STRAINING THE HONEY 189 



Most bee-keepers make a practice of extracting several times 

 during the season, thus requiring less equipment and keeping 

 honey from the different sources separate. 



If one sells in a wholesale market, it is important to keep 

 the light honey from clover and basswood separate from the dark, 

 fall honey, such as buckwheat, golden rod, etc. It is better to 

 extract after every flow as far as can be done, so as to keep the 

 different kinds as nearly separate as possible. 



If, on the other hand, the bee-keeper has a retail trade of his 

 own and blends his product anyway, there is no special impor- 

 tance in keeping the honey separate, unless something might be 

 brought in so poor in quality as to injure his crop. In many 

 localities in the Southern States, there is a bitter weed that 

 blooms in midsummer which secretes nectar from which honey 

 that is too bitter to be eaten is stored. Where any plant of this 

 kind is to be dealt with, it is important to remove all surplus 

 from the hive as soon as it begins to bloom, to avoid having good 

 honey mixed with it. A very little of this honey will spoil a 

 whole crop, so that it cannot be sold to advantage. 



Straining the Honey. — With the greatest care there will be 

 bits of wax and other refuse thrown off in the extractor, which 

 must be removed from the honey before it is ready for market. 

 If deep settling tanks are used, this surplus matter will soon rise 

 to the top, where it can be skimmed off, or the honey can be 

 dravsTi from the bottom of the can where it is clear. By this plan 

 there always remains a quantity of honey at the last that is not 

 ready for market until it is strained. 



Various contrivances are in use for the purpose of straining 

 the honey as it goes into the settling tank. Thin cotton cloth is 

 most often used as a strainer. A large surface is necessary to 

 prevent the cloth from clogging, when it must be cleaned or a new 

 one used in place of it. If the cloth alone is used, the weight 

 of the honey will often result in pulling it loose at one side, when 

 the whole of the contents will run ftito the receptacle below. A 

 coarse screen of about one-fourth inch mesh is good to furnish 



