Under the modern system of bee culture we obtain two kinds of honey,
known as comb and extracted. Comb honey is brought before the consumer
just as it was stored by the bees, while extracted honey is the pure
honey emptied from the comb by means of the honey extractor. If not
adulterated by middlemen both are equally healthful and nutritious.
Honey is not a luxury, but a necessary addition to our food, it being
the pure sweet as secreted by the flowers from which it is gathered by
the bees, being healthful and much safer than the poisonous confections
sold under the name of “candy.”
Comb honey is preferred by many on account of its fine appearance. It
must be placed in the market in good shape, indicating that it is
intended for food and not simply as a luxury, a sweet morsel to be
tasted by the children. Some of our writers on bee culture (but I am
happy to say only a few) went wild some time ago advocating one-half
pound frames. They argue that it can be sold at a higher price, but all
bee-keepers know that forcing bees into such small combs greatly reduces
the crop, and if such a course could be pursued by our bee men it would
at once convey the idea that honey was only a substitute for candy or
chewing gum. My advice to the bee-loving readers of this magazine is to
let them severely alone in their craze. A season or two will abolish
such small things. The man whose soul is so small and his ideas so
contracted, and his business principles so mean as to place a half pound
honey package upon the market for the purpose of extorting a half penny
or so from his fellow man deserves to be classed with--you may draw your
own comparison.
Anything smaller than a one pound section or frame is a loss to the
producer as well as the consumer. A one pound comb makes a nice package,
and such frames can be nicely crated and safely shipped.
Comb honey should be removed from the hive as soon as all the cells are
sealed over. If left to remain it becomes darker by the bees passing
over it. When taken from the hive it should be placed in a dark room
until sold or shipped to market. Some writers advise smoking it with
sulphur to kill the wax worm. I never found this necessary, as I never
have found worms on my comb honey. Honey should be nicely graded, and
the finest shipped or sold in separate lots. My frames hold two pound
each, of these I place six in a crate having glass at each end showing
quality of honey. These crates suit the retail as well as the wholesale
dealers and consumers generally buy a whole crate--12 to 13 pounds. Many
of my customers in adjoining towns buy from three to six crates.
Unfinished or partly sealed combs can be emptied with the extractor and
put away for next season.
Extracted honey should be placed in nice, clean, attractive packages.
For home trade self-sealing jars do very well. For shipping, kegs are
found to be the best.
Just here I would give a word of warning. Do not extract before your
honey is sealed, if you do it is not ripe and too thin and will sour,
thus spoiling your reputation as a honey producer. Don’t be too eager to
obtain a large quantity, let the quality be good and you will have no
trouble to find plenty of buyers. It is only the poor, unripe article
that cannot be sold, and which gives some of our writers in the bee
papers so much trouble to find a way to dispose of their honey.
(_Penna._) H. H. FLACK.