Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-01-16
ROW to Improve Honey.

Many persons suppose that honey can
not be improved by art, but such is not
the case. That the liquid sweets of
flowers undergo some change in the lab0-
ratory of the bee is quite certain but
this change does not essentially modify
its constituent elements, but is rather
one of condemnation. Some flowers
give a pungent taste to the honey, and
others contain oils that seriously impair
its value. These oils are quite volatile,
and are easily driven off by heat, and
many of them will evaporate in few
weeks if left exposed, but not all of them.
1t is supposed the bees leave the comb
Uncapped for the purpose of evaporating
unpleasant aroma or deleterious oils. IL
is here that art steps in and gives the
needed aid, by the help of heat, to drive
off these foreign substances that impair
the value of the honey, more especially
for it's use as a medicine. | have before
stated that honey thus prepared by heat
can be partaken of with impunity by
almost if not all persons.
In the process of heating, the honey,
or rather the vessel that contains it, is
not to be exposed directly to the fire,
but placed in a vessel of water, and that
exposed directly to the heat. The heat
from the water is sufficient to melt the
wax, and drive off all the deletcriOus
oils, without any danger of scOrChing
the honey, or changing its quality by
boiling. Every hOusekeeper knows the
difference between heating to near boil
ing point and absolute boiling. In the
boiling of fruits, the volatile oils are lost,
and these impart the most pleasant flavor
to the fruit hence, the practice of sim
mering, so well known to all good cooks,
is resOrted to. In the case of honey, we
wish to be rid Of the more ethereal oils,
and retain those more valuable and
heavier, with the honey. For this rea-
son, we must guard against an access Of
heat.
1t is a good practice, and one well
known to the ancient bee-keeper, to
allow the common hOney-comb-that is
honey from the brood chamber, which
contains more or less cells filled with
pollen, or "bee-bread' to be placed in
such position that the honey may be
drained out without imparting to it any
of the unpleasant tastes of the pollen.
An opposite practice has been in more
common use, to strain the honey through
thin muslin bags; but this ruins it for
the table and the markets. Those per-
sons having the common bOX-hive, and
who destroy part of the swarms for
honey, and have Dives in which swarms
have died from loss of queens, or other
cause, often have a good supply of this
hive, or brOod-chamber honey; and it is
desirable to retain this honey for use.
The best plan is to place these combs
on wire cloth placed over a vessel to re-
ceive the honey, and, after uncapping
the combs, to lay them on the wire cloth
to drain. 1t is quite necessary that they
be kept in a warm room. So soon as
the honey is drained out of the comb, it
is turned over, 50 that the other side may
be emptied in a like manner.
After the honey is all out, it may be
further improved by heating, as before
stated, when many impurities and the
least valuable of the honey will sink to
the bottom of the vessel, if left stand
ing for a time We may thus, from
what would be very different article,
have pleasant luxury for the table.
We may, therefore, conclude that it is
the quality and not the quantity. Of
honey, we shall assuTedly derive benefit
therefrom. We can only be satisfied of
the purity of honey when its source is
known to us; hence the necessity of
keeping the honey-bees to collect it, or
of obtaining it from reliable parties.
Honey has been adulterated with vari-
rious substances to improve its color,
and to increase its bulk and weight,
which has tended to iniure its reputa-
ton in the markets, but it should be
classed as more valuable than syrup or
sugar. And yet sugar and syrup, from
their cheapness, have largely taken its
place. Because beef and pork have be
come great staples of food, there is yet
no reason why the good wife may not
have her pOultry-not only as luxury.
but as a food. So of the honey; while
conceding a prominent place to sugar
and syrup, we need not neglect the bees.
And while the poultry may not supply
the masses with cheap food, yet it is
sought for at reasonable profit to the
producers. So of honey; it must con
tinue to occupy a place in every we'll
regulated farmstead or suburban home
There are particularlocations, and others
that may be made such by art, where
bee keeping may be made profitable on
a large scale but this is not general, and
we must take these big stories of enor-
NOUS yields as exceptions to the general
rule, for the simple reason that the same
conditions do not exist in all places We
may thus class Bookkeeping not only as
a science, but an art science, to know
how to best manage them--and an art,
in the manipulatiOns and conditions pre-
sentsd.-El1a, IN the Chjcago Tribune