> Seems peculiar, wouldnt you expect higher moisture honey to stratify to > the top, as it is ( marginally) less dense? > I agree . The USDA rep surprised me with his homemade tool which looked like a approx 40 in. piece of 3/8 in. metal welded to a small metal sample cup. The rep said the correct way to test was to take the sample at the bottom. I was surprised when he said the honey sample from the bottom was higher. I also said I had NEVER seen a sample taken from the bottom before by the USDA or a honey packer. have others which put honey under government honey loan or sold honey to a packer ever saw a sample taken from the bottom of a barrel? I will say he dripped honey making a mess getting his samples. I could go out to my stored drums and sample from the top and the bottom and report back. All that would be need would be a drop from the bottom of the drum but not sure without a tool like he used exactly how to get the sample. Possibly a hollow tube with a finger over the end until the bottom and then move the finger letting some honey in. bob *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at: http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm