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ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



67 



President Baxter — In regard to 

 honey as a food — ^What is its nutritive 

 value compared to a pound of meat or 

 butter? 



Dr. Baxter — That may be read in 

 "Facts About Honey," that pretty 

 nearly all the Bee Supply Houses are 

 putting up. I believe it was Dr, Mil- 

 ler who said that seven ounces of 

 honey equalled a quart of milk. True, 

 it has a food value but you would not 

 use that honey under the same con- 

 ditions as you would a quart of milk. 

 Tou cannot expect a fellow to give up 

 a quart of milk and take seven ounces 

 or honey in place of it; and if you do 

 tell him that seven ounces of honey is 

 equal to a quart of milk he wants to 

 know how you know. 



It is said that seven ounces of honey 

 is equal to fifteen ounces of beefsteak 

 in energy producing value. 



Our Bureau of Standards have 

 worked that out, but if you tell that to 

 the average man he doesn't believe it. 



I had a card out at the Fair that had 

 those food values on; it was posted 

 there for the purpose of hearing the 

 comments on it, which I did hear. The 

 majority of the people wanted to know 

 — "How do you know?" They did not 

 believe it. You could not give up your 

 time to explain that. It is a scientific 

 complicated method arrived at, with a 

 great deal of theory. When you come 

 to the practical side of it, it is alto- 

 gether another question. 



It is like a good many things we 

 learn in medicine. The theory of med- 

 icine is one thing and the practice is 

 another. In the medical schools they 

 take up every known disease and give 

 you the diagnosis and symptoms. The 

 case is given you in the text book and 

 you can ask any physician you ever 

 met if he ever had a case like the one 

 in the book and he will tell you he 

 never did; and you will not; they don't 

 exist. That theory is beautiful, and 

 you imagined when you went out you 

 could have set the world afire and 

 could cure everything, but you found 

 out that the theory, while it developed 

 your brain, that is all it did for you. 

 The practical side of it was another 

 question; it had to be learned by ex- 

 perience. . 



The practical side of the food value 

 of honey in comparison with other 

 foods you can tell the people but you 



can't prove it to them; they don't be- 

 lieve it. The one thing that you can 

 hammer at them is to give them the 

 uses of honey. That honey when used 

 in baking — the cakes or cookies will 

 keep longer and not get hard, and if 

 the housewife once tries using honey 

 in baking, she will find out it is true, 

 and she will buy honey. 



You tell her that it is better to use 

 honey on strawberries and peaches, 

 than sugar, and she will try it and like 

 it and buy some more, but, if you tell 

 her it is equal to a quart of milk, she 

 will not stop buying milk and she will 

 not buy honey — j'ou have not proven 

 anything to hej-. 



President Baxter — I heard people 

 say: "What is the use of buying honey? 

 I can use butter and butter is better 

 than honey." People question the price 

 more than anj"thing else in many in- 

 stances. 



Dr. Baxter — That is true; the price 

 has a great deal to do with it. People 

 look on honey in one sense of the word 

 as a luxury. They are getting out of 

 that notion though, fast. 



You must educate them as to what 

 the value is. That it is good; it is 

 good to eat. If you could get them to 

 use the liquid honey in cooking, can- 

 ning preserves and making jelly, this 

 they would be willing to try. The 

 housewife is willing to buy it and pay 

 the price, after she has once used it 

 and knows what the value is. 



Mr. Pyles — Could you tell about the 

 relative sweetness between sugar and 

 honey ? 



Dr. Baxter — ^What do you want to 

 compare it with, the taste? 



Mr. Pyles — No, I am talking about 

 relative sweetness. 



Dr. Baxter — Relative sweetness is a 

 relative term; it is a good deal like 

 cold and hot. One individual says, '*I 

 love this weather." The other fellow, 

 "I wish I were south and awaj' from 

 this kind of weather." It is the same 

 way with sweets. One individual will 

 try a solution and tell you it is npt 

 sweet, and you woud say it was a 

 syrup. It is only a relative term. You 

 take individuals who come to the table 

 for cofEee — and notice those who take 

 sugar, notice the different amount 

 of sugar they put in their cofEee, 

 and, if you were that gentleman, 

 you would probably think one was 



