110 THE APIARY; OR, 



DRAINING HONEY FEOM THE COMBS. 



THose of our readers who prefer eating " run honey " to honey 

 in the combj may be glad of some instruction as to the best way of 

 separating the two. Eor this purpose, it is better to let the honey 

 run without squeezing, in order to preserve both its transparency 

 and flavour. 



Take a sharp knife, and slice the combs on both sides, keeping 

 the knife parallel with the partition wall, so that every cell may be 

 laid open. Place these broken combs in a sieve, or on a piece of 

 musHn stretched across and tied round the opening of a pan or 

 large mouthed jar. Allow the honey to flow out of the combs 

 spontaneously, and reserve the squeezing process for a separate jar, 

 so that the honey of the first drained jar may be perfectly pure, 

 both in appearance and flavour. That which has pressure put on it 

 will be waxy in flavour and thick. Some persons recommend that 

 the opened combs be placed in the sun, as the heat will cause the 

 honey to run more freely. The great disadvantage of this is, the 

 temptation the honey will offer to bees, who will be eager to gain a 

 share. Honey whilst in the combs keeps remarkably well when left 

 in the supers ; if cut out, the combs should be folded in writing 

 paper and sealed up, so as efi^ectuaUy to prevent free entrance of 

 air ; they should then be placed in a warm dry closet. 



Honey, like most vegetable products, should be fresh every 

 year. It may easily be kept from one season to another; but 

 when kept beyond that time, unless very carefully stored in a 

 warm temperature, it wiU crystalize in the comb, and it is liable to 

 ferment when in jars separated from the comb. 



GENERAL REMARKS. 



Every bee-keeper should be a book-keeper; that is, so far 

 as to have a permanent record of the events of the apiary 

 and the fortunes of his bees. A book similar to a tradesman's 

 journal would be very suitable for the purpose. In it he should 

 note down the date of the first swarm of the season especially, and 

 those of the other swarms also ; and in autumn, the quantity of 

 honey taken from each hive should be entered, with remarks on the 



