Abstract

The Rock bee (Apis dorsata,) has been the main source of honey in India from time immemorial, though the quality of the material available to the public was poor. The recent introduction of modern methods of beekeeping and their rapid spread in this presidency have. revolutionised the popular notion about pure honey. Machine-extracted honey from the domesticated Indian bee (Apis indica,) always fetches a good price, while Rock bee honey is not so popular on account of its Impure and sometimes fermented condition when it reaches the consumer. A study of the existing methods of honey extraction and preservation was therefore taken up and the possibilities of improvement explored. The present paper contains a short account of the trials conducted and the results obtained, therefrom.

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