MARKETING THE HONEY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 146, 14 March 1908, Page 3

MARKETING THE HONEY.

IS IT RIPE? A QUESTION FOR. BEEKEEPERS. ' j Tho quostion is answered by tho: Govern-, t mon.t Apiarist in tho, last [issued bulletin:— • "All honey," ; he says; V "should bq j thoroughly ripened and matured before s being placed upon tho market; .'otherwise . it- will rapidly deteriorate to tho injury of . tho produce and tho industry generally. . . : In tho absonoa, however, of any reliable j method for deciding when honey is ripo, J , beekeepers are not wholly blamoablo for I being mistaken on this point. Noctar or , honey, when first gathered contains a variable quantity of water, usually ranging from ' 18' to; .23 per cent., according to the weather." . ... ' : A Test.'. !' Tho :■ Apiarist quotes Mr.. analyst to, tho British Beekeepers' Associai tion, as saying that "when the percentage ■ (of water) falls below. 18 tho honoyis genorally veiy hard and solid; when it is higher ■ than 21.it is. frequently quite or almost . clear." Thorpe's "Dictionary of. Applied : Chemistry" is also quoted as saying that ; 'in 25 samples of honey tho maximum con- ; tent of water was 23.26' per cent., minimum , 12.43, and average 19.3. ' Unripe Honey Ferments. . , " Honoy /containing an excess - of rnois-' turo," continues tho New Zealand bulletin, > "is unripe, and bound; sooner or later to foment, but when such moisture is reduced below' a pertain percentage the honey is said, to bo -ripe, . and , it' will in . that /condition keep-good for any length of time. There is in' tho'Agricultural Milseum at' Wellington a sample, over 16 years old in splendid, condition.. .; It is frequently -very difficult, to decide .whether honpy .js ripe or not/while it is in liquid form . . . Wo shall; be. able to arrive in time; at the knowledge'we - require by-a very simple moans—that is, through the density or, specific gravity of tho article." The New Test. , , ,/ " Some' little timo since I purchased from grocers .in the ordinary way twenty tins of different varieties and grades of honey, arid .tested I them very' carefully, for their, specific: gravity with a Twaddel's and a' Fletcher's hydrometer." All tho samples taken were granulated, and tho tests furnished valuable information,;-which, in was as' follows: — '■; _ , Elovensamples varied, in specific .gravity from 1.400-to, 1;430.. :: Nine samples variekl in-specific gravity from 1.350 to 1.390. . Samples were' firm j- and dry/ over '1.410. Samples were less firm but well ripenedfrom 1.400 to ILdIOJ ' Samples were soft and moist and very' doubtful below 1.400. One sample, at. 1.385, had begun to ferment. ' ... Southland tests made by -Mr •> Robert Gibb, secretary of-tho Southland" Beokoepers'. Association, confirmed these findings. .-. How the Density Is Road. This is the practical part of the system, and it is as simple as ■it is valuable. Tho Apiarist thus describes it : —" Each sample was liquefied by slow heat in a closed vessel (closed yto prevent :• tho • moisturo evaporating) placed in a water bath. It was then reduced to a temperature of about , 60 degrees Fahr., poured into' a test' glass, and. the hydrometer inserted. • The ', hydrometer will gradually sink until it finally registers the specific gravity. In the ,case of honey boing.too dense to bo treated in . this- manner,' woigh .'up, say,. Soz. of honey, 'then., add the same weight 'of warm ~ water and-thoroughly mix. When reduced ' to 60 degrees Fahr. it will be reatly for testing. Supposing, for instance, 1 tho hydro.ineter then gives , 1.190, by adding f .190 it will givo 1.380, which will be tho specific gravity of the honey." . , Tho necessary outfit comprises " a Twaddel's hydrometer,/or t;wo. instruments with a range from 1.350 to 1.400 in one, and. 1.400 to 1.450 in tho other, with a suitable'test glass and thermometer, costing about 7s. 6d. or 8s!" •. ; , Messrs. G. W, Wilton and Co., of Lower i. Cuba Street, rccontly showed us 'a'.still cheaper set costing about os.