APIARY NOTES FOR MAY.

Shannon News, 7 June 1927, Page 3

APIARY NOTES FOR MAY.

(By D. S. Robinson, Apiary Instructor, Palmerston Noith). • The attention of all beekeepers is called to the Honey Division, of the 25th National Dairy Show to be .held .it Palmerston North, June 14th to 18tn. There are 12 separate classes for none/ and .beeswax, and it only remains now for the beekeepers to send m their entries to make this portion of the show a success. Schedules and entry forms may be "obtained gratis from the bceret'ary of the A. and P. Association, Palmerston North. Entries close on the 31st of this month. Last year the amount of honey shown at. tins show was very poor when we consider the number of beekeepers in. the district and the quality of. honey produced. The Manawatu Show gives beekeepers a splendid .opportunity of bringing theiv products before'i the public, and thus advertising their goods. Undoubtedly the" Show" ben'ch is one of the best means of creating a market for th* produce of the Apiary. Advice to Exhibitors. Exhibitor? should first read over the rules of each show at which they • intend to exhibit A technical error may cause' the disqualification of exhibits that might otherwise have won a prlize. The following arc some of the mistakes made by exhibitors. ~ Honey shown in the wrong class according to colour.Granulated honey shown in the class for liquid honey and vice versa. Wrong weights in jars; it is no use showing two one-pound jars, however good, if the s-egulation states two onepound jars. Honey shown in block form when, iars of honey are stated. . PEEPAEING HONEY FOE THE , SHOW BENCH.

First, absolute cleanliness is essential for success. The jars should be of a clear white glass, free from air bubbles and bits of black ingrained in the glass. A tall harrow jar is preferable to a short, broad jar. The jars should be fitted'with a screw stopper or lever lid: corks should not be used. LIQUID HONEY. The honey used for showing should have been thoroughly ripened on the hive, i.e., well sealed before being removed. The uncapping knife should be dry before uncapping the frames, to prevent extra moisture getting into the honey. After extracting, the honey should be strained through, several thicknesses of muslin, or better still -through old flannel, warmed be fore it is used. New, flannel must not be used on account of the fine fluff that would come off. The honey also should be warmed by placing it ma jar stood in a vessel of hot water, for 10 to 15 minutes. The temperature sliould be raised to about 120 degrees. In the meanwhile well dry and warm the jar in an oven. -This done, .fill the jars'while warm and screw down lids. When running the honey into the jar the jar should be held.at. an angle to avoid air bubbles. When filled, stqr.3 jars in a dark dry, cool place. Should any scum arise this must be removed. If'air bubbles have got into the jar, and' refuse to rise to the top, the jar may be stood in a warm place to help-them to come to the top. GRANULATED HONEY. For this purpose the best honey of its kind should be chosen, and also..to obtain the best results it must be thoroughly rioe, and should notvbe heated. Fill the jars early in the season. Keep the caps off the 'bottles to allow tho honpy to granulate, and keep m a cool place exposed to the light.- Turning the jars and occasionally stirring the hono'v will give it a more even grain, ami prevent that flakiness that ko otten occurs at the side of the jar. Muslin should be covered;' over the jar tops to keep out the dust. Warmth is liable to set up fermentation. . Caps should be screwed on as soon as honey granulates. Before sending to the show remove tops and scrape off any scum and foreign matter that may have risen to the top. •'•' Should the granulated honey be talcen from honey that lias already granulated, the granulated honey sliould be gentlv heated by standing the receptacle in which it is in a vessel containing hot water, until the honey can be moved with a spoon, i.e., about the consistency of putty. It should then be put in the jars, which must be thoroughly dry, care being taken to hold the.jars at such an angle that the honey may run down the side of the jar to avoid air bubbles which are difficult 'to remove if they once get in. If not even in colour warm a little more and -stir: the warming is of course done bj surrounding the container as before described with water. The honey now being even in texture, let it stand in a very cold light dry room, when it will soon harden again.

