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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 1 



honey which comes to him is in the granulat- 

 ed form, this method must be worked on the 

 wholesale plan ; for, instead of working with 

 quarts or gallons, we must now consider bar- 

 rels at a time. 



For this purpose a large tank was construct- 

 ed (see photo) which will easily hold one bar- 

 rel of granulated honey at a time. This tank 

 is an ingenious affair, and is really two tanks 

 in one The inside, or honey-chamber, is sur- 

 rounded by an outer tank made of copper, 

 with a three-inch space between the two for 

 the water. This surrounding water is heated 

 by a gas-stove of special design which also 

 acts as a support for the tank. The height of 

 the water within the tank is registered on the 

 outside (at the left) at all times, and this 

 amount can be increased by turning on the 

 water connection which is shown on the right- 

 hand side. Should the water supply become 

 too great, a turn or two on the small wheel at 

 the bottom of the tank on the left-hand side 

 allows the water to escape into a drain, and it 

 is carried away without further attention. 



This brief description, together with a study 

 of the photograph, will give some idea as to 

 how the honey is liquefied. 



When the honey has been reconverted into 

 the liquid state, and the register on the tank 

 shows that the proper temperature has been 

 reached (180°), or has been so for at least five 

 or ten minutes, one of the assistants at work 

 allows a quantity of the hot honey to run into 

 the large coffee-pot, which is found to be an 

 excellent article in this work on account of 

 the large lip which makes pouring without 

 spilling an easy thing. Then he immediately 

 proceeds to fill the empty bottles waiting for 

 him at the end of the counter (see photo). 

 The next man, supplied with corks and a mal- 

 let, takes the bottles as fast as they are filled, 

 and hammers a cork into each. This method 

 of inserting corks seems rather strange ; for, 

 to see him rain heavy blows upon the mouth 

 of each bottle, makes one believe he possesses 

 a wonderful amount of skill to hit the cork 

 every time and keep the bottle from flying to 

 pieces ; but upon investigation the whole se- 

 cret is found to be in the mallet, which is 

 made of solid rubber ; and any amount of 

 hammering on the bottle would not break it. 

 This mallet does its work well, for it puts the 

 cork ia squarely and rapidly, and has never 

 been known to break a bottle. From his 

 hands the corked bottle passes on to Mr. W., 

 who dips the same into a melted preparation 

 of rosin and beeswax, which gives the bottle 

 a perfectly air-tight seal, and also a nice yel- 

 low cap, which is in perfect harmony with the 

 light -yellow honey within the bottle; and 

 last, but not least, this cap is cheap. 



The bottle next passes to the cooler, who 

 takes the same and arranges the bottles near 

 the large block of ice in order that the caps 

 will harden quickly, thereby preventing air- 

 bubbles from working through the cap, which 

 would leave a weak place in the same, and 

 finally allow air to enter ; and the ice also 

 prevents the bottles from accumulating in an 

 unfinished condition on the operating-table. 



This part of the operation is not yet perfect- 



ed, as Mr. W. intends to have a track built, 

 upon which a small carriage travels, construct- 

 ed so as to hold about one dozen bottles in an 

 inverted condition, and this carriage is to car- 

 ry and hold the bottles over a tray of crushed 

 ice. After the caps on the bottles are harden- 

 ed they are placed on shelves, and afterward 

 properly labeled, and then are ready for the 

 trade, with the guarantee that the contents is 

 strictly pure, and with the assurance that no 

 granulation will take place in the future. 



The rapidity with which this work is done 

 is really astonishing. The three experienced 

 helpers can easily bottle one barrel of honey 

 in three hours, or 1200 bottles. The success 

 of this method of bottling honey may be 

 readily seen from the fact that some honey 

 put up and sealed last summer had been kept 

 on ice since bottling, and, after passing 

 through the present winter, is just as clear as 

 it was the day it was put up, and not a case of 

 granulated honey had to be replaced this win- 

 ter. The whole operation of reliquefying and 

 bottling honey is done right in Mr. W.'s large 

 roomy store, where customers and visitors are 

 always welcome to witness the operation from 

 beginning to end. This, many take advan- 

 tage of ; and when they see a barrel of granu- 

 lated honey transferred to the large tank (part 

 of which may be seen at the further end of 

 operating-table), and then extracted from the 

 same in the form of thick golden liquid, and, 

 after following it through the various opera- 

 tions until the sealed bottle stands at the end 

 of the table ready to receive the label, little 

 doubt remains in their mind as to the purity 

 of the article, and many leave with the old 

 proverb, that "all pure honey granulates," 

 badly exploded, for they have just learned 

 that "all pure honey will not granulate," 

 which may now be called the twentieth-cen- 

 tury revision of what has heretofore been 

 pumped into the ears of the public, and sup- 

 posed to be a true test for pure honey. 



Now, instead of trying to teach people to 

 accept something they don't want, why not 

 spend less time, do less talking, and make 

 more money, by giving them what they do 

 want? for, " a man convinced against his will 

 is of the same opinion still ; " and if he asks 

 for extracted honey, and you talk him into 

 buying a bottle or a barrel of granulated hon- 

 ey, nine times out of ten he will hesitate the 

 next time, and generally go where he knows 

 he can get what he asks for. 



A tank like the one described costs about 

 $100; but this price depends a great deal on 

 the pocket-book ; for !?100 includes a tank 

 made of the very best material, the " made- 

 to order " gas-stove, and the cost of having 

 the separate hydraulic connection made. In 

 fact, this price could be reduced nearly half, 

 and still would do the same work, but, of 

 course, not so rapidly or conveniently. Prob- 

 ably in a few years, when the good points are 

 known, a tank will be placed on the market 

 for less than half the price, for it may become 

 almost as great a necessity, if not as great, as 

 the wax or honey extractor is to many bee- 

 keepers to-day. 



Cincinnati, Ohio. 



