52 Hi I -]:i(' p'l nil in Yicti 



to rest upon. The tank is placed over a small excavation, or on a few- 

 bricks, so that a small fire can be lighted under it. It is filled with 

 water to near the top of the honey tins, of which it holds sixteen. 



When a specially made bath is used, it is best to use hot water 

 circulation instead of a fire underneath. The bath may consist of a 

 stout wooden case of the desired dimensions, lined with galvanized iron 

 and connected by means of two pipes with a boiler made of an oil drum 

 or a copper closed with a dome. The boiler or copper is set in the fire- 

 place, while the bath may be some little distance away on the floor of 

 the honey room, and thus the heating of the honey may be done indoors 

 at any time, and with a minimum of shifting about of the heavy honey 

 tins. 



In liquifying candied honey, it should be remembered that every 

 particle jnust be dissolved, otherwise granulation will soon recom- 

 mence, the remaining undissolved crystals, however small, acting as 

 nuclei for fresh crystallization. 



XII. — Comb=honey. 



In Victoria, and in Australia generally, the amount of honey 

 marlceted in the comb is only a small fraction of the total production. 

 In England, tlie United States, and Canada, a considerable portion, 

 perhaps nearly one-half, of the honey used for table purposes is in the 

 comb. 



In North America, the production of comb-hone.y in 1 lb. sections 

 has attained to large dimensions, and many large apiaries are run ex- 

 clusively for the raising of high grade section-honey, high prices being 

 obtainable for what is graded as " fancy." In the profitable produc- 

 tion of comb-honey, considerable skill, and favorable conditions of 

 climate and flora, are essential. 



That a larger amount of honey in the comb is not consumed in 

 Aiistralia is often attributed to lack of enterprise of the apiarists, or 

 to the absence of consumers willing to pay the extra price for honey 

 in the comb, as compared with extracted. 



Well filled sections of comb-honej' with perfectly clean white 

 cappings can only be obtained in localities which have a heavy honey 

 flow lasting sufficiently long to insure uninterrupted work in the 

 sections from start to finish. The profitable production of comb- 

 honey is only possible under a combination of favorable conditions not 

 present in every locality, and not every season. Comb-honey may, 

 as a matter of fact, be produced whenever bees store more than is 

 needed for their own immediate requirements, but very few bee- 

 keepers are aware at what cost, through loss in yield, this is done wdren 

 attem]ited under unfavorable conditions. There are seasons when 

 bees will produce a fair amount of honey when given ready-built 

 combs for extracted honey, but if compelled to work in sections, a 

 very small yield of inferior comb-honey will result. 



The true causes of the small production are. however, the climatic 

 conditions of our country and the vagaries of blossoming and nectar 

 secretion of our native flora. The yields of honey are equal to those 

 obtained in any part of the world, when taken on an average for 



