470 IIOXEY PRODUCTION. 



sieve should be large enough to take a pailful of honey, so 

 as to cause no delay. 



A mark is made on the barrel, with a crayon, or chalk, as 

 each pailful is poured in. In this way we know when -the 

 barrel is full, without having to gauge it, and we avoid having 

 the honey run over and waste. 



The latest method is to have a large tank instead of a 

 barrel to receive the honey. The tank is intended to ripen 

 the honey and is usually made of galvanized iron. The writer 

 has seen tanks of this kind out in the o])en air, in California, 

 where it never rains during the summer season. Honey that 

 is allowed (o remain in an open tank with only a light cloth 

 ever it, in a hot room, will often ripen considerably by 

 evaporation. It is a good method. But as we have a number 

 of out-apiaries, we find it more convenient to barrel our honey, 

 especially as we alwaj's wait till the bees have ripened the 

 honey before extraetmg it. Not only have we barreled our 

 honey for years, but' very extensive apiarists around us have 

 done tlje samCj among whom we will cite E. J. Baxter of 

 Xauvoo, Illinois, who produces a number of tons of extracted 

 honey every season. The honey must be veiy ripe when har- 

 vested and the barrels, if used in preference to tanks, must 

 be of the proper kind and quality. (829.) 



779. AVe w-ould advise Ijegiuaers, who extract for the first 

 time, to go slowly and carefully. A little care, besides saving 

 time, will save the waste of several pounds of honey, and make 

 things more comfortable; for a pound of hcnej^ wasted goes a 

 great way towards making everytlung sticky and dirty. If a 

 F]ilendid crop and neat work are pleasurable, a daubed 

 honey-room and cross bees in the apiary irritate both the 

 Apiarist and his assistants, who soon Ijecome sick of the woilc. 

 \Vhen things are rightly managed, the work is so delightful 

 that more help c.nn be found than is needed. 



780. Of all manipulations, extracting is that which re- 

 quires the greatest precautions against robbing (664). Care- 

 fully avoid all unnecessary exposure of comb or honey. Rob- 



