210 To Purifi/ Honey. 



harvests — the wliite clover, ba.«s\vood, and that of iall flowers. 

 I have always extracted the h(jiiey bo frequently sis to avoid 

 much uncapping. If the honey i; thin, I would keep it in 

 a dry warm room, or apjily a mild heat, that it might thicken, 

 and escape danger from fermentation. 



Many have sustained los,s by extracting prematurely, so 

 perhaps the beginner better not extract till after the bees have 

 commonced to seal the honey. The labor of uncapping, with 

 the excellent honey knives now at our command, is so light 

 that we can alFord to run no risk that the honey produced at 

 our apiaries shall sour and become worthless. 



If the honey granulates, it can be reduced to the fluid state 

 with no injury, by heating, though the temperature should 

 never rise above 200^ F. This can best be done by placing 

 the ve?sel containing the honey in another containing water, 

 though if the second vessel be set on a stove, a tin basin or 

 pieces of wood should prevent the honey vessel from touching 

 tlie bottom, else the honey will burn. As before stated, the 

 best honey is always sure to crystallize, but it may be prevented 

 by keeping it in a temperature which is constantly above 80° 

 F. If canned honey is set on top of a furnace in whicti a fire 

 is kept burning, it will remain liquid indefinitely. 



The fact that honey granulates is the best, test of its purity. 

 To be sure, some honey does not crystallize, hut it is so rare 

 that we may pretty safely decide that granulated honey is un- 

 adulterated. 



To render the honey free from small pieces of comb, or other 

 impurities, it should either be passed through a cloth or wire 

 sieve — I purposely refrain from the use of the word strainer, 

 as we should neither use the word strained, nor allow it to be 

 used, in connection with extracted honey — or else draw it off 

 into a barrel, with a faucet or molasses gate near the lower end, 

 and after all jtarticles of solid matter have risen to the top, 

 draw off the clear honey from the bottom. In case of very 

 thick honey, this method is not so satisfactory as the first. I 

 hardly need say that honey, when heated, is thinner, and will 

 of course pass more readily through common toweling or fine 

 wire cloth. 



Never allow the queen to he forced to idleness for want of 

 empty cells. Extract all uncapped honey in the fall, and the 

 honey from all the brood-combs not needed for winter. The 



