634 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



In his article on page 632, Oct. 15, 1911, 

 Mr. Hopkins admits the i^ossibility of an- 

 other factor in the ripening lorocess than 

 evaporation — namely, a chemical change in 

 the sugars. This would be the continuation 

 of the process of inversion commenced by 

 the bees, by which the proi^ortion of su- 

 crose is gradually reduced. For this rea- 

 son alone it would be desirable to leave 

 the honey on the hive till later in the sea- 

 son. Though it may be merely a matter 

 of taste, the editor is right when he says 

 that the honey which has the finest aroma 

 is that which is extracted from well-sealed 

 combs. It can be called flavor, aroma, 

 bouquet, body, bite, or any thing else, but 

 the quality is there. I remember extract- 

 ing some honey which had been on the hive 

 all the winter, and entering it in the show 

 wliich was held too early for new season's 

 honey to be entered. The judges said that 

 mine was the only sami^le that had a good 

 flavor. 



But it is in the process of evaporation 

 that a good honey can most easily be 

 spoiled if it is attempted artificially, as 

 then it depends entirely on. the state of the 

 atmosphere. Every one knows that a cer- 

 tain amount of water is held in suspension 

 in the air. The amount will depend on the 

 nearness to the sea, the nature of the soil, 

 the configuration of the country, the tem- 

 perature, and the variation between night 

 and day temperature. For instance, in. the 

 hottest weather in my own locality the 

 nights are cool and even cold, so that the 

 moisture evaporated during the day is pre- 

 cipitated. A wind oft' the sea will lose its 

 moisture in crossing a high range of moun- 

 tains, and become a dry wind. A very 

 rainy district does not necessarily have a 

 humid atmosphere. It will depend, then, 

 on the temperature of the air. In a warm 

 climate, near the sea, and over low-lying 

 land, the air is heavily laden with moisture. 

 The humidity in any one locality may or 

 may not be fairly constant, as a good deal 

 will depend on the lay of the country and 

 the direction of the prevailing Avinds. In 

 the South Island of New Zealand the air 

 is comparatively drj^, and I have known 

 cases where thin honey has been extracted 

 and successfully ripened in tanks. In the 

 North Island, however, the conditions are 

 very humid, particularly in Taranaki and 

 Auckland provinces, on the west and north- 

 ern coasts respectively. 



The evaporation of the surplus moisture 

 of an unripened honey will take place if 

 the humidity of the air is low enough to 

 allow it to absorb more moisture. On the 

 other hand, honey will readily absorb mois- 



ture from an overladen atmosphere. Each 

 beekeeper can test the humidity in his own 

 district by keeping a jar of already well- 

 ripened honey exposed to the air, and 

 watching for the surface to become thin 

 and watery. If a hydrometer is used to 

 test the specific gravity the honey should 

 be well stirred before testing. The bee- 

 keeper can- then judge for himself as to 

 whether it is safe for him to expose his 

 honey to the air at all. In the humid 

 climate we have in Taranaki and Auckland 

 provinces, I would advise that nothing but 

 well-sealed honey be extracted, and that it 

 be put in air-tight vessels the same day. 

 If it is necessary to store it in a tank, the 

 top should be very close fitting. For the 

 reason given in the second paragraph of 

 this article, I would not advise any one 

 to extract any but fully or three parts 

 sealed combs if he wishes to do justice to 

 his honey and his customers. Honey that 

 is unsealed at the end of the season, and 

 that has been on the hives for some time, 

 is ripe enough to extract. 



Mr. Hopkins says he successfully ripened 

 a large crop in tanks in 1883; but I think 

 the conditions must have been exceptional 

 for that locality for that year, or else it 

 was an exceptional locality in the Auckland 

 province. In a government bulletin he has 

 advocated the artificial process of ripening, 

 and nurnbers of beekeepers have taken it 

 up. The result has been that a lot of soured 

 and fermented honey has gone on the mar- 

 ket. The use of the hydrometer will not 

 correct the fault of excessive humidity in 

 the air. Thie ripest honey (and it is vei-y 

 seldom that all green honey is being ex- 

 tracted) settles in the bottom of the tank; 

 and when a sample is drawn off to be tested 

 with the hydrometer it gives a fairly high 

 specific gravity. Even if the hydrometer 

 is put into the tank, it does not give a 

 proper test, as the thin watery honey is 

 in a layer at the top. It is the last to be 

 drawn off and the first to ferment. Many 

 beekeepers have not bothered to use the 

 hydrometer, thinking it quite sufficient to 

 leave the honey in the tank a week or two, 

 often regardless of the condition it was in 

 when extracted. It is this ignorance of 

 the conditions governing the case that has 

 caused a great deal of the harm done in 

 this country by Mr. Hopkins' advocacy of 

 the artificial method. 



In 1910 I acted as judge at the Warkato 

 show (Auckland), and the Hawera show 

 (Taranaki). At the former show I found 

 several entries fermented. The same oc- 

 curred at the Hawera show; and out of 17 

 entries in the gi-anulated class only four 



