THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



23 



ities. He put the question to Prof. 

 Cook. For liis own part, he believed 

 that tlie formic acid was added by the 

 bees in the capping process, wliich 

 was carried on mainly by the use of 

 tlieir tails — the sting — being the hist 

 polishing tool. It was because the 

 formic acid was thus added that honey 

 must be one-tliird capped to be good, 

 and all capped to be first-rate. 



Prof. Cook thought that no one knew 

 liow or when the formic acid was 

 added. He was also of the opinion 

 that too much stress was laid on the 

 matter of taste. Few could discrim- 

 inate as thoroughly as had been sug- 

 gested. 



The Convention then adjourned. 



EVENING SESSION. 

 The meeting was called to order at 

 8 p. m., by Pres. Hoot. An essay was 

 read as follows, by Mr. R. F. Holter- 

 man, of Brantford, Out., on the 



CAKIC OF HONEY FOU MaRKKT. 



I bring this subject before you, fully 

 aware tliat it is not of as great impor- 

 tance as many others, being indirectly 

 connected with the production of 

 lioney; but on that account it has per- 

 haps not received that public attention 

 which it merits. It is our duty, when 

 blessed with the means to procure a 

 crop of honey, that we should acquaint 

 not only ourselves but every beekeeper 

 with what will secure to us the article 

 in the highest state of perfection, and 

 place it thus in the consumers' hands. 

 Have we, as a body, endeavored to do 

 so? Looking at it from a business 

 standpoint, past experience has taught 

 us that in order to realize the best re- 

 sults financially, from any article ex- 

 tensively produced, it is necessary not 

 only to better our own but we must 

 better that of the entire land. 



Let us imagine the land completely 

 destitute of vegetation. Here is a 

 heavy soil, in the distance is a sandy 

 one. and between, all grades of soil. 

 Here is a hill, there a swamp, and at 

 other distances, intermediate eleva- 

 tions. Now, could our eye stretch 

 from north to south within the honey- 

 producing area, and were this area to 

 be decked with our present vegetation, 

 Avhich of the aforenamed conditions 

 would influence the quality of honey? 

 The heavy soil would give us a richer 

 honey than the lighter; the more ex- 

 tremes of cold climate would give a 

 better quality than the more equable. 

 Would the high and the low land in- 

 fluence it? We know that honey from 

 every species of flower has its peculiar 



flavor, no matter how indistinct, and 

 that the season, its winds, temperature, 

 and degrees of moisture influence not 

 only the quantity, but the quality of 

 our honey. 



The progress beekeeping has made, 

 and so many making a specialty of it, 

 liave enabled us in a measure to conduct 

 ourselves accordingly; but to the or- 

 dinary beekeeper most of the previ- 

 ously named conditions cannot be 

 controlled. But how much lies within 

 our power! 



One of the first questions would be, 

 when shall we extract? Shall we ex- 

 tract before or after the honey is sealed ? 

 What are the advantages and disad- 

 vantages of the two systems? If, en- 

 tirely sealed, we require to uncap a 

 large surface, the bees must, with the 

 ordinary appliances, be cramped for 

 store-room, the brood-nest becomes 

 contracted, not alone meaning loss of 

 time until extracted, but many think 

 they do not regain their old energy for 

 the remainder of the season. The ad- 

 vantages would be, honey called ripe, 

 subject to the before-named conditions. 



When is honey ripe? With the sys- 

 tem of extracting when the honey is 

 unsealed, there is no uncapping and 

 bees have plenty of store-room, but 

 the quality is inferior; and right here 

 a friend would step in with his ripening 

 can. But we have made no light mis- 

 take; for, in the past, our honey has 

 been handled too much, as if it could 

 lose nothing by having it come in con- 

 tact with the air. What imparts that 

 peculiar aroma to honey, and gives 

 each kind of honey a distinct flavor? 

 Is it not largely a volatile oil? Do we 

 not know it is being distilled from ev- 

 ery flower as we pass through a clover 

 field in blossom? And, in evaporating 

 and otherwise coming in contact with 

 the air, we lose this. 



Many find that to extract honey 

 when one-third capped answers well; 

 the honey to be put into deep tanks or 

 barrels holding about 600 pounds each, 

 and left for a week. This causes the 

 light, thin honey to rise to the top — 

 generally it is not ten per cent., and 

 this can be disposed of a little cheaper 

 — and the rich, ripe honey remains. 

 One week more of exposure is ample 

 for clover, and it becomes sweet with- 

 out the fiavor: basswood longer, ac- 

 cording to the taste. Thistle honey 

 has a very distinct odor and taste, but 

 it is very volatile, and requires but lit- 

 tle exposure. If we handled our ex- 

 tracted honey thus, would it not take 

 the place of comb honey more? 



