1887 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUBE. 



179 



also, there is more danger of getting the 

 queen on your comb than you seem to rec- 

 ognize. Where the cellar is moderately 

 warm, the queen will sometimes be found 

 clear on the outside combs. 



FUNCTION OF SALIVA. 



PROF. COOK TALKS SCIENCE TO US SOMEWHAT. 



TT will be remembered, that in my criticism of 

 1^ Mr. Cheshire's admirable book I .said it was 

 ^t strange that he spoke of saliva as the digestive 

 -*■ liquid of starch. Mr. C. also speaks of the 

 lacteal system as the exclusive absorbent sys- 

 tem, whereas it is well known that the portal sys- 

 tem of blood-vessels absorbs nearly all of the di- 

 gested food except the eraubsifled fats. I do not 

 refer to this to condemn the book, for I think it a 

 most valuable addition to our bee-literature— in- 

 deed, the most complete work ever written. No 

 one person can know every thinp:; and to make a 

 few errors, only shows the author to be human. 



In Gleanings, p. 644, 1886, Mr. Cornell says I 

 probably follow Dalton in denying that the "princi- 

 pal oflBce " of saliva is to digest the starch. Now, 

 Mr. Editor, 1 do not hold this opinion because Dal- 

 ton does. I really believe nearly every physiolo- 

 gist now thinks the pancreatic juice the chief 

 agent in changing starch into sugar, and that the 

 principal function of saliva is mechanical. Huxley, 

 in last Ed. Physiology, says: "The conversion of 

 starch into sugar, which seems to be whollj' or par- 

 tially suspended in the stomach " (surely there 

 was little time for change in the mouth) " is re- 

 sumed the pancreatic and intestinal juices 



operating powerfully in this direction." That sali- 

 va will change hydrated or cooked starch to sugar, 

 no one doubts: that it does do it to any e.vtent, 1 

 have not the least idea. Foster, our latest and best 

 English authority, says, p. 242, that by the pancreat- 

 ic Juice the starch is changed into sugar; though 

 most English authors, and Foster with the rest, 

 argue that saliva may do a part of this work. Now 

 for my reasons: 



1. Saliva digests only cooked starch. Most ani- 

 mals do not have their starch cooked, and yet their 

 salivary glands are as large as are ours, and they 

 secrete as much saliva. All physiologists agree, 

 that in dogs this is no part of the function of sali- 

 va, yet dogs secrete much saliva. Again, all physi- 

 ologists know that the change which commences in 

 the mouth stops in the stomach, and commences 

 again only as the food comes in contact with the 

 pancreatic juice. We all know how active the 

 absorbent vessels of the stomach are. It is proba- 

 ble that the saliva is all absorbed in the stomach, 

 and that little if any goes into the intestines where 

 the starch is digested. Again, we all know how 

 necessary saliva is in mastication. The great 

 Barnard proved this by his grand experiments. 

 Try to eat crackers when very thirsty. We can 

 hardly do it. The blood lacks water, and the sali- 

 vary glands can not secrete enough saliva to 

 moisten the crackers. The old " rice ordeal " of 

 India was a scientific test. The supposed criminal 

 was asked to eat dry rice; if he could eat it quickly 

 he was adjudged innocent; if not, guilty. It is 

 well known, that anxiety stops secretion. The 

 guilty man feared, knowing his guilt. His spittle 

 was shut off, and he could not eat the rice. The 



Innocent man had a clear conscience; his glandular 

 machinery worked well, and ho could easily masti- 

 cate and swallow the dry food. 



But the most conclusive tests may be easily 

 tried by Mr. Cornell or any other person. By 

 macerating the salivary glands, stomach, and pan- 

 creas, separatelv, we can secure, by use of glycer- 

 ine, the several ferments— ptyaline, of the saliva; 

 pepsine, of the gastric juice, and the ferments of 

 the pancreatic juice. Now, if we put the first in a 

 test tube with cooked starch at 100° F., it com- 

 mences quickly, but not very energetically, to 

 change the starch to sugar. But as soon as we 

 add the pepsine, the stomach ferment, acidulated 

 by either hydro-chloric or lactic acid, this stops. 

 Here we imitate nature exactly. But when we 

 add the pancreatic juice to the starch it acts quick- 

 ly and powerfully to transform it to sugar. 



Agricultural College, Mich. A. J. CooK. 



VINEGAR FROM HONEY. 



SOME VALUABLE FACTS FROM FRIEND MUTH. 



fRIEND ROOT:— Having seen, in Gleanings, 

 an article on honey vinegar, I shall e.xpress 

 you a sample of ours; and if you ever saw a 

 better article, let us know it, please. We have 

 been making honey vinegar for the last four 

 years, and find a ready sale for it. It eclipses the 

 best vine vinegar for all purposes for which vine- 

 gar is used. Below I will give my modus operandi: 

 When making vinegar, one must know that water 

 will turn into vinegar providing it contains the nec- 

 essary quantity of sugar stuff, and is exposed to 

 fresh air and a warm temperature. The warmer 

 the temperature and the better the circulation of 

 air, the sooner vinegar forms. A barrel is laid 

 down, and an inch hole is bored in the upper end of 

 each head, near the upper stave. This adm.its of a 

 good air-passage over the body of the honey water. 

 Tins with fine perforations nailed over these holes, 

 with the rough side outward, exclude flies and 

 skippers. Take about 1-lb. of honey to 1 gallon of 

 water, thoroughly mixed up, and nail a perforated 

 tin on the bung-hole. We take 3;) to 40 lbs. of honey 

 for a barrel containing 40 to 4.5 gallons of water. 

 The warmest place in the yard is the best place for 

 the barrel. If the sun shines on the barrel all day, 

 it requires from the beginning of April to the end 

 of October to make vinegar satisfactory for all pur- 

 poses. If not sour enough by fall, it will be all 

 right by Christmas or spring, if placed in the cellar 

 or a warm room. 



No vinegar should be exposed to frost before the 

 sour fermentation is complete, as such would turn 

 the sour into a foul fermentation, and the vinegar 

 be lost. We made last summer, on our bee-roof, 

 10 bbls. of honey vinegar like the sample I send you. 

 The retail price is SS^ic per gallon, which gives us a 

 better profit than the production of honey, as you 

 will see. Chas. F. Muth. 



Cincinnati. Ohio, Feb. .5, 1887. 



The samples of vinegar received are, to my 

 notion, the finest I ever tasted. The honey 

 flavor is quite perceptible, and is st) pleasant 

 to the taste 1 poured a lablespoonful in a 

 glass of water and had a real refreshing tart 

 summer drink. I do Tiot know wiiy it would 

 not make a good .substitute for lemonade. 

 With such a price as you mention, friend 



