100 BEE-KEEPING FOR PROFIT 
covered with a white scum—particles of wax 
and pollen—which should be removed as it 
forms. The honey immediately below is thin 
and watery. This is due to the proportion of 
water it contains, and measures must be taken 
to get rid of this by evaporation, or it will 
spoil the keeping property of the whole. To 
seal up any of this thin honey is to ensure 
fermentation and disaster. 
The very best vessels in which to ripen 
honey are the large earthenware cream pots 
that are glazed inside. Being to a certain 
extent porous they allow for the evaporation 
of excessive moisture. They are, too, easy to 
clean and free from any possibility of metallic 
influence on the honey. 
Straining Honey.—Strainers may be made 
of many variable materials from wire to muslin, 
according to the preference of the bee-keeper. 
Personally I have found that the most service- 
able and effectual strainer material is soft linen 
cheese-cloth, and I would recommend that a 
good supply of it, ranging from coarse to fine 
in quality, should be kept by every apiarist for 
straining purposes, when broken comb has be- 
come mixed with the honey. 
When the operation is necessary and 
a considerable quantity of comb has to be 
