B e (' -Ice (' ping in ]'ictoiia. 51 



tin of honey while the remainder is still quite cold, or in a candied 

 state. Thus, it will be seen that the methods employed in heating 

 other liquids cannot be used for honey. Heat should never be applied 

 direct. Vessels containing the honey to he heated should be put into 

 another vessel containing water. The heat is applied to the outer 

 vessel either direct, by means of hot water circulation or by steam con- 

 ducted into the water. The temperature of the water surrounding the 

 tins should never exceed 170 degrees Fahr., unless the honey is kept in 

 motion by continuous stirring. 



If honey is heated at time of extracting it will not only be much 

 clearer and brighter, but the candying will be, to a great extent, pre- 

 vented, or considerably delayed. Moreover, honey so heated, if 

 eventually it does candy, while still in the hands of the producer, will 

 not throw up a layer of scum when being reliquified, as is the case with 

 honey not previously heated. 



It is, therefore, desirable that all honey should be heated before 

 being packed for market ; but as at extracting no time is available to 

 heat honey in the laborious way of immersing tins in hot water before 

 emptying them into the settling tank, an apparatus which will auto- 

 matically heat the honey on its way from the extractor to the honey 

 tank, is a great labour-saving device in the production of honey on a 

 large scale. This apparatus, known as the honey-heater, consists of 

 an inclined plane, divided off into a number of narrow races, down 

 which the honey from the gate of the extractor passes in a thin 

 stream over a hot metal surface. Quick heating to the required tem- 

 perature is obtained by the spreading out of the stream of honey over 

 a comparatively large surface. The apparatus is constructed of tinned 

 copper and filled with water, which is heated by means of a blue flame 

 stove placed underneath. The correct temperature of the heated 

 honey is ascertained by means of a thermometer, over the bulb of which 

 the honey runs before entering the tank, and regulated by the raising 

 or lowering of the flame of the stove. 



Liquifying Candied Honey. 



When honey has candied solidly, it cannot be liquified hurriedly; 

 from eight to ten hours will be required at a temperature of 165 

 degrees in a hot water bath for honey set hard in 60-lb. tins. 



To compensate for the slowness of this process, the heating of the 

 water bath should be so arranged that the correct temperature is main- 

 tained automatical. This is best accomplished by using the blue 

 flame stove illustrated in the previous chapter. _ When large quanti- 

 ties of candied honey have to be liquified, provision should be made for 

 heating a number of tins simultaneously in a bath holding from twelve 

 to sixteen 60-lb. tins. If such a bath is constructed specially for the 

 purpose, the dimensions should be such that there is a space of 

 J to 1 inch between the tins. These should rest on strips of wood at 

 least I inch thick, so as to prevent contact between the bottom of the 

 tins and the bottom of the bath, and to allow the water to circulate all 

 round the tins. The bottom half of a square 400-gallon water tank 

 which has been cut in t-\vo horizontally is used by some bee-keepers for 

 heating honey. Battens are laid across the bottom for the honey tins 



