358 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



January, 1914 



The Preparation of HoQey 

 for Market. 



From Lcallct Xo. 141, Board of 

 Affriculturc, London. 

 The bee and honey classes of the 

 shows now held durinij each sea- 

 son, both in London and the coun- 

 try, have tauji^ht the consumer 

 what to requi'.-e in a lirst-d.iss 

 honey. Comb-honey (in section 

 cases) should be translucent, show- 

 ing the clear bright colour of the 

 contained honey, evenly and deli- 

 catelv worked out to the sides and 

 bottom of the section, and with a 

 scrupulouslv clean surface. The fin- 

 est liquid extracted honey should 



CURLEW BRANDY. 



For years itie Ouly m^xn^iy li.-»<-m 

 in the Adelaide Hoapital. 



Sole Agwnte — 



DOWNER A 00. 



Wine and Spirit Mcrohante aad 

 Aerated Water .Manufacturers. 



4,^ w.\v:\ioT'Tn ST., city. 



be bright and clear, of a lig-ht 

 straw colour, and delicate in fla- 

 vour and aroma. Granulated white 

 in colour, and of good flavour. 

 There are many grades of medium 

 and dark-coloured honeys below ^ 

 this first-class standard, but the 

 latter is what the bee-keeper must 

 strive to attain, in order to coir^'- 

 mand a ready sale for his produce. 



— Preparation for Comb-Honey in 

 Sections. — 



In regard to comb-honey, the pre- 

 paration commences with the fit- 

 ting of the wax foundation in the 

 section boxes. To ensure a well 

 worked out section this shou,d be 

 cut so as just to clear the sides of 

 the box and hang to within one- 

 sixteenth of an inch of the bottom, 

 thus_ allowing for slight stretching 

 of the foundation caused by the 

 heat of the bees clustering on its 

 surface. The fitted boxies must 

 next be placed in the section rack, 

 with separators between the rows, 

 reaching to within three-eights of 

 an inch of the top and bottom, 

 and wedged up perfectly square 

 and tight ; this is important, for 

 the bees will place propolis over 

 every crack or small space, caus- 

 ing disfigurement and extra wo'rk 

 in cleaning ; also sections " out of 

 square " are much more liable to 

 breakage when packed for travel- 

 ling, owing to the tma\oidable 

 spaces between them. The rack 

 m'ust be placed jJerfectlj' level on a 

 hive containing a strong colony 

 of l)(e€<s ; it will then be filled with 

 good, straight, and even combs. 



— Removing Filled Racks. — 



Removing filled racks from the 

 hi\'es should be done with as little 

 disturbance to tlie bees as possible; 

 the best method is to (i ) place a 

 " super-cl'earer " on a stool or box 

 by the side of the hive, raise up 

 the bottom edge of the rack and 

 insert a small wedge ; (2) puff a 

 little smoke between the rack and 

 tops of the frames, remove the 

 rack steadily with a screwing 

 motion, andiput it down gontly on. 

 the " super-clearer " ; (3) place a 

 cloth, on which a few drops of car- 

 bolic acid have been sprinkled, over 

 the top of thaiframes ; (4) in about 

 ten seconds remove the cloth, and 

 it will be found that the liees have 

 been driven down, leaving the tops 

 clear ; (5) then immediately take 

 up the rack with the " super- 

 clearer " and place them on the 

 frames. If this operation is car- 

 ric;d out in the afternoon, by next 

 morning every bee will have found 

 its way down to the body of the 



hive through the bee-escapa in the 

 centre of the " super-clearer," and 

 the rack can be removed with com- 

 fort to the bee-keeper and without 

 disturbance to the apiary. 



The full racks should be carried 

 into a bee-proof room, the wedges 

 and back-board removed, and the- 

 centre section of the exposed row 

 taken out. It should not be lifted 

 straigiit out, as the result would 

 probably be a damaged section, 

 hut if tilted backward on its bot- 

 tom edge, it wiM loosen and come, 

 away easily, as also will the two 

 side ones. The sections should be 

 sorted as they are taken out, plac- 

 ing all well-filled clear ones in the 

 first grade ; those not well-worked 

 to bottom and sides, and therefore 

 not fit for travelling, will make a 

 second grade ; and any only parti- 

 ally filled must bie given back to 

 the bees to finish, unless the 

 "honey-flow" has ceased, in which 

 case they must be emptied by the 

 extractor. All propolis must be 

 carefully scraped from the edges of 

 the sections, which, if not already 

 sold, should be stored in a dry, 

 warm cupboard, and protected 

 from dust by tying them in pack- 

 ages of four or six in clean paper ; 

 care must be taken not to place 

 anything having a strong odouf 

 near the honeycomb, or it wiU 

 spoil the flavour of the honiey. 



— Packing Sections. — 



If the sections are sold to whole- 

 sale dealers for re-sale to traders, 

 no preparation is needed. To pack 

 theon so as to travel safely, not 

 more than from four to six dozen, 

 preferably the smaller quantity, 

 should be put into one package. 



Packing may usefully be done as 

 follows :— (I) Procure a strong 

 wooden box, bore two holes in 

 each end, about one-third down, 

 and knot firmly into them rope 

 handles, by which the box can be 

 safelv and easily lifted ; (2) in the 

 bottom of the box put a bed of 

 coarse hay, and on this place, 

 quite close together, a layer of 

 the wrapped-up packages of sec- 

 tions, leaving at least two inches 

 between the sides of box and the 

 sections : this space must be filled 

 with hay, tightlv pressed in, and, 

 to prevent possible damage to the 

 comb, the ends of the packages 

 may be protected by pieces of 

 straw-board or thin wood ; (3) 

 continue with layers of packages! 

 filling in round the sides as before 

 until within two inches of the top; 

 (4) then fill up tightly with hay, 

 and screw on the Hd. Packages 



