190 



TiSE BEE'^EEPEttS' REVIEW, 



Then too, honey is usually raised by pri- 

 vate individuals and to make it a success 

 their entire time must be devoted to its pro- 

 duction, while sugar makers and syrup 

 mixers are usually giant corporations with 

 trained corps of men to push the sales of 

 their products, no matter how vile and un- 

 wholesome they may be. And so, gradually, 

 the persistence of the sugar interests over- 

 shadowed the inherent usefulness of houey 

 and it came to be looked upon as a luxury. 



Comb honey is a luxury in price — but not 

 in reality. It is dearer because it costs 

 more to produce it than the extracted, and 

 is usually inferior because it is seldom rip- 

 ened. Comb honey is sold by its appear- 

 ance. Extracted honey is sold for its rich- 

 ness and tijvor — in other words, it is looks 

 against merit. Comb honey is removed 

 from the hive at the earliest moment after 

 it is capped over, to save it from the travel 

 stain of bees that forget to wipe their feet. 

 While extracted honey, when rightly pro- 

 duced, is left to ripen on the hive before be- 

 ing extracted and marketed. It is sealed in 

 air tight packages and the honey comb from 

 which it came is given to the bees again so 

 they need not stop to build expensive comb 

 when nectar in the flowers is wasting. In 

 other words we give them no opportunity to 

 " loaf on the boss, " and so they produce 

 more honey because they have a place to 

 put it. Extracted honey is " solid meat" 

 and you pay for what you get and get what 

 you pay for, namely honey. 



Honey as now produced will seldom make 

 people sick as apiarists now use the "bee 

 escape " ( a machine of delicate construction 

 which allows the bees to leave the surplus 

 part of the hive but will not permit their re- 

 turn ) so that excessive smoking of the bees 

 is winecessary. And so the honey is not 

 tainted and the bees not irritated so that they 

 void ihevirus their poison sac contains up- 

 on the combs and honey. But if any one 

 feels the least ill effect, a drink of sweet milk 

 will give the gastric juice work to do and so 

 the honey can enter the system as it should. 



Honey is the nectar of flowers and is 

 mostly grape sugar, like the white sugar ex- 

 uding from, and coagulating on raisins. 

 The bees partly digesting it before storing 

 it in the cells. When pure, ripened honey 

 is taken into the stomach it is assimilated 

 without effort unless the stomach is so mor- 

 bid that gravity and bulk alone will distress 

 it. 



Honey is so sensitive, as a product, that 

 it varies in color, weight and flavor from 

 climate and environment, even when gath- 

 ered from a given source. So every climate, 

 every flora, has a honey peculiar to itself. 

 Most honey will granulate, candy or become 

 hard from exposure to light and cold, hence, 

 keep it in a dark warm room, as a top pantry 

 shelf, for instance. Candied honey can be 

 easily made liquid again by placing the 

 vessel which contains it in warm ( not boil- 

 ing ) water till liquefied when it will keep a 

 long time without hardening again. Ho ey 

 ( ? ) adulterated with sugar will precipitate 

 and the heavier part gradually fall to the 

 bottom of the vessel and be clear liquid 

 above. Pure honey, if of good quality will 

 granulate in very fine granulals or grains and 

 may start to cloud and crystalize in any 

 part of the vessel. 



TO DETECT POOR HONEY. 



Unripe honey may be detected by its 

 sickening " syrupy " taste, and it is too 

 sweet and leaves a raw after-taste. Honey 

 produced in a country where the nights are 

 cold is seldom thoroughly ripened. 



Much honey contains lobelia, a flower 

 which is used as a drastic emetic. It can 

 easily be told by its bad taste and bad after 

 effects. Dog fennel and many wayside 

 weeds and even some " tame flowers "are 

 worked upon by the bees in times of scarc- 

 ity which will contaminate the honey. 



It is well to shun all honey with an " off " 

 taste to it. 



TO SELECT GOOD HONEY. 



Good, pure and ripened honey has a clear 

 sparkling look, and ranges from a white ( i. 

 e., transparent ) slightly tinged with yellow, 

 to a deep yellow and brown. It should have 

 no after-taste except a delicious richness. 

 It is aromatic to the taste and in a slighter 

 degree to the smell. 



ITS USES. 



Honey is the mo-t healthful and delicious 

 of Nature's secretions either as a sauce, re- 

 lish or delicacy It will cure or help cases of 

 Indigestion, Mai Assimilation, Coughs, 

 Colds and Lung trouble. Prevents and 

 cures Croup and Diphtheria. Is useful in 

 Gravel and other kidney diseases, includ- 

 ing the dreaded Diabetes and Bright's di- 

 sease. It is very efficacious in Constipation 

 and torpid liver. It is a sedative and is 

 helpful for the child and strengthing for the 

 aged. The negro says " it makes one wise " 

 ^at any event wise people use it as it is the 



