12 MISCELLANEOUS PAPEES ON APICULTURE. 



adulterated ; but the history of the sample precluded this possibility. 

 The honey had apparently changed greatly with age in appearance 

 as well as in composition. 



Some bee keepers make a practice of adding a very small amount 

 of glycerin to the honey to prevent granulation. This should not be 

 done, for it is adulterating the honey. Some have argued that, since 

 glycerin costs so much more than honey, they are not adulterating 

 in that they are not adding something cheaper to the honey to increase 

 their profit. According to pure-food laws, however, nothing can be 

 added to honey unless the addition is specifically stated, and the 

 addition of even a small amount of glycerin is, in the eyes of the law, 

 as great an offense as the addition of glucose. 



HEATING HONEY FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF THE BACTERIA OF 



DISEASE. 



The only condition under which honey should be heated to a higher 

 temperature than 160° F. is in the case of honey which has been ex- 

 tracted from a colony containing foul brood. In order to kill the 

 bacteria of either of the brood diseases, it is desirable to dilute the 

 honey by adding an equal amount of water and then raise the temper- 

 ature to the boiling point and keep it there, allowing the mixture 

 to boil vigorously for at least thirty minutes; in order that no risk 

 may be run, it is better to make this one hour. Honey which is so 

 treated is changed chemically and is no longer pure honey, but it 

 makes a good sirup for feeding to bees and is the best way of using 

 honey from an infected source. Too much care can not be exercised 

 in bringing this to the proper temperature, and it must be remem- 

 bered that the resulting product is not honey, but a sirup, the chemical 

 composition of which is quite unlike that of pure honey. 



PACKING OF EXTRACTED HONEY. 



* 



If honey tends to granulate rapidly, it will save much trouble in 

 liquefying to put it into the receptacle in which it is to be sold as soon 

 after extraction as possible. There will then be no difficulty from 

 the various ingredients becoming separated. To preserve the deli- 

 cate aromas it is desirable that honey be sealed as soon as possible. 



When honey is put up in less than 3-pound packages it is generally 

 bottled. A bottle makes a much more attractive package than a tin 

 can and shows off the contents. There is no doubt of the fact that 

 honey sells largely on its appearance, and too much care can not be 

 exercised in packing and labelling so as to make the package attract- 

 ive to the purchaser. In cases where a bee keeper sells directly to a 

 local trade he may educate his customers to judge his honeys by their 

 flavor, in which event it is immaterial what kind of package is used, 



