116 



SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



of adding a very small amount of gly- 

 cerine to the honey to prevent granu- 

 lation. This should not be done, for 

 it is adulterating the honey. Some 

 have argued that, since glycerine costs 

 so much more than honey, they are 

 not adulterating in that they are not 

 adding something cheaper to the honey 

 to increase their profit. According to 

 pure food laws, however, nothing can 

 be added to honey, unless the addition 

 is specifically stated, and the addition 

 of even a small amount of glycerine 

 is, in the eyes of the law, as great an 

 offense as the addition of glucose. 



Heating Honey for the Destruction of 

 the Bacteria of Disease. 



The only condition under which hon- 

 ey should be heated to a higher tem- 

 perature than 160 degrees Fahrenheit 

 is in the case of honey which has been 

 extracted from a colony containing foul 

 brood. In order to kill the bacteria of 

 either of the brood diseases, it is de- 

 sirable to dilute the honey by adding 

 an equal amount of water and then 

 raise the temperature to the boiling 

 point and keep it there, allowing the 

 mixture to boil vigorously for at least 

 30 minutes; in order that no risk may 

 be run, it is better to make this one 

 hour. Honey which is so treated is 

 changed chemically and is no longer 

 pure honey, but it makes a good syrup 

 for feeding to bees and is the best way 

 of using honey from an infected source. 

 Too much care cannot be exercised in 

 bringing this to the proper tempera- 

 ture, but it must be remembered that 

 the resulting product is not honey but 

 a syrup, the chemical composition of 

 which is quite unlike that of pure 

 honey. 



Packing of Extracted Honey. 



If honey tends to granulate rapidly, 

 it will save much trouble in liquefy- 

 ing to put it into the receptacle in 

 which it is to be sold as soon after 

 extraction as possible. There will then 

 be no difliculty from the various in- 

 gredients becoming separated. To pre- 

 serve the delicate aromas it is desirable 

 that honey be sealed as soon as possi- 

 ble. 



When honey is put up in less than 

 3-pound packages it is generally bot- 

 tled. A bottle makes a much more 

 attractive package than a tin can and 

 shows off the contents. There is no 

 doubt of the fact that honey sells 

 largely on its appearance, and too 



much care can not be exercised in 

 packing and labeling so as to make 

 the package attractive to the pur- 

 chaser. In cases where a bee-keeper 

 sells directly to a local trade he may 

 educate his customers to judge his 

 honeys by their flavor, in which event 

 it is immaterial what kind of a pack- 

 age is used, and honey may even be 

 run out from a large can 4nto a ves- 

 sel furnished by the customer when 

 the honey is delivered. It is too often 

 the case, however, that bee-keepers 

 put up their honey in such poor, un- 

 sightly packages that they can get 

 only a low price for their goods. 



If honey is put up in more than 3- 

 pound packages, tin cans are general- 

 ly used, and the most common recep- 

 tacle is a square can holding 5 gal- 

 lons (60 pounds). Two of these are 

 usually boxed together for shipment. 

 Square and round cans of various 

 types are often used for smaller quan- 

 tities. Barrels are preferred by some 

 for large shipments for the baking 

 and confectionery trade, but their 

 use cannot always be advised. Before 

 honey is put into it, a barrel must be 

 thoroughly dry, and tight when dry, be- 

 cause of the fact 'that honey takes up 

 a certain amount of moisture, and if, 

 when the honey is put into it, the bar- 

 rel is damp, the honey will absorb the 

 moisture, causing the barrel to leak. 

 Barrels also absorb a certain amount 

 of honey. In dry climates, particularly, 

 barrels should be used with caution. 



When honey is packed in bottles it 

 is desirable that granulation be retard- 

 ed, since a partially granulated bottle 

 is not attractive. To aid in the retard- 

 ing of granulation, the honey should be 

 entirely liquified, thoroughly mixed in 

 a large can and run into the bottle 

 warm. The bottle should be as full as 

 possible, and sealed hermetically while 

 still warm. Granulation begins on the 

 edges of the top line of the honey, and 

 spreads rapidly from these points; this 

 is probably because some honey gets 

 upon the sides, and partially dries. It 

 is, therefore, desirable that the honey 

 fill the bottle clear to the cover to pre- 

 vent this. It must also be free of bub- 

 bles. 



Bottles may be hermetically sealed 

 by using some style of clamp cover 

 or by sealing a cork with a mixture of 

 beeswax and resin. This mixture may 

 be colored by the addition of a dye. 

 Granulation may be considerably re- 

 tarded by keeping the honey at a nearly 



