334 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



bee; culture:. 



li\ L)U. C. C. MILLKU, Marewjo, 111. 



VALUE OF HONEY. 



Sixty pounds of sugar anmially for every man, woman and child is 

 tlie estimated consumption for the United States. Of course, many 

 fall far sliort of that amount, but others as much exceed it. Among 

 these latter may be found many a one who pays dearly for pandering 

 too much to his sweet tooth. Excessive use of sugar has, in its train, 

 a long list of ills, as souc stomach and various forms of dyspepsia; 

 and it is also credited with being one of the causes of that dread visi- 

 ta«it, Uright's disease of the kidneys. When cane sugar is eaten, it 

 must be changed into grape sugar by digestion before it can be as- 

 similated. If too much of this work is thrown upon the stomach, it 

 rebels, and the work is pass(?d over to the kidneys. If the kidneys 

 areovertasked,therc is no other organ to which the work can be trans- 

 ferred, and a breakdown is the result. 



Yet the universal craving for sweets, especially among the young, 

 shows that there is a real want which should be supplied. Fortu- 

 nately, the want can be supplied without the dangers attendant upon 

 the use of sugar. Instead of cane sugar, honey contains grape sugar, 

 and its use brings no hard burden upon either stomach or kidney. 

 Honey is nature's own sweet, delicately flavored as no confectioner 

 could flavor it. To the natural taste of the child it is an esteemed 

 luxury. Instead of an occasional indulgence, with the danger of a 

 surfeit, children should be allowed honey as a daily food. A pound 

 of honey will go as far as a pound of butter, and costs less. Bread 

 and honey — not bread and butter and honey, but bread and honey — 

 is a wholesome ration for a child, and a freer use of it would give us 

 stronger men and Avomen. Instances are not lacking in which 

 those who have attained to an unusual old age attribute their long 

 life to the daily use of honey. Whether they are right or wrong in 

 their opinion, the fact remains that they have attained great age 

 while ninking honey a regular ai'iicle of diet. 



