548 E. N. I'AVLOVSKV AND E. J. ZARIN 



experiments by feeding bees chieHy on cane-sugar syrup 

 wliicli was successively passed through their organism twice. 

 In the first experiment the bees received twenty-five pounds 

 of syrup; when they deposited it in the honeycombs two days 

 later the honey taken out of them was again offered the bees ; 

 the honey deposited for the second time was left in the hive 

 till the moment of sealing up, after which it was again offered 

 to the bees ; the honey deposited for the third time under- 

 went chemical analysis similarly to the sugar, syrup, and honey 

 of the first and second deposits. 



When the honey ripens the cane-sugar is inverted ; when 

 this occurs a certain quantity of dextrin-like substances which 

 do not reduce Fehling's solution are produced. ' Thus in 

 natural honey, besides the non-sugars of plant origin, are also 

 contained such that are produced by the organism of the bee, 

 probably with the help of a special ferment.' 



The sugar syrup offered to the bees was quite devoid of 

 ferments, whereas in the deposited portions the presence of 

 invertase and diatase was discovered ; therefore the ferments 

 named could have found their w'ay into the honey only from 

 the body of the bee. Catalase was absent in such artificial 

 honey, whereas it is always present in natural sorts. Evidently 

 catalase is brought into the honey from the nectar. 



These data throw light on the nature of the ferments in the 

 samples of honey investigated — some of them (catalase) are 

 of plant, others (invertase and diastase) both of animal and 

 plant origin. 



If invertase and diastase are brought into the honey by the 

 bee, the question arises — where are these ferments produced 

 in its organism '? The investigation conducted by us throws 

 some light upon this question. The most simple supposition 

 is that the ferments of honey are produced by the walls of the 

 reservoir into which the bee collects the nectar. That is, 

 however, not the case, since the walls of the crop are not 

 endowed with glandular properties. It w^as impossible in any 

 circumstances to establish any ferment in the extracts from 

 the crop. 



