Seasonal Work for Beekeepers

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 64, Issue 1, 15 January 1942, Page 62

Seasonal Work for Beekeepers

Seasonal Work and By-products

r I ’HE . evaporation and modification A ' of nectar of flowers by the bees to form the final product of honey is called ripening. During " the gathering and the storage of honey in the combs the bees add enzymes (contained in digestive juices) to the nectar, which invert or break up the large portion of the sucrose into the more easily digested sugars known as dextrose and levulose, and, in addition, the . bees partially dehydrate or remove a large proportion of the water present by manipulating < the honey with their mouth-parts and by circulating currents of air through the hive to evaporate the excess moisture. During the honey season, when there is 1 a heavy flow of nectar, this work goes on in 1 the hives until the very late hours of the night, according to the amount of nectar gathered during the day, and may be observed by a heavy, continuous humming sound in the apiary until the work ceases for the night. The complete process of honey ripening by the bees requires a uniformly high temperature within the hive and adequate ventilation through the hive entrance. Any attempt ,by the beekeeper ,to provide open spaces between the supers would cause cool draughts, ' which , would severely interfere with the normal process of honey ripening. It is therefore important that all hive parts are close fitting and that a wide open entrance is provided for all hives during the main summer .honey flow. '{Removal of Honey Crop No honey should be removed from the hives to the honey-house for extracting from the combs during a honey flow before -, it is thoroughly ripened and capped over by the bees. If this rule is not adhered to there is a danger of taking honey from which the normal amount of moisture has not been removed, resulting in a lowergrade product which may ' ferment quickly when placed in storage for any length of time.. It is also very important to keep all honey-house utensils as clean and sterile as possible. The wash bucket should be emptied and washed clean of every trace of honey each day, and the floor mops should also be attended to, otherwise they soon sour and become a source of active infection. Honey may also be spoiled by

added moisture absorbed while the honey is exposed to a damp atmosphere or accidentally introduced by the beekeeper during extracting operations. It is a bad practice to store full combs for any length of time during wet weather before extracting the honey, or to leave liquid honey exposed. in. open tanks, which should be covered and the < contents protected against'dust or a damp atmosphere. To obtain a good-keeping quality product, cleanliness, consistent with dry conditions wherever honey is exposed in all apiary and honey 'work, is essential. Apiary By-products There is no reason why there should be the slightest waste of . honey that cannot be put up in good marketable condition to be disposed of in the ordinary way. Even the washing of the honey tank, extractor, and other vessels which have contained honey, as well as broken honey combs, can all be utilised in making honey mead and honey vinegar. The following notes prepared by the late Isaac Hopkins, following experience of honey mead and honey vinegar making at the State Apiary, . Ruakura, deal fully with the subject: s' ■ < i ■ '■■■' i-y -i Honey Mead In making both mead and vinegar, I adopted the most simple methods in order that they might be readily followed by all- classes of beekeepers. The ingredients in both , cases are simply honey and water in' different proportions. - When properly made, -honey mead at three years- old is hardly distinguishable from ' first-class sherry, either in taste, colour, or aroma. Suitable casks should be procured, but beware of beer casks for mead. . One cask should . have the head. out for fermenting purposes. Whatever quantity of mead is to. be made, , the . cask or casks used to receive the liquid after the fermentation should be of a size that they will be full, leaving no space for air. In all cases, both . for vinegar and mead, use rain water, if possible, 'as this is more free from. minerals than well or spring water. To each gallon of water, there should be added 4| lb. of honey,, but in the case of washings, a hydrometer should be brought into use. The specific gravity of ' the' mixture is as near 1.115 as is required, so

that if under that when testing the liquid,. , add more honey > and if over add more water. Put the mixture into the cask with the head out, add a little yeast, and cover the top of the cask with a clean sack. Where yeast cannot be readily obtained and is not added, the liquid will begin to ferment in a few days, -but the yeast expedites • it. Mead. is best , made under cover, but vinegar can be made outside. If it is intended to fill a 20-gallon cask, 21 gallons of the liquid should be set to ferment. After fermentation begins, skim the liquid every day and then stir it well. It will be found that, the scum gradually changes from ' a dirty brown to a snow-white colour. At this time- the ferment will be slight, and the liquid can then be transferred to its cask. A small calico bag filled with sand should then be placed over the bunghole. This allows the gas generated to escape from the cask without allowing the air to enter. The extra amount of liquid should be kept in a jar or bottles to use for filling the cask occasionally, which should be kept full. After about four weeks or so, the sand bag may be removed and the cask securely bunged, but a spile hole should be first bored near the bung-hole and a spile about the size of a meat skewer inserted. This should be removed for a second or so every day for a while to ’ allow the carbonic acid gas to escape. It may now remain undisturbed until the following - August, when the liquid should be refined and transferred to a clean cask. Refining Mead 1 Cut into very fine sheds some isinglass in the proportion of about 1 oz. to 30 gallons of mead and allow it to soak in some mead for two or three days, adding- two teaspoons of tartaric acid. •: When- in a jelly, rub the ■ isinglass through a fine sieve until the whole is in -liquid form; this is very important. ■ ’ r ' Draw off from the cask sufficient mead ,to allow the. ripening mixture to be added, thus keeping the cask full. Bung up and leave the casks undisturbed for from fourteen to seventeen days, when the mead should be carefully siphoned , off and put into a clean spirit cask. A rubber tube makes an efficient siphon. Tie the tube to a stick, so that when the end is lowered into the mead it is fully 3 inches from the bottom. The tube should not reach the bottom of the casks.

(Continued on page 65.)

APIARY NOTES. Continued from page 62. The mead may now remain to mature, and if not quite clear it can be further refined the following winter. Mead improves with age. Honey Vinegar Honey vinegar is made and fermented in a similar manner to mead, but the proportions of honey and water are different. To each gallon of water 1| to 1| lb. of honey are required, giving a specific ' gravity of 1.040 or about. Skim as for mead, and when fermentation has nearly ceased, transfer to casks. In the case of mead, the air is excluded, but in making vinegar a free circulation of air is needed to oxidise the liquid and help the formation of acetic acid. A 1-inch hole should be bored in each end of the cask on the upper edge, in a line with the bung-hole; these holes, and also the bung-hole, should be covered with cheese-cloth to exclude flies, but

otherwise must be left open. . The following winter it will be strong enough when properly made to be drawn off and put into whole casks to mature. Honey vinegar has an excellent flavour and has a ready sale. It is recommended in most recipes to add about 10 per cent, of mature vinegar after- the first or alcoholic fermentation has ceased, to force on the acetic acid production. While this saves time, the addition of matured vinegar is not needed to produce first-class honey vinegar. If mead and vinegar are both made, care should be taken to use separate utensils for each, and to paint the

hoops of the vinegar casks as a protection from the acid which attacks them. Absolute cleanliness in all vessels used in contact with the liquid is essential; otherwise, where contaminating bacteria are present, failure to produce a good article-will result. Where no hydrometer is available, a fresh egg may be used for testing purposes. When the , liquid for honey vinegar will just support a fresh' egg, leaving a spot about the size of a sixpenny piece above the surface, ,it is about right.

—T. S. WINTER,

, Senior Apiary

Instructor, Wellington.