486 



convinced you unintentionally used a 

 defective sheet, either in point of man- 

 ufacture or quality of wax. We have 

 had samples sent us, manufactured on 

 the Bourgmeyer machine, which were 

 very fine, and much resembled the Dun- 

 ham in thinness of base and height of 

 side- wall ; but even a half-inch stretch 

 in any foundation that depth would be 

 objectionable.— Ed.] 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Healthfulness and Flavor of Honey. 



E. R. BAKER. 



There is a great error abroad in re- 

 gard to the comparative merits of comb 

 and liquid honey, which like every 

 other error can have only pernicious 

 influence and therefore could be 

 squelched. The object of this article 

 is to squelch the said error, which con- 

 sists in the popular belief that liquid 

 honey is in its nature inferior to comb 

 honey in point of flavor. A moment's 

 reflection will be sufficient to convince 

 anyone of the fallacy of this idea. 



We admit that liquid honey is some- 

 times inferior to comb honey, but not 

 from its nature. It is inferior only in 

 cases where it has received improper 

 treatment. 



1. The old fashioned "strained 

 honey " was inferior because bees, 

 brood, pollen and honey were all pressed 

 together in a conglomerated mass in the 

 process of straining, and as a result 

 strained honey was not just as nice and 

 sweet as honey in the comb. 



2. Liquid honey that has been taken 

 from the comb by any process before it 

 is capped over and well ripened is vastly 

 inferior to comb honey in flavor; in 

 fact it scarcely deserves the name of 

 honey. It is called green honey. It 

 has not the proper consistency being too 

 thin, however where honey is removed 

 in this thin state and placed in jars with 

 cloth covers, the water part will evapo- 

 rate and the honey thicken and attain 

 nearly as good a flavor as if it had been 

 left on the hive until capped over. 



Machine extracted honey has none of 

 the objections that are urged against 

 strained honey and when well ripened 

 is fully equal to the best comb honey. 

 This must, as we have said, be evident 

 upon a moment's reflection, for the comb 

 containing the honey consists only of 

 beeswax and it is absurb to suppose the 

 flavor to inhere in the wax. Ihe flavor 

 must be in the honey as it comes from 

 the perfume-laden flowers. Take up a 



comb of wax either before or after it 

 has been made the receptacle of honey 

 and chew it (or, if you are a very strong 

 comb-honey advocate, eat it ) and you 

 are welcome to use as an argument 

 against our position all the flavor you 

 can get out of it. 



Neither can it be plausibly argued 

 that the flavor of honey is so volatile in 

 its nature as to escape during the pro- 

 cess of extracting; in none of the edible 

 productions of nature or art do we find 

 flavor so evanescent. There is no kind 

 of syrup, liquor, extract or fruit that 

 will part with its flavor upon such slight 

 manipulation. The flavor remains in 

 the honey after it is extracted. 



It is held by some visionary theorists 

 that the breaking down of the delicate 

 cell-walls of the comb in eating it, so 

 graduates the shock of sweetness on 

 the sense of taste, as to greatly enhance 

 its delicacy and power, while liquid 

 honey overwhelms and destroys the 

 finer sense of taste. If this position 

 were true, then fine syrup or even sor- 

 ghum molasses poured into combs and 

 capped over by the bees, would possess 

 the crowning excellence in point of 

 flavor belonging to comb honey. Thus 

 we leave this error to die in the last 

 ditch. 



Comb honey is also more expensive 

 than extracted honey. It costs just 

 twice the labor to bees and bee-keeper 

 to produce the former than it does the 

 latter. It takes just as long for the 

 bees to build a set of combs as it does 

 to fill them with honey. 



By extracting the honey and return- 

 ing the combs each colony will produce 

 double the amount of honey. 



A generous disposition therefore, as 

 well as a spirit of economy must ever 

 favor the use of extracted honey, for 

 thereby, we have an increased amount, 

 of equal quality, produced at far less 

 cost, bringing it to the tables of double 

 the number of households. 



The argument of healthfulness also 

 lies strongly in favor of extracted 

 honey. I should hardly presume that it 

 would be necessary to inform intelligent 

 parents that wax of any kind is not a 

 healthy diet for themselves or their 

 children. Children sometimes chew 

 wax to the slight detriment of their 

 health, but no child would of its own 

 accord swallow or eat it while reason 

 held its throne. Does the wiser parent 

 gives it comb honey V Wax disguised in 

 honey so that it can be swallowed to go 

 on the mission of mischief, clogging the 

 stomach, constipating the bowels ; thus 

 vitiating the blood and irritating the 

 brain and nervous system ! 



Sidney, Iowa, July 15, 1880. 



