HONEY. 233 



taneously from the purest and whitest combs ; the 

 next in excellence will be that which is expressed 

 without heat ; and the coarsest, that which is ob- 

 tained by the aid of heat and pressure. 



Care should be taken in the selection of the 

 vessels used for storing honey ; the most appropri- 

 ate are jars of^tone ware, called Bristol ware. The 

 principal constituents of sugar and honey are the 

 same; viz. hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen. Besides 

 these their common elements, honey contains mu- 

 cilage and extractive matter, and also an excess of 

 oxygen : in plain English, honey possesses a greater 

 proportion of acid than is contained in sugar, and 

 in a state more capable of acting upon those 

 bodies with which it comes in contact. From 

 this the reader will perceive my reason for recom- 

 mending stone jars for its preservation : the acid 

 of the honey acting upon the lead with which every 

 other kind of earthen ware is glazed, causes the 

 honey to receive an impregnation from it, which 

 may prove injurious to those whose constitutions 

 are delicate : the stone ware, being glazed with 

 common salt, cannot communicate any injurious 

 property to the honey which is stored in it. Honey 

 should be kept in a cool and dry situation, as 

 warmth promotes fermentation and generates a 

 sensible acidity. The circumstance of honey, 

 when separated from the combs and put into jars, 

 being disposed to ferment in a temperature much 



