1908 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



81 



from all porlious of the United States, and 

 exhibited the same at the National conven- 

 tion that was held during the St. Louis ex- 

 position. These were subsequently turned 

 over to Dr. Phillips, who in turn gave them 

 to the Bureau of Chemistry for analysis. 

 These analyses, Dr. Phillips thought, consti- 

 tuted one of the most complete series that 

 were ever made of American honey. Sever- 

 al things came up during this analytical 

 work which needed some explanation, and 

 he therefore prepared a paper on the care 

 and production of extracted honey with a 

 view of bringing these points out. 



He first drew attention to the fact that 

 nectar contains a large percentage of water, 

 which, during the process of ripening, will 

 be reduced down from 20 to 25 per cent in 

 normal honey. Some very ripe samples 

 would have as little as 13 per cent. 



The ripening of honey consists not only in 

 the evaporation of a surplus of water, but of 

 the transformation of the sugars of the nec- 

 tar into the levulose and dextrose of honey 

 in about equal proportions. Unripe honey 

 contains a large proportion of cane sugar; 

 and the longer the honey remains in the hive, 

 the less sucrose (cane sugar) will be found. 



While pure honey will contain all the way 

 from zero to 8 to 10 per cent of sucrose, the 

 purest are those that contain the least. The 

 United States standard of pure honey allows 

 no more than 8 per cent. The thorough ri- 

 pening of honey can not be too strongly rec- 

 ommended, and he favored bee-ripened hon- 

 ey rather than that ripened in tanks. 



THE CANDYING OF HONEY. 



He spoke of the peculiar characteristics of 

 different kinds of honey in reference to the 

 matter of candying, and told of the methods 

 of correcting this by bringing the honey up 

 to a temperature of 160 degrees; but he cau- 

 tioned not to heat to a higher point. A 

 greater degree of heat, and especially as high 

 as the boiling-point, will change the charac- 

 ter of the honey, spoiling its flavor, and from 

 a chemical point of view it could not be con- 

 sidered as true honey. He advised against 

 drawing off the liquid portions of honey from 

 that which has been candied, because what 

 is left will not be honey. 



Honey is made up of dextrose and levulose 

 in about equal proportions. The candied or 

 solid portions are largely dextrose, for the 

 levulose probably does not granulate at all. 

 If, then, the liquid portion, consisting large- 

 ly of levulose, sucrose, and water, be drawn 

 off, then what is left will not be honey. He 

 also emphasizes the necessity of stirring up 

 honey when drawing it off for bottling pur- 

 poses; for it would be unfortunate to have a 

 bottled honey that does not analyze accord- 

 ing to the prescribed standard set by the 

 Bureau of Chemistry. Such honey will have 

 to be classed as adulterated or not honey. 



The speaker drew attention to the fact 

 that, in the popular mind, granulation is an 

 indication of adulteration with sugar. This 

 is, of course, untrue. Many bee-keepers, on 

 the other hand, go to the other extreme by 



saying that granulation is an ab.solute test 

 of purity. This statement is also untrue, 

 since invert sugar, one of the adulterants 

 sometimes used, will also crystallize. 



He explained how age affects honey great- 

 ly. Repeated granulation and liquefaction 

 year after year in some way affect the chem- 

 ical composition of honey. Some one sub- 

 mitted to the Bureau of Chemistry some hon- 

 ey which was known to be absolutely pure, 

 but which was 35 years old. It had too large 

 a percentage of sucrose or cane sugar. 



There is only one condition. Dr. Phillips 

 explained, where it is desirable to heat hon- 

 ey hotter than 160 degrees, and that is to kill 

 the germs of disease. He advi-ed diluting 

 infected honey by using an equal amount of 

 water, and then boiling it thoroughly for at 

 least 30 minutes, or, better, an hour. 



VARIATIONS IN HONEY. 



The speaker called attention to the fact 

 that well-known honeys from different plants 

 vary considerably in taste, color, granula- 

 tion, etc. While granulation may be con- 

 sidered a property of all honey, yet the fact 

 that some granulate more than others is due 

 to a larger or a lower ratio between dextrose 

 and levulose. The following table will make 

 this clear; 



NOHMAL HONEY (FROM NECTARIES OF FLOWERS). 



1. High purity (high in sugars, relatively low in 

 dextrine, gums, and other non-sugars). 



a Levulose type; e. g., mangrove, tupelo, sage. 

 b Average type. 



a High in sucrose; e. g., alfalfa. 



b Low in sucrose; e. g.. buckwheat. 



2. Low purity (relatively high in dextrine, gums, 

 and other non-sugars; e. g . basswood, sumac, poplar, 

 oak, hickory, apple (most tree honey). 



ABNORMAL HONEY (NOT FROM NECTARIES OF FLOW- 

 ERS). 



(Generally high in dextrine, gums, and other non- 

 sugars.) 



1. Honey-dew honey (from aphides and other in- 

 sects). 



Coniferous honey (plant exudations not from nec- 

 taries). 



Honeys containing approximately the same amount 

 of levulose and dextrose, and which are high in sugars 

 (average type), granulate readily. Very few honeys 

 have more dextrose than levulose. If, however, the 

 levulose is considerably greater than the dextrose 

 (levulose type), or if the non-sugars are relatively 

 high (low purity and abnormal honeys), granulation 

 is retarded. Some honey-dew granulates rapidly; but 

 no abnormal honeys of that type were included in the 

 samples examined, and consequently they are not in- 

 cluded in the table. 



This paper called forth a great deal of in- 

 teresting discussion, winding up with a vote 

 of thanks to the Bureau of Entomology, and 

 to Dr. Phillips in particular, for his interest- 

 ing and valuable paper. Jndeed, some ex- 

 perts were present, including Mr. France 

 and Mr. W. A. Selser, who pronounced it 

 the best contribution on the subject that had 

 ever been given before the National conven- 

 tion. 



We have attempted to give only the main 

 points of the paper; but those who desire to 

 see the full text are referred to the verbatim 

 report which General Manager France will 

 soon send to the members of the National, if 

 he has not already done so. 



It should be observed that this report is 

 well worth the dollar paid for membership, 



