478 



HONBT HANDLING. 



some, being gathered from poisonous flowers. A Mandin- 

 go African informed a lady of our acquaintance that his 

 countrymen eat none that is unsealed until it has been boiled. 

 The noxious properties of honey gathered from poisonous 

 flowers would seem to be mostly evaporated before it is 

 sealed over by the bees. Heating, however, expels them 

 still more effectually, for some persons cannot eat even the 

 best, when raw, with impunity. Well ripened honey is 

 more wholesome than that freshly gathered by the bees. 

 When it is taken from the bees, it should be put where it 

 will be safe from all intruders. The little red and the large 

 black ant are extravagantly fond of it, and will not only 

 carry off large quantities if within their reach, but many of 

 them will drown in it, spoil its appearance, and render it 

 unfit for use. 



Fig. 196. 

 TWO-TIER HONKY CRATE. 



826. Comb honey, in sections (721), put up in crates 

 of 12, 16, 24, or 40 sections, with glass on the side, sells 

 most readily ; and were it not for the greater cost of produc- 

 tion, and the difficulty of safe transportation, this kind 

 would be raised exclusively. One objection to it, by large 

 producers, is that it cannot always be kept in good shape, 

 from one year to another, owing to its tendency to "sweat." 



Sweating takes place in comb-honey which has been sealed 



