Some beekeepers find it necessary to fumigate comb honey to prevent damage by the larvæ of the wax moth. For this purpose sulphur fumes or bisulphid of carbon may be used. If bisulphid of carbon is used, great care should be taken not to bring it near a flame, as it is highly inflammable.
Scraping Propolis from Sections.
Before being packed for market the sections of honey should be removed from the supers and the wood scraped free of propolis. A convenient bench should be provided for this work, with a large shallow box or tray to catch the propolis as it is scraped from the sections. This work is usually done by hand, though a few producers have designed and are using machines for this purpose.
Grading Comb Honey.
The importance of properly grading and packing comb honey does not seem to be well understood by the average beekeeper. Some extensive buyers of comb honey find it profitable to regrade and repack practically all the comb honey they receive before sending it out to their trade. The producer of this honey of course bears this extra expense by receiving a lower price for his honey. The lack of uniformity of grading is to some extent a result of differences of opinion as to what should be the standard for the various grades. Grading rules have been of material aid toward greater uniformity, but various producers may use the same set of grading rules with very different results. It would be well if a single set of rules were in use, since honey from various localities may be sent to the same market. The grading rules in most common use are given in Farmers' Bulletin 447, page 39.
After scraping the propolis from the wood, each section of honey may be placed in a pile with others of its grade. Some put the sections directly into the shipping cases as fast as they are scraped, but better grading can be done if each grade is put in a separate pile and the final grading all done by one person. By thus having a large number of sections in each grade from which to select there is greater opportunity for making the sections of honey in each case more nearly uniform as to weight and the various shades of finish. Such uniformity is especially desirable from the standpoint of the retailer. Sections containing only a few cells of pollen should be placed in a lower grade or sold as culls, while those containing a considerable amount of pollen should not be marketed in the form of comb honey. An excessive amount of pollen in the sections is usually caused by the use of very shallow brood combs, extreme contraction of the brood chamber, or hiving swarms on narrow strips of foundation in the brood frames with partly drawn comb in the sections ([p. 32]).
Packages for Comb Honey.
Comb honey is usually packed in cases holding 24 sections ([fig. 20]). Other sizes are sometimes used to meet special market requirements. The markets have become accustomed to cases with glass fronts, by means of which the contents are displayed to advantage. However, in keeping with present practice in other package goods, considerable comb honey is now placed on the market having each section inclosed in a carton. This practice, while losing the advantage of displaying the honey, has a decided advantage in insuring security from dust and insects while in the markets as well as greater safety to the fragile comb when the package is finally delivered to the consumer.
