Publisht Weekly at 118 Michigan St. 



Georgb W. York, Editor. 



$1.00 a Year — Sample Copy Free. 



38th Year. 



CHICAGO, ILL., AUGUST 25, 1898. 



No. 34. 



(All rights reserved by the Northern Newspaper Syndicate, 

 of Keiidal, England.) 



PROFITABLE BEE-KEEPING, 



-WITH- 



HINTS TO BEGINNERS, 



iy 



Author of ■•Bees and Bee- Keeping.," "' Pleasurable Bee-Keeping," etc. 



No. 8.— lytABXETIIfa AND DISEASES. 



Having learnt, and boconiP able to carry into practice the 

 principles of success that have been enunciated in these arti- 

 cles, there would appear to be no difficulty presenting itself to 

 the enthusiastic bee keeper. Hut this is not so, for there are 

 many successful producers of honey who are unsuccessful in 

 disposing of it. " What arc we to do with our honey '?"' is a 

 frequent cry. The genera) reply. ■■ Sell it," will not be a sufd- 

 cient answer to that question here, and therefore I will give a 

 few hints on the preparation of honey for the market and the 

 means of its disposal. 



It is an undoubted fact that, as a rule, those who cry out 

 most for markets are those who do the least to find them, or 

 when they have got them, to keep them. 



Honey, unlike many other commodities, will keep good 

 almost indefinitely, if properly taken and stored. Queries 

 forwarded to editors of bee-papers frequently have reference 

 to the disposal of honey that is fussy and almost bursts the 

 vegetable parchment covers. The best thing to do with such 

 stuff is to throw it away, because it is useless as a food to the 

 bees or the bee-keeper. Fermentation and the consequent 

 spoiling of honey should be avoided by making sure that all 

 honey, when taken from the hive, is ripe. If it is allowed to 

 remain on the hive until there is no doubt of its ripeness, there 

 need be little fear of fermentation. Fermentation is said to 

 be caused in some instances by the presence in the honey of 

 pollen-grains, but if the brood-nests are properly managed, 

 it is seldom that pollen will be found at all in the supers. 



When the heat in the brood-chamber, generated by the 

 bees, has extracted the superfluous water from the honey by 

 evaporation, the sealing of the cells takes place because the 

 honey is then in a condition which the bee-keeper terms ripe- 

 ness. After being extracted the honey should be put into a 

 deep cistern at the bottom of which is fitted a treacle-tap. A 

 convenient size would be about a foot in diameter, and 2 J^ 

 feet deep, unless large quantities are dealt with. The cistern 

 should be allowed to stand in a warm room two or three days ; 

 then the ripest honey will be in the lower part, and may be 

 drawn off into one-pound glass bottles or into 7, 1-t, or 2S- 

 pound tins with lever-opening lids. The bottles may be either 



screw-capt or covered with vegetable parchment ; but the 

 former will cost nearly twice as much as the latter. After 

 being securely covered a nice, attractive label should be afifixt 

 on the side, giving, if possible, the source of the honey and 

 the name of the honey-producer. 



Honey sets, or candies, early or late, according to the 

 source from which it is gathered. That from mustard and the 

 Brassica tribe generally candies quickly, while that from 

 clover and sainfoin usually remains liquid some considerable 

 time, particularly if kept in a dry, warm cupboard and pro- 

 tected from the atmosphere. If customers prefer the honey 

 in a liquid form it may, whether in bottles or cans, be lique- 

 fied by placing it in hot water, but it must not be boiled or it 

 will lose the flavor and aroma distinctive of good samples of 

 honey, and become dark and objectionable. 



Sections require much care to keep them in good condi- 

 tion, and therefore, unless there is a good demand for honey 

 in this form at remunerative prices, it is *~est to devote atten- 

 tion almost solely to the production of extracted honey. The 

 removal of sections from the super is a very delicate operation 

 as they are frequently cemented to the bars upon which they 

 stand by propolis or bee-glue. If, by careless handling, the 

 sections are pulled the least out of shape, the surface of the 

 comb will be crackt and the honey will gradually ooze out, 

 giving the eappings a damp and unattractive appearance. To 

 command the best prices sections should be glazed — that is, a 

 square of glass should be pasted with ornamental paper on 

 each side. This, of course, adds to the trouble, but it pays if 

 a good market is secured. Sections may be kept in good con- 



Honey-Cistem. 



Honey-Jar. 



ditiou if they are wrapt in paper and then packt in an air- 

 tight case such as a tin biscuit-box. When a good market 

 cannot be secured at the close of the season on account of the 

 rush of new honey, it should be packt away for filling orders 

 later in the year when there is sure to be a market for high- 

 class honey. 



As honey varies much both in culor and flavor. It is advis- 

 able to grade both kinds of honey immediately they are pre- 



