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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Aug. 15 



Notice particularly that Mr. Langstroth 

 went even further than we; for he says that 

 a natural swarm will be much better than a 

 much stronger non-swarming stock. 



From that day to this the greater energy 

 of a natural swarm has been admitted by 

 practically all authorities and writers in the 

 bee journals up to the present time. We 

 have ourselves, time and time agam, noticed 

 how a natural swarm will outstrip a colony 

 of equal strength and of the same strain of 

 bees; and one correspondent lately advised 

 lettincT the bees swarm once, with all the 

 nuisance of hiving, because, he said, they 

 would be much more active than an ordi- 

 nary colony of bees that did not swarm. 



On the other hand we would not go so far 

 as to claim that a colony could not be treated 

 so as to act to all intents and purposes like 

 a swarm. Shaking, giving new quarters or 

 more room, empty combs or foundation 

 might make it do so. 



If Mr. Whitney is comparing a natural 

 swarm with a colony so treated we might 

 agree with him. — Ed.] 



A NEW METHOD OF KEEPING HONEY 

 FROM GRANULATING. 



Long-continued Heat from the Sun in 

 the Solar Wax-extractor for Bring- 

 ing about this Result. 



BY E. B. ROOD. 



[For a year or so back we have been making exper- 

 iments in a small way in trying the effect of the sun's 

 heat and its actinic rays as a means for the preventipn 

 of the granulation of honey while in bottles. While 

 the results were not conclusive they were at least sig- 

 nificant We have suspected for some time that those 

 rays of light from the sun, that bleach some substances 

 and darken others, that make photographic negatives 

 and prints have a chemical effect on honey to such an 

 extent that granulation might be arrested. Heat, we 

 know goes a long way in accomplishing this result. 

 If we add to it the chemical action of light we may or 

 may not go one step further in the process. We don't 



Sonie time ago A. I. R., in his notes from Florida, 

 wrote how Mr. Rood was keeping his honey from 

 granulating by means of the sun's heat in a solar wax- 

 extractor We were immediately interested, and asked 

 A I R to get Mr. Rood to prepare an article, giving 

 details of the method in order that we might place it 

 before our readers. 



That he has been successful to an unusual degree in 

 keeping h's honey in a liquid condition will be certi- 

 fied by A. I. R., and no doubt by his large list of cus- 

 tomers who buy his bottled honey. 



Ordinary heat alone will keep honey from granulat- 

 'm<r perhaps a good part of the year; but when condi- 

 tio^ris are favorable, it is quite sure, within that time, 

 to show a tendency to harden, or what we call candy 

 or granulate. If Mr. Rood has been more successful 

 than most persons in keeping his bottled honey liquid 

 we may surmise that the other element, sunlight, has 

 a potency for the purpose not hitherto recognized. 



How far ol ' Sol may prove valuable we are not able 

 to state nt this time; but as we are now in the midst of 

 the bottling season we suggest that the subjoined ar- 

 ticle be given a very careful reading by the large num- 

 ber who sell their extracted honey in bottles. Per- 

 haps some of our honey-bottlers own greenhouse sash, 

 or perhaps thev can borrow a dozen sash, for the pur- 

 pose of experiment. Try the sun's heat and light, and 

 report through these columns.— ED.] 



I put up for the fancy grocery trade some 

 ten or fifteen thousand pounds of honey an- 

 nually. One of my serious difficulties has 

 been granulation. I have attempted to teach 

 my customers that this is an evidence of its 



purity, and that it may be easily liquefied; 

 but few of them want granulated honey, and 

 consequently it sells slowly. 



Noticing the statement in Gleanings sev- 

 eral years ago that continued rather than 

 excessive heat is important in so changing 

 the honey that it will not easily granulate 

 again, and having a jar of my own honey, 

 extracted in the year Iv-OO, that stood for 

 months above the kitchen stove, that re- 

 mained clear for years, I decided to put 

 several five-gallon cans of honey in a large 

 wax-extractor, with the pan removed, and 

 leave them there for some time and then use 

 the honey for bottling. This plan was hut 

 partially successful, for only in the hottest 

 weather could I get the honey in the bottom 

 of the cans hot enough so that it would not 

 soon granulate. After this I tried square 

 glass jars, such as I use; but after they were 

 waxed, the wax melted and ran over the 

 jars and made an awful mess. I then began 

 putting the honey in the jars corked but un- 

 waxed This I found very satisfactory; and 

 with a good solar wax-extractor it is possible 

 in this climate to heat the honey to such a 

 temperature that in a week's time it will 

 not granulate again, even when sold. I 

 have not yet learned how long it would take 

 to make it granulate. 



In summer I can put honey in an extract- 

 or for a day or two and it will not granulate, 

 if it is not too cloudy, and at such a time the 

 temperature of the honey often rises to 

 above 150 degrees, and remains there for 

 many hours. 



I am adopting this plan more extensively 

 every year, and am now planning one or 

 two extra sun extractors for this purpose, 

 the floors to be terraced to keep the jars 

 from upsetting. My extractors are home- 

 made, and covered by one large glass — the 

 larger the better. 



So far I have not lined the boxes with tin, 

 but think I will do so in the future, as the 

 reflection will greatly increase the heat. It 

 is important that the boxes be only a little 

 deeper than the jars so that they will come 

 up close to the glass. 



I plan to put many jars through the ex- 

 tractor in the fall and have them ready for 

 the winter trade. In the northern States it 

 would be necessary for the bottler to do this 

 before the cold weather; but the heat of the 

 extractors could easily be increased by a 

 lamp underneath, as many use them for ex- 

 tracting wax. 



This method seems very simple, and may 

 be known and used by many bee-keep- 

 ers; but if so, they have not written it up 

 for the bee journals. Had I known it years 

 ago it , would have saved me much time, 

 trouble, and expense in returning jars of 

 honey from my customers, remelting, rela- 

 beling, and sending them back again. 



Bradentown, Fla. 



["Stenog," who has been taking down 

 these notes, offers the following bit of expe- 

 rience in his own home, which may throw 

 some light on the subject as well as on the 

 candied honey:] 



