THE HONEY BEE. 119 



tion, because it is the produce of young bees or of 

 fresh swarms, but because bees swarm only at the 

 height of the honey-season, when the flowers are in 

 their richest fragrance, and because the combs are 

 then new, and have not as yet served as receptacles 

 for the brood. The above remarks apply to the qua- 

 lity of the honey in the state in which it is secreted 

 in the flowers ; its after-treatment does not improve 

 it. The heat and vapour of the hive are injurious to 

 it ; in very severe seasons it is sometimes candied ; 

 and in the honey-harvest, when it is being separated 

 from the wax, its purity may easily be injured by 

 imperfect management. 



As an article of nourishment to man, honey has 

 been highly valued from time immemorial, whether 

 used separately, or blended with other aliments. It 

 was held out to the children of Israel as one of the 

 valuable products of the promised land ; and to this 

 day it is in high estimation in Eastern countries. 

 Among the Greeks and Romans it was highly relish- 

 ed ; they compounded it with many other nourishing 

 substances, and even mixed it with their wines. It 

 is nutritious in proportion to the saccharine matter it 

 contains, and is regarded by medical men as a good 

 stomachic.* Its use as an article of food has been 

 greatly diminished by the culture of the sugar-cane ; 

 but it is still an article of very considerable traffic, 

 and large quantities are imported into this country 

 annually, both from the European continent and 

 from America. It forms, we are told, a very im- 

 * Feburier. 



