10 



until the surplus moisture has evaporated^ when they are capped or 

 sealed by the bees, and the honey so capped is then considered ripe 

 and fit for market. The length of time the honey-cells may remain 

 uncapped depends entirely on the state of the weather when the honey 

 was stored. I have known them to be open for several days, and in 

 very dry, warm weather I have seen the cells being capped directly 

 they were filled. 



Th(! ripening of honey within the hive always appeared to me to 

 be a mechanical process — that is to say, a process carried on by the 

 heat of the hive, and not due to any particular manipulation on the 

 part of the bees, so that it could be equally well done outside as with- 

 in the hive. I have always acted on this belief with very satisfactory 

 results. Instead of waiting until the bees had capped the whole of 

 the cells, 1 have commenced to extract directly the bees started seal- 

 ing the upper cells of the combs and finished the ripening in mv 

 tanks. It is not difficult to realise the enormous saving effected by 

 this method in a large apiary during the treason. The bees instead 

 of secreting wax for capping the cells are at liberty to act as field 

 workers, the comb.'S are quickly available again for refilling, and plenty 

 of working-room is always assured, which will tend to keep down 

 swarming. 



R 



IPENING-TANKS. 



The most effective method of ripening honey is to expose as large 

 a surface as possible to a warm, dry atmosphere. The "tanks" 

 generally in use at the present time, so far as I have seen, consist of 

 tin cylinders about 18 iti. in diameter by 36 in. deep, similar to the 

 cylinder of a two-comb honey-extractor, and these have been usuallv 

 covered with a cloth or lid "to keep out bees and dust." As I 

 have pointed out, it is simply impossible for honey to ripen under 

 those conditions. The tank is too deep and the surface too small. 

 The body of honey set to ripen should never be more than 15 in. or 

 16 in. deep, while showing as much surface as possible. A tank 

 6 ft. long by 4 ft. wide and 18 in. deep, with a centre division, 

 would hold, when filled up to 2 in. from the top, about 2,500 lbs. of 

 honey. A long, wide, shallow tank in similar proportions to the 

 above is the proper utensil for ripening honey. (See illustration.) 



Even when the honey is not removed from the hive until it is 

 capped by the bees it is necessary to have such a tank to properlv 

 clarify the honey. No matter what pains are taken to strain the 

 honey so as to clear it of all foreign substance, very fine particles 

 of wax will remain or run into the tank with the lioney. If the 

 body of the latter is shallow the fine specks of wax and pollen, 

 hardly discernible, will rise to the surface, forming a scum, which^ 



