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THE AMERICAl^ BEE JOURNAL. 



The Medicinal Qualities of Honey. 



There is no doubt but that houey is 

 one of the most valuable of medicines. 

 We have often advocated its use and 

 seen its good effects, and would now 

 add another testimonial to those al- 

 ready published. It is from Mr. Lu- 

 ther Corey, Yorkshire, N. Y. He 

 says : " On Oct. 1 I was taken with 

 bilious and gastric fever, followed by 

 a relapse in the shape of inflammation 

 of the lungs and their surroundings, 

 also congestion of a portion. Until 

 within 2 or 3 weeks I was unconscious, 

 and therefore not aware of my condi- 

 tion, at which time I commenced eat- 

 ing honey and have taken it at all 

 times of the day and night, until I 

 have eaten five two-pound boxes of 

 honey. My cough has subsided, and 

 my lungs are healing much beyond the 

 physician's expectations. I think the 

 honey is doing the business. I am 

 now able to walk about the house." 



Karl Gatter, editor of the Bienenva- 

 ter, at Vienna, Austria, with whom we 

 had an excellent visit in the summer 

 of 1879, assured us that his life was 

 saved by the use of lioney. He pub- 

 lished a small pamphlet on the cura- 

 tive powers of honey, and said : 



" A strong influence for publishing 

 this book was the fact that I, a sufferer 

 from hemorrhages, already given up 

 to despair and at' the verge of the 

 grave, was saved by the wonderfully 

 curative powers of honey ; and now, 

 thank God, I am freed, not only from 

 weakness of my lungs, but rejoice in 

 the possession of perfect health, 



"At my first attack, upwards of 

 thirty years ago, powders and tea were 

 ordered for me, which benefitted me 

 but little. I then placed but little 

 confidence in honey, which I had used 

 occasionally, and in small quantities. 

 Judging from my present knowledge, 

 I believe that the honey was the only 

 remedy that was doing me any good, 

 and it is this that I have to thank for 

 the gradual, but sure restoration of 

 my healtli. 



As my disease increased I began to 

 use cod liver oil, which weakened and 

 injured my stomach so that I could 

 hardly digest anything more, and my 

 condition became worse and worse. 

 Again I returned to honey, when my 

 sufferings immediately began to de- 

 crease and disappear. Besides the use 

 of honey, I took pains to preserve my 

 breast and lungs from injury, wliioh, 

 in my trying situation as public teach- 

 er, was almost impossible. My dis- 

 ease being caused by my constant 

 teaching during so many years, I gave 

 up my profession, and honey was my 

 only medicine, whereby I, by the sim- 

 plest, safest, quickest and pleasantest 

 manner (for I was fond of honey), re- 

 lieved the disease in my throat ; and 

 out of thankfulness I now write this 

 book for the use and benefit of many. 



especially for the use of those suffer- 

 ing from diseases of the throat and 

 lungs." 



Though Mr. Gatter is now nearly 

 70 years of age, he is hale and hearty, 

 and nearly as active as a man of 30. 



In ancient times the free and regu- 

 lar use of it as an article of diet, was 

 regarded as a means of securing long 

 life ; and it thus came to be popularly 

 considered as a specific against dis- 

 ease. Honey is nutritive and laxative, 

 and is employed largely in the prepa- 

 ration of medicine. In diseases of the 

 bladder and kidneys, honey is an ex- 

 cellent remedy. Honey is a sedative 

 of no ordinary power. A friend, who 

 is a practicing physician, mentions 

 one of his patients, whose habits of 

 observation were seldom equaled, hav- 

 ing by the kick of a horse one of his 

 knee-joints badly bi'oken, the pain and 

 anguish being very severe, his daugh- 

 ter offered him some wine or tea. He 

 declined, but said she might give him 

 some honey. Dr. A. remarks : " My 

 own observations justifies the wisdom 

 of his selection. Try it." 



Sweet Clover in England. 



