THE CUBA R E \' I E W 



CUBAN HONEY ANALYZED 



UNITED STATES GO\ERNMENT REPORT PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS 



OF THE CUBAN PRODUCT 



A report from the United States gov- 

 ernment. Bureau of Chemistry, given in 

 Bulletin Xo. 154. is on the chemical 

 analysis and composition of imported 

 honey from Cuba. Mexico and Haiti. In 

 the year ending June 30th last, 601,572 

 pounds of honey were imported from 

 Cuba, as against 578.052 pounds from 

 ^lexiciT and 129,744 pounds from Haiti. 

 The results were tabulated and classified. 

 The physical characteristics of Cuban 

 honey are given as follows : 



Color Odor and Flavor ( iranulation 



Dark amber Semisolid Strong aromatic.. 



\'ery light Liquid Mild 



Dark amber do Strong aromatic . 



Amber do Mild 



do do do 



V'ery light do do 



do do do 



Dark amber do Strong 



do do do 



do do Rank 



Amber do Strong 



Dark amber do do 



do Semisolid do 



do do do 



Amber Liquid .- do 



Brown Slight crystal do 



Amber do Rank 



Light ,olid Mild 



do do do 



Amber Liquid do 



do do do 



do do do 



Light Slight crvftal .do 



Brown Liquid Rank 



Light Slight crystal... Mild 



Amber Liquid do .. 



Dark amber do Rank 



Amber do Mild 



do do do 



do do do 



Light do do 



Amber do do 



do do do 



Further tabulations, giving the complete 

 analysis, are also given in the same report. 

 There was no marked ditYcrence found be- 

 tween the honeys of the three countries, 

 though the Haitian products resemble the 

 American products more than do those of 

 Cuba or Mexico, and have a milder, 

 pleasanter flavor, usually accompanied by 

 a lighter color. The report summarizes the 

 investigation in the following language : 



"The results of this study seem to show 

 that beyond a slightly greater moisture 

 content and a somewhat lower percentage 

 of sucrose there are no pronounced differ- 

 ences in cheiuical composition between the 

 honeys of America and those from the 

 countries specified. Other points, how- 

 ever, must be considered. In this connec- 

 tion. E. F. Phillips, of the Bureau of 

 Entomology, calls attention to the follow- 

 ing iact.s, which have a bearing on the ad- 



mission of these honeys to the United 

 States : 



"A disease of the brood of honey bees, 

 American foul brood, is known to be 

 prevalent in Cuba. When honey from an 

 infected colony is fed to bees or when 

 they get such honey accidentally from dis- 

 carded receptacles the disease may be 

 caused. In the past a number of out- 

 breaks of this disease in the United States 

 have been traced to shipments of Cuban 

 honey. While honey from infected colo- 

 nies is not injurious to human beings, the 

 danger to bees constitutes a serious objec- 

 tion to the ungarded importation of Cuban 

 honey and affords additional reasons for 

 barring undesirable Cuban honeys from 

 importation.' 



"Furthermore, the preparation of the 

 honey for shipment was very poor. The 

 extraction had been carelessly carried out, 

 and much dirt was present in the samples 

 as received. This comes from the fact 

 that modern methods of beekeeping are 

 not exercised in the localities named to 

 such an extent as in the United States.* 

 The honey is mostly wild or that from 

 wild bees, is scooped out of the trees by 

 the natives, allowed to drain through 

 coarse cloth, and shipped either in tins or 

 barrels. In only two cases was the 

 product such as could be sold for direct 

 consumption, these two being comb honey. 



".Again, with few exceptions the flavor 

 was rank and strong, so that it could 

 hardl)- be considered palatable. There is 

 some honey of good flavor produced in 

 these places, but it is not exported in any 

 quantity. 



"Considering the physical condition of 

 the samples as received in nearly all cases 

 from the three countries named, it can be 

 said that they were not fit for human con- 

 sumption. Re-"extraction. straining, etc., 

 might improve this condition, but it is a 

 question whether even under this treat- 

 ment the honey is made fit for table use, 

 as the dirt has become so intimately mixed 

 as not to be removed by physical means.' 



* Illustrations on pages 24 and 41 show that 

 up-to-date methods of collecting honey are fol- 

 lowed in Cuba. — Editor The Cub.\ Review. 



The Parker Wrecking Company of Bos- 

 ton on May 11th applied for permission to 

 remove the wreck of the collier "Merrimac," 

 the boat that was taken by Commander Hob- 

 son and a volunteer squad of sailors into 

 Santiago harbor when Schley and Sampson 

 ])lanned to bottle up the Spanish fleet. 



