ee-;\eepeP8 jACViecL- 



A MONTHLY JOURNAL 



Devoted to tl^e Iqterests of Hoqey Producers. 



$L00 A YEAR. 



w. z. HOTCHINSON, Editor and Proprietor. 



VOL VIII, FLINT, MICHIGAN, DEC, 10. 1895. NO. 12. 



Work at jVCich-igan's 



Experimental 



^piarv. 



K. li. TAYLOK, APIABI8T. 

 HONEY AND HEAT. 



pERHAPS no 

 1 fact is better 

 known to the 

 skilled bee-keep- 

 er than that hon- 

 ey is readily in- 

 jured both in 

 flavor and color 

 by over-heating it 

 and yet for want 

 of exact knowl- 

 edge of the point 

 at which heat l)e- 

 gius to be detrimental there is no question 

 that qualities of honey are greatly reduced 

 in value even by those who are well ac- 

 quainted with the general truth of the fact 

 referred to : of course with those who keep 

 but few bees and are content to neglect the 

 latest and best sources of information and to 

 accept the word of the bee-hunter and the 

 voice of tradition as all-sufficient to direct 

 in the management of the bees and their 

 product, the danger is greatly augmented. 



What is the highest degree of tempera- 

 ture to which honey may be subjected with- 

 out receiving damage ? It is not necessary 

 to explain to bee-keepers how important 



this question is. Before the invention of 

 the extractor heat was an effective assistant 

 in the operation of separating the honey 

 from the wax, and in case of honey candied 

 in the comb it was an indispensable assist- 

 ant ; and to tliose whose limited apiary and 

 slender resonrces do not warrant the pur- 

 chase of all the convenient appliances the 

 age of tlie extractor has not yet come. But 

 the coming of the extrctor has in fact ren- 

 dered the question still more important, for 

 it has to a degree revolutionized the busi- 

 ness of bee keeping by the ability it gives 

 the apiarist to readily remove the honey 

 from cotnbs without at all injuring them for 

 the use of the bees so that they may be used 

 over and over again for years ; and the 

 means thus secured of supplying the bees 

 with ready made receptacles for their honey 

 ha^ rendered the extractor vastly popular 

 but with it has come the magnified incon- 

 venit-nce of iiandling large quantities of 

 c.indiod or granulated honey which often can 

 only l)n done to advantage after securing its 

 liquificatiou by the use of heat. 



I know of no thoroughly satisfactory way 

 of accomplishing the process of liquification. 

 Eitht-r tliH [)rocess is along and nice one on 

 account of the skill and care required to 

 keep the terniterature below the danger 

 point, as when the honey is to be liquified in 

 crocks, jars or other vessels in which it has 

 already been stored ; or else it must be 

 placed in the melting vessel after cutting it 

 out ot the one in which it has been stored, a 

 slow and trying labor if it has been allowed 



