BEE PRODUCTS. 77 



While attending the National Beekeepers' Association, at Omaha, 

 the writer was greatly impressed by the display of the varieties of 

 honey. This publication being then in course of preparation, Com- 

 missioner Whitcomb and Superintendent Stilson, of the department 

 of bee industries, very generously furnished five samples, from which 

 the accompanying photograph and chemical analyses were made. 

 The varieties sent and donors were : Basswood ( Tilia americana ) , 

 from the apiary of L. D. Stilson, York, Neb.; knotweed (Polygonum 

 pennsylvanicum), E. Whitcomb, Friend, Neb.; white clover (Trifo- 

 lium repens), L. M. Whitford, Arlington, Neb.; sweet clover (Melli- 

 lotus alba), L. D. Stilson, York, Neb.; alfalfa and melon bloom, G. D. 

 Swink, Rocky Ford, Colo. The alfalfa (Medicago sativa) honey was 

 sent direct to the department through the kindness of Capt. J. H. 

 Wing, of Syracuse, Kan. 



The comparative lights and shades of these varieties of honey are 

 shown in plate iv, and a careful analysis of the same has been made 

 by Dr. E. C. Franklin and Mr. J. C. Swayze. Their results appear on 

 page 79. 



As may be inferred from the title of this treatise, the subject of 

 alfalfa honey would come under consideration. I can conceive of no 

 better method of procedure than that of comparison, and upon that 

 plan I have here carried on the investigation. Cheshire's definition 

 of ideal honey is, "An ideal sample would have a delicate but charac- 

 teristic aroma, a rich flavor, leaving a distinct impression on the back 

 of the palate, and would be of a straw or pale amber color. It should 

 possess perfect clearness, and, as distinct from clearness, brightness due 

 to a high refractive index, with density almost amounting to toughness, 

 so that the air beneath the cork should rise very slowly through the 

 mass upon the inversion of the bottle." Of the six samples submitted, 

 a competent judge placed the alfalfa honey as the one most nearly 

 approaching this standard. Especially was this so with regard to the 

 color and toughness. The six were inverted in the tubes, and the 

 other five were free from the air bubbles in a short time, as compared 

 with the alfalfa sample. The color of pure alfalfa honey is certainly 

 highly desirable. The six test-tubes on plate iv, while not showing 

 the exact tints, illustrate the comparative degrees of light and shade. 

 They might be said to range from very light straw (6) to dark 

 amber (2). See next page. 



The tastes and flavors, largely personal elements, are not suscepti- 

 ble to chemical tests or verbal descriptions ; to be illustrated and ap- 

 preciated they must be experienced. 



