162 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



also in several other countries, he may be 

 allowed to express an opinion as to their 

 merits and demerits. The former are soon 

 told, for the Tunisians (or Funics) are in- 

 dustrious and prolific, somewhat more so 

 than any race of bees coming from Europe, 

 but rather less so than the eastern Mediter- 

 ranean races (Cyprians, Syrians, and Pales- 

 tines). But their faults make a list ! They 

 are small and very black ; are spiteful sting- 

 ers, as vindictive as the worst race known ; 

 bite in addition to stinging ; are great prop- 

 olizers, daubing hives, sections, and combs 

 lavishly with "bee-glue;" they swarm a? 

 much as do the Carniolans and winter as 

 poorly as do Palestines." — Feank Benton, 

 in American Farmer for May, 1892. 



How to Make Honey Vinegar. 



In the close times that bee keepers are 

 now having, it is well to look after all the 

 odds and ends ; to see that no scraps of 

 comb are thrown away, and that the rinsings 

 from the cappings, or from utensils that 

 have contained honey, are not wasted. In 

 many an apiary I presume that enough of 

 these rinsings are thrown away in a year to 

 make a barrel of vinegar. Flain and simple 

 yet complete directions for making honey 

 vinegar are given by Dadant & Son in 

 Gleanings. They say: — 



" There are, in the formation of vinegar, 

 two kinds of fermentation. The first trans- 

 forms into alcohol the sugar, or saccharine 

 matter of the liquid used ; the second 

 changes into acetic acid the alcohol pro- 

 duced. The germs that cause alcoholic fer- 

 mentation exist around ripe fruits, and, to 

 some extent, in honey, and develop best at a 

 temperature of about seventy-five to eighty 

 degrees. The second fermentation, which 

 develops acetic acid, finds its germs in the 

 atmosphere, and may take place almost 

 immediately after tlie other has begun, and 

 long before the saccharine matter has been 

 all transformed into alcohol, so that the 

 mixture may be sweet, alcoholic, and sour 

 at the same time. It looks rather contra- 

 dictory to say that a liquid is sweet and sour; 

 but that is often a fact, nevertheless. The 

 more prompt and thorough the alcoholic 

 fermentation, the more readily will the liquid 

 be transformed into vinegar when the acetic 

 fermentation begins. 



Honey does not contain the germs of fer- 

 mentation in sufficient quantity to make a 

 thorough alcoholic fermentation : and when 

 mixed with water and left to itself it will 

 require several months to convert the mix- 

 ture into an alcoholic beverage, and several 

 months more to change it to vinegar. 



If we are not in a hurry, we rnay succeed 

 in making good vinegar by filling a barrel 

 half full of water, adding two pounds of 

 honey to the gallon of water, and a few 

 gallons of fermented or unfermented cider, 

 keeping it in a warm place, and covering the 

 bunghole with wire cltjth or with a piece of 

 thin cloth, which may keep out insects and 



dust. By this method half a barrel of honey- 

 water may be changed into good vinegar in 

 two or six months, according to the tempera- 

 ture. 



As we sell vinegar to our neighbors, but do 

 not care otherwise to keep it for sale, we 

 have been in the habit of keeping two bar- 

 rels for vinegar. One contains the oldest 

 vinegar, from which we draw for use ; the 

 other contains the souring liquid. As we 

 are growers of grapes, and make wine, we 

 are in the habit of fermenting a certain 

 amount of honey-water in our wine-cellar, 

 and this is used only when it has already 

 undergone the alcoholic fermentation, and 

 sometimes with the addition of a little wine, 

 which gives it color, and adds to the good 

 taste of the vinegar. This mixture is kept 

 in the second barrel, both barrels never 

 being more than half full; and as fast as we 

 take vinegar from the first we add to it an 

 equal quantity from the other. 



When honey-water has been made in such 

 a way as to make it impossible to weigh the 

 honey— for instance, by washing cappings 

 or honey utensils, barrels, cans, etc., we test 

 its strength with a fresh egg, which should 

 float, just showing itself at the surface. 



The best method to induce a prompt and 

 thorough alcoholic fermentation in honey- 

 water is to mix it with a large quantity, the 

 more the better, of crushed fruit, such as 

 cherries, berries, grapes, apple pumice, or 

 even with the pumice of grapes, commonly 

 called "cheese," just after the fermentation 

 of the grapes. The more fruits are used, the 

 more thorough the fermentation. The mix- 

 ture should be kept at a high temperature in 

 vats or open barrels covered only with mus- 

 lin or some light cloth, and the vessels 

 should be filled only about two-thirds, so as 

 to avoid loss, as the mixture rises like bread, 

 during fermentation. As soon as the turbu- 

 lent fermentation is over, the liquid should 

 be drawn into barrels. This is usually after 

 a week or so, if the temperature is right. 

 The barrels should not be filled more than 

 half full, as the liquid must be exposed to 

 the air as much as possible, in order to 

 hasten the acetic fermentation which is fed 

 from the atmosphere, as said before. The 

 addition of a gallon or two of strong vinegar 

 will induce a more prompt acetic fermenta- 

 tion. Good authorities also recommend the 

 use of vinegar mother — a slick, slimy sub- 

 stance found in vinegar, and which is said 

 to be decomposed vinegar. This vinegar 

 mother is taken from an old vinegar-barrel, 

 washed clean, cut into pieces, and these are 

 added to barrels of forming vinegar. 



After the vinegar has undergone the main 

 acetic fermentation, if it becomes necessary 

 to transport it or to put it into closed barrels, 

 it should be racked, or drawn from its lees. 

 If cloudy, it can be made clear by putting in 

 each barrel the white of an egg, and stirring 

 it with a stick. It will not become entirely 

 clear until the last fermentation is nearly all 

 over. 



Honey vinegar is far superior to the best 

 cider vinegar, and can compete successfully 

 with the very best wine vinegar. 



There are only two drawbacks to the mak- 

 ing of vinegar. It takes a great deal of 



