904 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



sections, and the short Dr. Miller starter at 

 the bottom, with from one to four " bait " 

 sections in the first supers put on in the 

 spring. 



The first consideration in honey produc- 

 tion is nectar. Let beekeepers look well to 

 their local honey environment. Let tliem 

 cause two honey-producing flowers to bloom 

 where there was only one before, by seeding 

 waste lands with honey-producing plants. 

 Let them co-operate to see that no bee-range 

 is overcrowded, and all other difficulties will 

 become small — very small. 



I do not doubt the practical success of 

 Mr. Hand's proposed method; but I do be- 

 lieve it involves loss of time and energy, 

 both for the bees and their keeper. 



Aurora, Mo. 



THE FOOD VALUE OF SUGAR AND HONEY 

 COMPARED 



BY E. P. ROBINSON 



On pages 629 and 633, Sept. 15, are com- 

 parisons of honey with sugar, beefsteak, 

 fruits, and vegetables, all favoring honey. 

 It is an old saying that "comparisons £re 

 odious," and surely in these cases they could 

 be fairer. It reminds me of the claims of 

 the rice-growers' association as to their 

 product — a poorly balanced one. 



There is little doubt the American people 

 eat far too much sugar — probably about 

 five dollars' worth a year per capita. If 

 four dollars of this were expended for hon- 

 ey the health of the people would be better, 

 not wholly because of honey being more 

 wholesome, but because so much less sweet- 

 ening could be bought with the money, the 

 honey costing about three times as much per 

 pound as sugar. 



The only just way of comparing food 

 materials is by their analyses. The follow- 

 ing figures are interesting as showing the 



nutritive values of some of the least as well 

 as most nutritive food stutfs : 



The food value is obtained by multiply- 

 ing percentage of protein and carbohydrates 

 by 1860, and fat percentage by 4220. The 

 average American diet has been determined 

 by our nutrition experts as about 17 per 

 cent protein, 25 per cent fat, and 58 per 

 cent carbohydrates. More protein is needed 

 by the growing child and man at hard 

 labor; while less is needed by the aged or 

 idle. 



The figures show honey as one of the 

 luxui'ies, along with cheese and butter, rath- 

 er than as a staple everyday food of the 

 masses like potatoes, bread, crackers, sugar, 

 and rolled oats. Maple sugar and syrup are 

 in the same class with honey, analyses sim- 

 ilar, and costs not far apart. 



That any of our fruits or vegetables aver- 

 age 95 per cent water, as stated by the Farm 

 Journal, I can not believe — even watermel- 

 on being only 92.4 per cent. 



Mr. Terry's statement that honey is more 

 wholesome for sweetening oatmeal than su- 

 gar is true ; but what oats need is more fat, 

 not more carbohydrates, the principal ele- 

 ment of both sugar and honey. Either of 

 these added to oats further unbalances it as 

 a ration, while cream or butter balances. 



Packer, Ct. 



[The consumption of sugar per capita is 

 much greater in this country than in Eu- 

 rope, for instance — probably because we 

 make so much of it — and a great reaction 

 is bound to come. Already public sentiment 

 is deploring the abnormal use of sugar. 

 Sugar is more convenient as a means for 

 sweetening than honey — at least most peo- 

 ple consider it so, and then it is somewhat 

 cheaper. 



Beekeepers and honey salesmen should 

 take the gi'eatest pains to point out that 

 honey is not a cane sugar, like maple syrup, 

 etc. It is a fact that a gi-eat many doctors 

 do not know this. — Ed.] 



Oysters 



Eggs 



Beef, lean 



Milk 



Cheese 



Honey 



Butter 



Butterine 



Raisins 



Potatoes 



Bread 



Crackers 



Lard 



Sugar, granulated 

 Rolled oats 



