30 



it is advisable to grade the combs. Those which have not 

 been occupied by brood, and also cappings removed from 

 combs previous to extracting the honey, will yield the best 

 wax, and should be sorted out and melted separately from 

 old combs, which will yield a darker and consequently less 

 valuable wax. 



Adulteration, — The following are simple tests for detect- 

 ing adulteration of beeswax: — 



(1) A email piece of wax placed in the mouth and chewed ehould 

 not adhere to the teeth, or become pasty, but, generally speaking, 

 should disintegrate into small fragments, and have no unpleasant 

 taste. 



(2) Place a piece of suspected wax (of the size of a small nut) 

 into a test tube, half fill with spirits of turpentine, and carefully 

 warm over the flame of a spirit lamp. If the solution is cloudy, or 

 a deposit is thrown down, the solution ia not complete, and the wax 

 is adulterated, as spirits of turpentine completely dissolves pure 

 beeswax. 



THE PREPAKATION AND PACKING OF HONEY FOR 

 MARKET. 



Qualities of Honey. — The honey classes which are now a 

 common feature of agricultural and horticultural shows, have 

 taught the consumer the value of first-class home-produced 

 honey; therefore, to obtain the best prices for their produce, 

 beekeepers must pay careful attention to grading and packing. 

 Comb-honey should be translucent, showing the clear bright 

 colour of the contained honey, the combs should be fully 

 worked out to the sides and bottom of the section, and 

 scrupulously clean, the cappings should be thin and of even 

 surface. The finest liquid extracted honey is bright and clear, 

 of a light amber colour, and delicate in flavour and aroma. 

 Extracted honey when granulated should be of fine, even 

 grain, creamy white in colour, and of good flavour. There are 

 many grades of medium and dark-coloured honeys which fail 

 to reach this standard but which are of excellent quality in 

 flavour and aroma, and in some localities these honeys will 

 sell more readily than the lighter samples. Colour is only 

 a matter of fancy and does not affect the eating qualities. For 

 instance, heather honey commands the highest price of all. 

 It is in a class by itself, dark amber in colour, gelatinous in 

 consistency, redolent of the moors in both aroma and flavour. 



Preparation for Obtaining Comb-Honey in Sections. — In 



the case of co'mb-honey, the preparation commences with the 

 fitting of the wax foundation in the sections. To ensure a 

 well worked out section this should be cut so as just to fit 



