462 



HONEY PRODUCTION. 



What proportion of water does fresh-gathered nectar con- 

 tain? A number of observers have attempted to answer this 

 question and have made experiments upon it. Great have been 

 the differences and in some cases, persons who had made but 

 one or two experiments attempted to make a positive assertion 

 of a stated proportion. But no rule can be given. At times, 

 the nectar is so very thin that it drops out of the cells like 

 water if the combs are inverted or slightly inclined, when 

 handled. At other times, the nectar has great consistency when 



Fig. 205. 



NOVICE HONEY EXTRACTOR. 



first gathered. Some European Apiarists hold that heather 

 honey can never be extracted, because of its density almost 

 immediately after it is harvested. The greater or less density 

 of honey at the time it is brought in from the field depends 

 on the kind of blossom from which it is taken, on the con- 

 dition of the soil at that time, whether dry or wet, and on 

 atmospheric conditions. The most watery honey is perhaps 

 harvested from such source as the basswood, after rainy weath- 

 er and when the atmosphere is heavily laden with electricity 

 and moisture; while plants which grow in dry sandy soils, like 



