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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



hepatic like honey, all others stimu- 

 late the liver into action at a certain 

 vital expense; honey facilitates its 

 operation on a reverse principle, that 

 is, by lessening its labor, and still 

 perform the normal amount of work. 

 It may here be proper to state that 

 the mellic acid is hardly ever con- 

 veyed to the liver, but decomposed by 

 the alkalinity of the chyle. Should it 

 be taken to the liver, it would serve 

 as an irritant to that organ, causing 

 violent bilious vomiting and purging. 

 The history of some cases that may 

 be confounded with idiosyncrasy, I 

 think will establish this as a fact. 

 Honey leaves its highest blessing not 

 only on the liver, but through its easy 

 but thorough assimulation in that 

 organ, it necessarily holds a healthy 

 sympathy with the operations of the 

 kidneys. By some fault of the liver, 

 it may turn starch and sugar into 

 glucose, but fail in the elimination, 

 throwing the burden on the kidneys, 

 often a most dire disaster, unfortu- 

 nately too common, which would not 

 take place by the use of honey. 



In my article on the "Medical 

 Properties of Honey," is given a full 

 list of the same, both as a local and 

 constitutional remedy. Perhaps the 

 list has appalled Dr. Spencer. Of 

 course they are not all of an imme- 

 diate character, some are primary, 

 some secondary and reflex, and of 

 such nature as only Dr. S. and other 

 medical scientists can determine. In 

 determining the medical properties 

 of a remedy, much depends upon cir- 

 cumstances, and the way a skillful 

 physician prescribes it. For example, 

 toke ipecac. What is it ? An emetic. 

 Yet it cures vomiting, and thereby 

 becomes an anti-emetic. In a disease 

 of the lungs, you put the patient in 

 bed, and it is administered as a 

 diaphoretic and expectorant. Give it 

 to one, and turn him out-doors, and 

 it is likely to prove diuretic and 

 hepatic. In fever, as a febrifuge ; in 

 cholera and convulsions, as an anti- 

 spasmodic ; in labor, as a parturient ; 

 in dyspepsia, as a tonic ; in constipa- 

 tion, as an aperient ; in diarrhea, as a 

 sedative ; in hemorrhages,as a consti- 

 tutional hsematostatic ; in intermit- 

 tent fever, as an antiperiodic ; in hys- 

 teria, as a nervine ; and in many 

 forms of chronic diseases as an altera- 

 tive, etc. It is often the case that the 

 physician with suitable cases will 

 mould his remedy to his purpose, as 

 a potter does his clay ; not only this, 

 but doctors may all prescribe the 

 same remedy for the same purpose, 

 and they be like so many musicians 

 playing the same instrument and the 

 same tune, and yet no two play it 

 alike. 



It will be perceived now in 

 what way I passed judgment on the 

 medical properties of honey. The 

 nature of a case often is as important 

 a factor to determine the properties 

 of a remedy, as the remedy itself. 



Let us briefly refer to some of the 

 authorities on our subject. Prof. 

 John J. Reese, in his "American 

 Medical Formulary," gives honey as 

 a " demulcent and laxative, and used 

 as a vehicle for other medicines." In 

 Dungleson's Dictionary : " Honey is 



employed as aliment, condiment, and 

 medicme. It is demulcent and aper- 

 ient, and is prescribed as an adjunct 

 to gargles in cynanche tonsillaris, etc. 

 It is used as a detergent to foul 

 ulcers." The oxymel of the London 

 and Dublin Pharmacopoeias (made of 

 honey and vinegar) is recommended 

 as a " pleasant addition to gargle, 

 and is sometimes used as a vehicle of 

 expectorant medicines, and to im- 

 part flavor to drinks in febrile com- 

 plaints." I know of a Texas physi- 

 cian that uses the oxymel, and noth- 

 ing else, in the treatment of croup 

 and other throat diseases, and, I am 

 told, with wonderful success ! 



Where honey is used as an adjunct, 

 it often has very flne and pleasant 

 effects, such as the " Honey of 

 Roses,*' " Honey of Borax," " Oxymel 

 of Squill," etc., and other formulae of 

 the kind found in the Pharmacopoeias 

 of the medical profession. It is in- 

 teresting and suggestive to see the 

 different preparations of honey that 

 may now be found in the drug-mar- 

 ket. In connection with the few 

 already given, there is the Acetomel, 

 Aloe, Anaphromel, Aquamel (Honey- 

 Water). Aquamelis, ^gyptomel, Cer- 

 omel. Depurated Honey Ph. Ger., 

 Honey of -Elder Flowers, Glycerated 

 Honey, Hydromel, Rhodomel, Honey 

 of Rhatany, Honey of Borax and 

 Roses, Honey of Violets, etc. VicU: 

 Frederick Stearns & Go's " Pharm 

 aceutical Catalogue." 



