THE HOHEY EXTRACTOR AND ITS TTSE. 187 



cessation of the yield from different kinds of flowers, 

 wUl enable the apiarian to keep different qualities of honey 

 separate, the advantage of which is eelf-evident. 



CURINa EXTRACTED HONEY. 



Much has been said against the practice of extracting 

 what is termed unripe honey. It is maintained that the 

 honey must remain in the combs until well cured and 

 capped oyer. I have refrained from committing myself 

 on this point, until I could speak from years of experi- 

 mental knowledge. I have extracted honey in every 

 stage, from that which was gathered the same day, to 

 that which was sealed over ; and I shall advise extracting 

 honey before it is sealed. Much labor is saved to the 

 bees, in not being obliged to cap the cells, and the opera- 

 tor is spared the trouble of uncapping them. If the 

 honey is properly cared for, it will be found to be equally 

 fine, without regard to the ripeness when extracted. Cur- 

 ing honey simply means a proper evaporation of the 

 water it contains. This is accomplished in the hive by 

 its being subjected to a high degree of temperature be- 

 fore it is sealed. The same result may be produced, by 

 maintaining similar conditions, after it is extracted. I 

 have extracted honey in wet seasons, when it was unusu- 

 ally thin, and found it necessary to place the cans in arti- 

 ficial heat, until it was sufficiently evaporated. 



Honey is very often injured by being stored in a 

 wooden cask or pail in a damp place. It should be kept 

 in tin, or, if in wood, the vessel should be first coated in- 

 side with wax. The process of coating casks is given in 

 Chapter XVI., on Marketing Honey. 



Honey should always be kept in a dry room. If stored 

 in a cask which has first been coated with wax, the hole 

 through which it is filled should be left open. For some 

 years, I have marketed my extracted honey in tin cans. 