Mr. Henry Jonas, of London, Eng- 

 land, writes us as follows : 



I want to try some sweet clover seed 

 to see if it will flourish in England. If 

 it will, I think it is not likely to be 

 planted for honey only, but as sheep 

 teed. Our farmers are much depen- 

 dent on their clovers in the summer ; 

 these frequently from drought and 

 from the land being "clover sick " and 

 I hope the Mclilotu.'i Alha will give our 

 land the change of crop it needs, and 

 our bees a bountiful harvest into the 

 bargain. 



American readers of the British Bee 

 Journal will be pleased to hear that it 

 changes hands with the new year. It 

 is the only bee paper in England and 

 hitherto has been in the hands of a 

 good bee master; but unfortunately a 

 hive maker, and for the future our 

 paper will be in the hands of the Rev. 

 H. R. Peel, the Ijonorable secretary of 

 the British Bee-Keepers' Association, 

 who has done more to advance bee- 

 keeping in England than any man 

 living, and we all hope it will be far 

 more valuable to our bee-keepers. Our 

 British Bee-Keepers' Association was 

 only established in 1874, but since that 

 time we have advanced far beyond our 

 expectations. 



Concerning the Melilot, or sweet 

 clover, in England, the London Jburnoi 

 of Hortiadture says, that " it is well 

 known in England and \ve have culti- 

 vated it for a period of thirty years 

 solely for our bees, and have repeat- 

 edly seen it growing in cottage gardens 

 in various parts of this country." The 

 Journal of Horticulture then adds : 



" The term " Sweet Clover," is sim- 

 ply a misnomer, since all clovers {Tri- 

 fotiums) are sweet-scented, and pre- 

 ferred by the bees to any other plant 

 grown. The proper name of this plant 

 is Melilot-us kucantha, in plain English, 

 White-flowered Melilot, a biennial 

 which grows freely in any soil to the 

 height of 6 feet, with very branching 

 stems and large cluster of sweet-scent- 

 ed white flowers. 



The best time for sowing is the early 

 autumn, and generally speaking it 

 does not bloom until the second year^. 

 flowering profusely through July and 

 August, when it forms seed and dies. 

 It may, however, be sown at the spring 

 time, and succeeds well. Its one great 

 disadvantage is that it is nseless to 

 the farmer, even as bedding for his 

 cattle, after seeding. We have knowri 

 it harvested as hay, though doubtless 

 if well secured before blooming it 

 might form a rough kind of clover hay. 

 It is of the same class as the Melilotus 

 officinalis, or yellow Melilot, so com- 

 mon in many parts of the country, 

 although it has been described as a 

 distinct species— the result of cultiva- 

 tion. The yellow kind is an annual^ 

 grows to the height of 2 or 3 feet only, 

 and is cultivated as food for cattle, 

 growing in thickets, hedges, and bor- 

 ders of fields. When dried it gives a 

 strong scent of new-mown hay. 



From our own observation the Meli- 

 lotus leucantha is preferred by the bees 

 to any known plant, and is unequalled 

 as regards the quantity and qnality of 

 the nectar secreted, and, which is even 

 of more importance, yields its precious 

 nectar in all seasons. We have never 

 found any ditticultjr in procuring the 

 seed from our principal seedsmen 

 when giving its proper name, and we 

 strongly advise our bee-keeping read- 

 ers, if not already cultivating it, to 

 give it a trial." 



Millions for Defense. — An Iowa pj- 

 per is responsible for the following, 

 which evidently refers to the Kev. O. 

 Clute, of Iowa City. He must have 

 been troubled with chicken thieves 

 last summer : 



An Iowa City clergyman has 1.5S 

 hives of bees, which are ari'anged 

 around his hen house, and when he_ 

 hears a thief fooling round that estab- 

 lishment in the darkness, he just lieS 

 still and waits to hear a hive upset, 

 and then laughs at the sound of wild 

 yells gradually dying away in the dis- 

 tance. 



^' When writing to this ofiice on 

 business, our correspondents should 

 not write anything for publication oi* 

 the same sheet of paper, unless it can 

 be torn apart without interfering witb 

 either portion of the letter. The edi- 

 torial and business department^ are 

 separate and distinct, and when the 

 business is mixed up with items for 

 publication it often causes confusion. 

 They may both be sent in one envelope 

 but should be written on separate 

 pieces of paper. 



