634 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



October, 19^ 



be attached a lever shown in the illustra- 

 tion, so that the valve can be opened and 

 closed with one hand while filling the bot- 

 tles. 



It is a very slow job to bottle cold honey; 

 and, besides the fact that it Avill granulate 

 very soon, it will flow so slowly that it 

 makes the expense of bottling too large. To 

 make the honey flow freely it should be 

 heated to 150 — certainly not more than 160 

 degrees; and if bottled in the manner ex- 

 plained, and sealed immediately, it will re- 

 main liquid for two years if kept in a living- 

 room temperature — ordinarily about 70 de- 

 grees Fahrenheit. 



If the honey can be sold witliin six 

 months, a temperature of 140 degrees will 

 be much better than one of 150. The higher 

 the temperature to which lioney is heated, 

 the more of the original aroma is dissi 

 pated. 



Packing Honey in Tin Pails. 



So far I have explained how to put up 

 lioney in glass. While a gooseneck is very 

 liandy for tin pails it is by no means essen- 



plished by allowing it to stand for a while 

 in water not hotter than that in which the 

 liand can be held. 



hi Canada, granulated honey is put up 

 in pails. Consumers in that country have 

 been educated to eat honey in that form. 



In the southern states a large part of the 

 honey is put up in tin pails as ''bulk hon- 

 ey." The combs are cut out of the frame 

 in chunks of various sizes, put into pails, 

 and then extracted lioney is poured over the 

 whole until the pail is full. In the southern 

 states this kind of honey is all right, because 

 in a warni climate hone}' does not granulate 

 as it does liere in the North. Granulated 

 comb honey in tlie northern states will not 

 sell, especially in the cities. 



Importance of Attractive Labels. 



In regard to labels, they must be neat and 

 attractive. No local printing office — certain- 

 ly no country printing office — knows how to 

 get up an attractive label. The sale of 

 bottled honey in glass may be almost killed 

 because of a poorly printed label. 



As a rule, labels on tin pails should go 



Two aud one-lialf-iiounil friction-top can, five-pound pail and 10-ponnd pail 

 cially is becoming a popular package for honey. 



The five-pound pail cspe- 



tial. In fact, it is the general rule to fill 

 the pails from the honey-gate. Neither is 

 it necessary to heat the honey before put- 

 ting it into pails. If the honey is to be 

 shipped any distance the pails should be 

 filled with cold honey, witli the expectation 

 tliat tlie honey will granulate soon. 



In this connection it is only fair to say 

 tliat honey just as it comes from the extractor 

 lias a quality about it — that is to say, a 

 virgin aroma — that is very pleasing, that 

 the same honey will not have after it has 

 been heated. Heat dissipates some of the 

 flavor unless one is very careful in applying 

 it. As many people are learning to like 

 granulated honey, and as it is better to shi]i 

 honey in that form, it is unnecessary to heat 

 the honey when pouring it into pails. But 

 on every pail there should be printed direc 

 tions stating that the honey will probably 

 be in a solid or semi-solid condition; and 

 tliat if it is desired to bring it back into 

 the liquid cduilition this can be accom- 



clear around and contain the directions for 

 liquefying. But when it is desired to put a 

 small label on tin it is best to use a special 

 label paste, which may be procured of a bee- 

 supply concern. 



Those who are putting up honey in tin 

 ]iails by the carload are using a lithographed 

 pail, the colors being red and white. These 

 ])a.ils are used very largely in Canada, and 

 to some extent in the United States. The 

 lithographed pails certainly have a neat and 

 ])rofessional look, and are very pretty. Some 

 pails have been made without a rim on the 

 inside of the top so the pail can be used for 

 domestic purposes when the lioney is out. I 

 am told that a good many of the factory 

 ^vorkers in Canada use these honey pails in 

 carrying their dinner when going to their 

 work. As the word "Honey" is litho- 

 graphed on the workman's pail, that some 

 honey is advertised to all his fellow-workers 

 and to every onq, on the street. Such ad- 

 vertising costs nothing and is effective. 