The place honey frequently takes in 

 authenticated prescriptions demands 

 our attention. I have had special 

 facilities to examine this part of the 

 subject. Havins been for many years 

 engaged on a " Consultation Prescrip- 

 tion Book " which contains a full list 

 of all the remedies with their posol- 

 ogy and properties, etc., so far as I 

 could, by large resources at my com- 

 mand, procure them ; and many thou- 

 sand authenticated prescriptions noso- 

 logically classifled to cover not only 

 each disease, but every stage and 

 complication it may have. In this 

 voluminous collection of material, I 

 have carefully observed as author, 

 physician and apiarist, in what man- 

 ner honey was prescribed by the 

 master minds of the medical profes- 

 sion. I may have perhaps a hundred 

 formulae in my book, where honey 

 was pie3cribed,inmany cases as in the 

 oxymel that could not well be re- 

 placed with any other saccharine 

 material. It is with some pique, 1 

 have to say that nearly all of these 

 honey prescriptions, like the oxymel, 

 orginated in Europe. It is evident 

 that the honey in these prescriptions 

 take the place both of a menstruum 

 and a medicine— a chemical agent no 

 other solvent has, except those of a 

 violent nature. I have noticed in 

 these formulas, that honey with 

 Kusso,a3 an electuary for worms; with 

 pep3in,as a tonic in preference to sac- 

 charated pepsin ; with chlorate of 

 potash, for gargles; with mindererus, 

 as a diaphoretic and febrifuge ; with 

 opium and assafetida, as an antispas- 

 modic sedative and nervine; with 

 sulphur and senna,a3 a laxative, hepa- 

 tic and carthartic. In the analgesic 

 prescriptions of Prof. Fenwink, of 



England, in his " Outlines of Prac- 

 tice," there are several that contain 

 honey in some form. 



Now when, where, and why is honey 

 used as an adjunct and solvent by 

 choice y There are two reasons, one 

 is to favor the assimulation of the 

 base in the prescription, and the other 

 is to associate it with remedies that 

 in some way or another have, more or 

 less, some analogous principles with 

 it, either physiologically or chemi- 

 cally. The object is to maintain a 

 compatibility of the different reme- 

 dies in a prescription. Take any of 

 the above examples where honey is 

 given in connection with other reme- 

 dies, we find that each is modified in 

 its physiological force. It may give a 

 keener edge to honey, and blunt the 

 acridity of its associates. Here is a 

 principle that involves the construc- 

 tion of all scientific prescriptions. 

 For many reasons there is often a 

 necessity of uniting remedies, as dis- 

 ease is a complex affair ; but at the 

 same time we must see the folly of 

 polypharmacy, or what in common 

 parlance is called " shot-gun medica- 

 tion." 



In domestic practice, honey has 

 been used for ages as an independent 

 remedy for the treatment of some 

 diseases. Physicians in the present 

 age with their armamentarium of 

 over four thousand remedies, make 

 better, quicker, and surer work by 

 associating it with other remedies. 



But what is its actual physiological 

 force as a curative agent V In re- 

 ferring to my "Consultation Book," 

 where with the labor of years I made 

 a proximate estimate of the " force 

 of each remedy, I find that I have 

 assigned to honey 14, sugar 6, and 

 starch 1. The scale runs from 1 to 

 100. The higher the figure the more 

 powerful the medicine. The force of 

 Prussic acid is represented at 97. 

 Honey here stands rather high in the 

 scale as a mild remedy, but mainly on 

 account of its local effects. Consti- 

 tutionallv administered, on Leibig s 

 theory of the disposition of sugar in 

 the system, I would make it 10, leav- 

 ing it still higher than sugar, on ac- 

 count of the behavior of its mellic 

 acid in the stomach. But without 

 the acid in its assimulation, which is 

 much more readily effected than 

 sugar, it would fall below sugar and 

 stand at 4 ! The importance of this 

 arrangement is clear, as it greatly 

 lessens the chances of making a mis- 

 take in prescribing powerful reme- 

 dies A glance is sufficient to make 

 an intelligent estimate of the power 

 of any drug, and with full security, 

 which the reading of many pages on 

 the subject may not always do, to say 

 nothing of the loss of time. 



The biblical history of honey leads 

 us to think that it is not held in the 

 same general estimate in the present 

 age that is was in the earlier ages of 

 the world. But from the present con- 

 dition of things, we have every indi- 

 cation that it is about to regain its 

 former appreciation from mankind. 

 I am no prophet, nor the seventh son 

 of the seventh son, yet I cannot resist 

 the temptation to show you the chick 

 that lay in the egg, in my last article 



