152 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



level. Then the flavor I Any one who 

 ever tasted that smooth, rich flavor could 

 never be made to believe that "green" 

 honey "evaporated" could be made to 

 taste like that. 



No man who has ever had experience 

 in these matters would ever think of ex- 

 tracting "green " honey, and I know of no 

 man who has had more experience in 

 handling both "green" and "ripe" honey 

 than has Mr. W. P. Southworth, manager 

 of the Western Honey Producers' Asso- 

 ciation, and he covers this whole matter 

 in an exhaustive, masterly way in a paper 

 that was read last fall at the Albany 

 meeting of the National. So good and 

 sensible is the advice there given, that I 

 feel it is worth while to copy the whole 

 essay. Here is what he wrote: 



Ripening honey on the hive, or the best 

 method of producing honey that will 

 " taste like more " to the consumer is a 

 subject to which 1 have given a good deal of 

 time and thought, and I wish that I could 

 be present in person to defend the stand 

 that 1 take. 



I contend that it is not enough that 

 honey be entirely sealed in the comb to be 

 ripe and ready for market, but 1 hold that 

 honey should age in the hive. I can not 

 say how long a time should be allowed for 

 this aging, as much depends on locality, 

 the kind of bloom, and the atmospheric 

 conditions. 



My opinion is that this applies to both 

 comb and extracted honey, but it is not 

 so important to age comb honey, because 

 it must be sealed in order to be market- 

 able, and its attractive appearance has 

 much to do with its ready sale. There- 

 fore, we must consider this point and not 

 allow it to become dark and travel- 

 stained. No doubt most of us have seen 

 the nectar in the open cells of our immac- 

 ulate sections become bubbly and sour, 

 and the faces of the sections become 

 watery and greasy appearing, even when 

 kept in a warm, dry place. This shows 

 that the preserving properties are not 

 complete. 



In the production of extracted honey 

 the perfect ripening is more essential, as 

 the extracting process causes the honey 

 to take in the ferment germs that attack 

 the particles that are not thoroughly in- 

 verted or changed from nectar to honey. 



In my position as manager of the West- 

 ern Honey Producers' Association, 200,- 

 000 pounds of extracted honey come 



under my observation annually. The first 

 two years of our existence as packers 

 and distributors nearly all the honey came 

 in small lots, and v/e noticed that there 

 was quite a difference in the quality and 

 density of the honey. This led to close 

 examinations and tests, and the cause 

 was soon located. Some of the honey 

 had been extracted too "green." One 

 such lot that was received in the fall of 

 1908 showed signs of outgrowing the 

 cans soon after it was placed in the ware- 

 house. Some of the cans were hissing 

 quite loudly when it was discovered. This 

 honey was at once treated by our clarify- 

 ing process to see if the fermentation 

 could be stopped. We succeeded in put- 

 ting it in a condition so that it would 

 keep indefinitely, but the flavor was in- 

 jured so that it could not be used as table 

 honey. 



Last season we were offered some car- 

 lead lots that were slightly fermented, at 

 half the price good honey was bringing, 

 but we could not use it. A large grocery 

 house bought it, and by cooking it in a 

 steam kettle made an ingredient that they 

 sell for pure honey. It will pass the pure 

 food inspection, but it will not pass the 

 lips of the consumer the second time. It 

 is such honey as this, put up by ignorant 

 persons (in the case mentioned above I 

 think it is largely ignorance and a desire 

 to get a large package for little money), 

 that is ruining the honey market. 



Give the consumer that rich, thick, de- 

 licious honey, that is extracted later in the 

 season, and it will tax the bloom of our 

 fertile fields to supply the demand. 



Our honey business has expanded in 

 the past four years more than we antici- 

 pated, and this has been brought about 

 by our putting out the best honey. We 

 have secured this best honey by getting 

 next to the producers, and showing them 

 where they are making their mistake. As 

 a result, they were anxious to please the 

 consumer, and today our warehouse is 

 full of extracted honey, every can of 

 which will test perfectly in density, formic 

 acid and flavor. 



The question will be asked, " how are 

 we to let all of our honey ripen or age on 

 the hive ? " 



My answer to this will depend much 

 on the locality and kind of bloom. If the 

 flow is principally light honey, then tier 

 up and leave it until fall. If there is a 

 light honey-flow followed by a dark 

 autumn flow from buckwheat and other 

 blossoms, that impart a strong flavor, I 

 would say, leave the light honey until the 

 dark honey begins to come in, and if a 

 little of the dark is mixed in it, it is not so 



