514 HONEY HANDLING. 



In this connection the reader will permit us to illustrate to 

 him the hygrometric qualities of honey by narrating a little 

 incident. We had received an order for a barrel of honey, ' 

 to be in the liquid state. As this was midwinter, all our honey 

 being granulated, a barrel was opened, the head taken out 

 and the honey melted au bain-marie (834). It was imme- 

 diately replaced in the barrel, while hot, and prepared for 

 shipment. But it happened that this barrel had been kept, for 

 some time after granulation of the honey, in a damp place, 

 and the wood was somewhat damp. This hot honey absorbed 

 the moisture from the staves durmg the night to such an ex- 

 tent that the next mommg, the barrel was leakmg from ever>' 

 joint. We have since that time allowed honey to cool off 

 when treated in this way, before returning it to the barrel. 

 But usually when honey is melted, it is at once put up into 

 retail packages. 



Cheap barrels cannot be opened to remove the honey by 

 taking out the head without damaging them, while good iron- 

 bound oak barrels will last for years, and will never leak, ii 

 managed properly. To take the head out, it should be marked, 

 with a chisel, so as to replace it aftei-wards exactly in the 

 same position. A strong gimlet is screwed into the middle 

 of it, for a handle. After the hoops have been chased off, the 

 head can be pulled out readily, and it is replaced in the same 

 manner, when the barrel is empty. 



If care and judgment were used in these matters there would 

 be but little complaint on the part of dealers, about leaking 

 honey shipped from the apiarist. 



One of the most popular packages for putting up extracted 

 honey and disposing of it in a wholesale manner is the sixty- 

 pound can, either round or square. The square cans are 

 boxed, one or two in a case and are easily piled in wagons 

 or cars, but the round can with a wooden jacket has been 

 much recommended of late by a man of great experience in 

 the production of extracted honey, Mr. N. E. France. The 

 smaller packages for retail trade are discussed further (841), 



