This method is much to be preferred to mashing the comb and 
straining out the honey, as was formerly done. 
The extracted honey is then strained and run into vessels. It is 
advisable not to put it in bottles at once, but to let it settle in open 
vessels for a time, so that it can be skimmed. Moct honeys will granu- 
late and become quite hard if exposed to changes of temperature, and 
to liquefy granulated extracted honey it should be heated in a water 
bath. Never heat honey directly over a stove or flame, as the flavor 
is thereby injured. The honey should never be heated higher than 
160° F. unless it is necessary to steril- 
ize it because of contamination of dis- 
ease. % 
Extracted honey is put up in bot- 
1 nsnsamTTTTTTS © tles or small tin cans for the retail 
trade, and in 5-gallon square tin 
, ‘cans or barrels for the wholesale 
ry market. Great care must be exercised 
if barrels are used, as honey will ab- 
sorb moisture from the wood, if any is 
present, and cause leakage. The tin 
package is much to be preferred in 
most cases. In bottling honey for re- 
tail trade, it will well repay the bee 
keeper or bottler to go to considerable 
éxpense and trouble to make an at- 
tractive package, as the increased price 
obtained will more than make it up. 
Honey should be heated to 160° F. 
and kept there for a time before bottling, and the bottle should be 
filled as full as possible and sealed hermetically.¢ 
Fic. 19.—Honey extractor. 
COMB HONEY. 
Comb honey is honey as stored in the comb by the bees, the size and - 
shape being determined by the small wooden sections provided by the 
bee keeper. Instead of having comb in large frames in which to store 
surplus honey, the bees are compelled to build comb in the sections 
and to store honey there (fig. 2). A full section weighs about 1 pound; 
larger ones are rarely used. By the use of modern sections and foun- 
dation the comb honey now produced is a truly beautiful, very uni- 
4 For further discussion of the production and care of extracted honey, see Bulletin 
75, Part I, Bureau of Entomology. It may be obtained from the Superintendent of 
Documents, Washington, D.C. Price 5c, 
397 