SECTIONS These sliould be well filled worker cells, clean, free from travel stain and pop holes, cappings should be even, and the honey free from granulation. They should have been lemovcd from the "hive as socn as completed, and stored in a. dark dry cupboard, first wrapped in grease-proof • paper. Before showing all propolis should be scraped off the wood of the section. Where the class calls for more than one section the sections shown should all be of one colour, in regard to the cap- j ping. i Hoffman frame comb honey judged ;. as value as" extracting comb.—The-e j frames should be well filled, all cells capped, comb even and standing well out beyond the frame. BEESWAX. I The wax for show purposes should i be clean, of good colour, aroma, and free from sediment on the bottom oi ! the cake. To obtain the best results a solar extractor should be used, as the action of the sun's rays improves the colour while the aroma is retained. If a solar extractor is not used for rendering beeswax, the wax should be melted in a; steam lined vessel, preferably cf coDper, or tin, iron vessels should not be used, as the action of the iron turns the wax a dark colour. In rendering beeswax rainwater should be I used. If hard water has to be used add a little vinegar to the water. Hard water saponifies beeswax. Beeswax becomes liquid at a temperature of about J 45 deg.. Fahrenheit, and expands con-

siderablv under heat. Therefore, when rendering beeswax, vessels containing same should not be filled too full. The wax to be treated should be placed in a bag which should be weighed down and covered with rain water. As the wax melts and become liquid, it should be bailed out and poured into a vessel containing hot rain water. This wate: should be" kept at a high temperature but not allowed to boil.- When all' the? wax has been, transferred to the second vessel, this should be removed from the stove and covered with clean sacks to> conserve the heat. The vessel should, then be placed in a warm place and the iwax allowed to cool gradually.. On n_o; laeeouut should a current of cool air; be allowed to reach the vessel, as thia.' ; will cause the wax to crack. .The following day the block of wjix lean be removed and the bottom scraped Ho remove any sediment thereon. The. more gradually the wax has been allow-; ■ ed'to'cool the better will be the result,' as gentlv solidifying: allows the foreign -matter to fall to the bottom. . ■ The wax, before being put into tin. bag, should be washed in. several waters to remove any honey, pollen, etc. Should the resultant block contain any impurities, it should be rendered down in a like manner as before described but if the operation .has been carefully carried out there should be no need for "this. Constant heating destroys the texture of the wax, makes it brittle and the wax becomes darker. Bleaching beeswax is done by exposing the wax to the sun in 'small pieces,. cr by the addition of sulphuric acid to the water When rendering the wax. But ao the resultant wax is spoilt to a certain extent, this manner is only resorted to for special purposes.

MOULDING BEESWAX IN FANCY FOEMS. Some shows have a special class for beeswax in fancy shapes. -A faiv amount of trouble is required to obtain good'results, but the followingwill give the beginner a little help in the method of procedure: The wax is melted in the way previously descrim- ; ed. When the wax has melted place the moulds to be used in a bowl of hot water with sufficient water to just float , the mould. To prevent the wax sticking to the mould, ihis should either be washed out with soft soap and water, or coated inside with glycerine. Have ready a flannel bag shaped lilw a jelly bag (i.e., conical in shape) tor use as a strainer, before using it should be well warmed in the oven"to allow the wax to pass through ?asily. Jix the bag or get someone to hold it over the mould then pour hi the wax. Wbje till a thick coat of congealed wax forms, on the top; then pour in water heated to the same temperature as that m the bowl until :t floats over the wax; allow it to stand and cool gradually on cooling the cake of wax will float out of the mould and should be allowed to remain in the water till cold. The work should bs carried out m a very warm room, it must be allowed to cool verv gra.luallv or cracks wiU appear. Plain cakes of wax can be polished by . means of a piece of silk. I Nothing but rain or distilled watet ! should be used in these operations. Avoid casting wax in moulds of complicated patterns or in thin cakes wine i are easily broken. ( ' These notes briefly outline the general methods of preparing honey and beeswax for showing pui pores and are prepared chiefly for the amateur. No doubt once a person has shown honey, etc., his defects in preparing his exhibits for the bench one year will teach him what is required for. future show

VINEGAE AND MEAD. I The showing of vinegar prepared , from honey, and also mead, one of the most ancient of beverages, should be j encouraged, but where the beekeeper j has not thse articles prepared it is too . ( late in the season to prepare them for , the forthcoming shows. -The methods;, of making these items will.be dealt with in the next month's notes.