Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-16
Hozv Bees FlezU 500, 900 Miles

sumption, to note the chemical changes which
take place All kinds of honey, they have
found dsrken after the first few years and
change in favor.
Numerous safeguards are thrown by the
Government around the honey bees product.
Since enactment of the pure food law IN 1906
very little honey has been adulterated, so that
it is no longer necessary to buy 1t In the COMP
to be sure Of getting pure product Samples
offered for sale are analysed regularly and rae
tories where extracting is done are periodically
inspected.
Under this regime, which has restored public
confidence in extracted honey, the bees business
has prospered greatly. Last year 12OOO,OOO
pounds were exported and domestic consumption
increased also. Beekeeping has become an I'M
portant industry neriting all the studies that
are being made for its Improvement
Extensive as the industry Is, however, it is not
practiced in all parts Of the United States since
there are many areas which are not adapted
to It,
There are three principal regions In the
United States where commercial beekeeping
hourishes. These are the Northeastern States,
where there is plenty of lime In the soil, so that
the clover secretes its nectar in copious guam
titles; the Middle West, where there IS an
abundance OF alfalfa, and part Of Southern
California in which sage is plentiful.
To be sure bees are kept in many other
regions and their keepers often have q nice
profit at the end Of season TO show for their
inant ones from the standpoint Of commercial
honey production.
Altogether, it is estimated that there are be-
tween 300 900 and 100000 people in the
United States who keep bees. Since the aver
age number of hives per keeper is not over 10,
this means that there is very large number
Of beekeepsrS who do not have more than one
or two hives apiece.
The handling of honey in large quantities has
been developed into maSS-production affair,
scientific n
After the honey has been extracted, 1t Is
usually put into large tanks until time for ship
ment. Then it is placed in cans, usually of
about 6O-pound capacity, TO be distributed to
wholesalers.
ONE of the most interesting stages of this
~ honey-producing business is the process
of blending by which various types OF honey
combined in one mixture. When this is
to be done, the different honeys are first heated
that they melt, and are then run together
in a large tank, where they are kept at a tenn
perature of approximately lao degrees for sew
eral hours and stirred constantly so that every
crystal may be dissolved.
When the last crystal has vanished, and the
honey is a pure liquid, it is quickly raised to a
temperature of $50 degrees and bottled at once.
Each bottle is filled to the brim and sealed
Theoretically before the Temperature drops ap-
probably; this prevents the Capitalization Of
the sugar.
blenders often introduce into the mixture q
quantity of sage honey, as this rarely crystal
Lies and serves to hold back capitalization
of the rest of the mixture
incidentally, it is interesting to notice that
fully 65 per cent of the crop of American
honey is marketed in the rural regions. Since
more than SO per cent of the population lives
in cities this means that the city dweller con-
sumes far less than his share Of honey, and
beekeepers in recent years have considered ex~
tensive advertising campaigns to enable thena
to bring their, honey to the SEFban, maxketS In
greater quantities. 81 sa'ss+ ~ ~