1900 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



123 



CANDIED COMB-HONEY. 



How it May be Profitably Utilized. 



BY A. M. APPLEGATE. 



THIS question has been frequently 

 discussed through the journals, 

 and all the best methods given for 

 saving the honey and wax; but in all 

 these you destroy the comb and leave 

 the honey so inferior in quality that you 

 hardly realize enough out of it and 

 the wax to compensate for the nice 

 straight combs you sometimes have to 

 melt in order to get the honey. 



The method I will attempt to describe 

 preserves the combs as nice as new, and 

 instead of the second-class honey you 

 have tirst-class vinegar, which will 

 bring you as much money and be as 

 easily disposed of. Besides you are all 

 aware that Inferior honey should not be 

 put on the market at any price. 



Having provided a barrel with one 

 head out, take the frames containing 

 the candied honey, and where they are 

 sealed comb them with the edge of a 

 wire cloth just enough to expose the 

 honey. Sometimes there will be enough 

 honey in the combs that can be thrown 

 out to pay for uncapping and running 

 them through the extractor first. Then 

 pack the frames containing the combs 

 as snugly as you can in the barrel, not- 

 ing at the time about how much honey 

 they contain so that you will know how 

 much water to add. Having the 



frames secured in the bottom of the bar- 

 rel so they cannot float, pour in water 

 enough to cover them. You can hurry 

 fermentation by adding a little yeast: 

 or should you already have some fer- 

 menting, add a little of it to the one just 

 prepared. 



Two pounds of honey to one gallon 

 of water makes very good vinegar: but 

 you should keep it as much stronger as 

 possible so that the water used to rinse 

 the combs after they are through fer- 

 menting and thoroughly soured, may be 

 added, making in all about one gallon 

 of water to every two pounds uf honey. 



The honey and even the pollen that 

 contains some honey, or has absorbed 

 some of the sweetened water, will be 

 fermented out of the cells. What is not 

 removed in this way will shrink from 

 the cell walls, when dry, and will jar 

 out or be removed by the bees. To re- 

 move the vinegar from the combs tifrn 

 the frames, with the top down, sup- 

 porting them between the thumbs and 

 fingers, let them drop onto some strips 

 across the top of the barrel, gently at 

 first, until the comb is relieved of some 

 of the vinegar ; then immerse them a 

 few times in water, jar the water out in 

 the same way and use it to dilute the 

 vinegar. Any additional rinsing will 

 do no harm, neither is it necessary to 

 have the combs entirely free from the 

 vinegar. 



I treated black-brood combs in the 

 same way last summer, and thought 

 what little vinegar adhered to the combs 

 was an advantage. 



Fully one-third of the bees through 

 this section died last summer. The re- 

 mainder seem in good condition for this 

 time of year. 



Reynoldsville, Pa., Mar. 12, 1900. 



CLEARING SUPERS OF BEES. 



BY S. M. KKELER. 



IN The Bee-keeper for September, 

 1899. Mr. M. L. Main tells us how 

 to assist bee-escapes in taking off 

 comb-honey by giving honey in the es- 

 capes to set the bees to work. I think 

 this might cause a lot of bees to rush 

 out and hunt all over the yard to find 

 where the supply was coming from, and 

 might not be pleasant to the apiarist 

 while opening hives. 



I think my plan is one ahead of Mr. 

 Main's with no bother with escapes. 

 My escapes in the honey-room windows 

 are in the right place. I use as little 

 smoke in the hive as possible to accom- 

 plish my object. In the first place I 

 cut or break the supers loose from the 

 brood-frames, give the bees a little 



