ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



59 



comb honey; I have an idea that it is, 

 but I don't know. 



Mr. Tyrrell — ^How large a storage 

 tank do you use? 



Mr. France — One holds nine thou- 

 sand pounds; another five thousand 

 pounds. Bright tin or seasoned wood 

 tanks preferred. 



Mr. Tyrrell— You fill that full before 

 you begin to draw off into cans? 



Mr. France — Yes; two days and a 

 half work; bring home from a ton and 

 a, half to two tons a day. 



It is in there about two or three 

 days, but this year we let it all stand 

 in storage. 



Mr. Tyrrell — I believe Mr. France 

 has hit upon two of the most import- 

 ant points in the production of a first 

 class article of honey. 



You will notice that Mr. France is 

 one of the men who does not leave 

 his honey on the hives clear through 

 to the end of the honey flow; and we 

 have been taught, through books and 

 journals, and at conventions, that it is 

 . absolutely necessary for honey to re- 

 main on the hive all season and ex- 

 tract at the close of the season if we 

 want a choice article. 



It is a fact that in some localities 

 honey can remain on the hives too 

 long, and that it will deteriorate and 

 draw moisture and even sour; this is 

 true in some parts of New York state. 



Mr. France extracts his honey at 

 two or three different times, at the 

 close of each honey flow. 



I hardly dare say it, but I have ex- 

 tracted honej- even more often than 

 that, but that honey has gone invari- 

 ably into the storage tank. If there 

 is any thin or unripe honey that by 

 any means has been extracted, that 

 thin honey will raise to the top of your 

 storage tank. 



The tanks I use hold one ton of 

 honey each. Over the top of my tank 

 I put three or four thicknesses of 

 cheesecloth; then a telescope cover 

 goes over the whole tank, that Just 

 slips on loosely; at the top of that 

 honey a thick scum forms, and that 

 scum, whether you know it or not, is 

 almost air proof. Then the change in 

 the air from around the cover, through 

 that cheesecloth, and down through the 

 scum is a very slow change, and I 

 Tiave found by using the tank and 

 putting that honey in as soon as it 

 has ripened in the hive, and not leav- 

 ing it any length of time on the hive, 



the thin honey goes to the top, and the 

 clear, thick honey is drawn from the 

 bottom. If there is thin honey, don't 

 put it in your first grade. 



You will have in your sixty pound 

 cans the nicest, clearest lot of honey, 

 and it will ail be of one particular 

 flavor. 



As against that, I have bought honey 

 from bee-keepers who run out right 

 from the extractor into sixty pound 

 cans, and I have found that different 

 cans would have different flavors. 

 When I am putting it up for the retail 

 trade in small packages of ten pounds. 

 I would like to buy my honey in ton 

 lots, and have every bit of honey of the 

 entire ton taste just the same all the 

 way through. 



I would not think of producing ex- 

 tracted honey without having a stor- 

 age tank. 



That is contrary to a good deal of 

 the teaching that has been given us, 

 and undoubtedly it would raise more 

 or less of a protest, but the two points 

 Mr. France made we are apt to over- 

 look — first: that honey, if it is ex- 

 tracted or taken from the hives as 

 soon as it is ripe, and stored in a suit- 

 able place, is apt to be better than the 

 honey that is left on the hives until 

 there is a possibility of it absorbing 

 moisture;, second: by the use of the 

 storage tank, you get a clearer article, 

 more utiiform in body and flavor and 

 more satisfactory to send out to your 

 customers. 



Mr. Baxter — I can't agree with the 

 gentleman. 



Mr. Stone — I do. 



Mr. Baxter — I have extracted sixty- 

 five barrels one season, run from thg 

 extractor to barrels, and sold it to my 

 customers, and there was no complaint. 



Honey from one hive should be just 

 like that of another, if it is extracted 

 at the same time and in the same yard. 

 I have extracted honey, and seven days 

 afterward gone right over and ex- 

 tracted again, and from those hives 

 get one barrel of honey from sixteen 

 hives. 



Mr. Tvrrell — Please don't think I con- 

 demn all honey that is left on the 

 hives: that is not what I intended to 

 do; I say that there are conditions, 

 where, if the honey is left on the hives, 

 it will absorb moisture and spoil. 



There is certainly no objection to 

 extracting honey just as soon as it is 

 ripe. 



