METHODS OF HONEY TESTING FOB BEE KEEPERS. 17 



cuts the graduation mark upon the spindle indicates the percentage of 

 water in the honey. 



For the accurate determination of glucose, cane sugar, and other 

 adulterants, the bee keeper will usually be obliged to resort to the 

 services of a chemist. This is especially true as regards cane sugar, 

 as there is no simple test for this substance which can be applied by 

 the ordinary layman. As regards glucose and added invert sugar, 

 however, there are certain simple colorimetric tests which can be 

 easily and quickly carried out. 



A good colorimetric test for the presence of commercial glucose or 

 starch sirup in honey is that of Beckmann, by means of a dilute solu- 

 tion of iodine in potassium iodide. One part of the honey to be ex- 

 amined is dissolved in one part by volume of water in a test tube 

 and shaken up with a few drops of the iodine solution. If the honey 

 solution remains a pale yellow, commercial glucose is probably absent ; 

 if the solution is colored a red or purple, however, the presence of glu- 

 cose sirup is clearly indicated. In making this test it is always best 

 to carr}^ out a comparative test under similar conditions, using a 

 honey of known purity and adding the same number of drops of 

 iodine solution. In this manner a reliable comparison of colors can 

 be secured. 



The adulteration of honey with invert sugar sirup is being prac- 

 ticed to some extent in this country, though not as widely at present 

 as in certain European countries. This sirup has in many respects 

 the same composition as pure honey; it is deficient, however, in ash, 

 albuminoids, and other constituents which occur in honey in small 

 amounts. Through the action of the high temperature of boiling a 

 small quantity of decomposition products of sugar is produced in this 

 artificial honey which serves to distinguish it from pure honey unless 

 the latter has been boiled for some time, in which case it also will con- 

 tain decomposition products similar to those contained in the invert 

 sugar sirup. An easy test for artificial invert sugar in honey is by 

 means of a concentrated solution of aniline acetate. This reagent 

 should be prepared freshly each time before using. Five cubic centi- 

 meters of chemically pure aniline are shaken up with 5 cubic centi- 

 meters of water and 2 cubic centimeters of glacial acetic acid added. 

 The milky emulsion of aniline and water should clear up perfectly 

 on addition of the acid. About 5 cubic centimeters of the honey to 

 be tested are diluted in a test tube with an equal volume of water and 

 a little of the aniline solution poured down the walls of the tube so as 

 to form a thin layer upon the surface of the liquid. If artificial 

 invert sugar is present, a red ring will form beneath this layer, and 

 on gently agitating the tube the whole quantity of aniline acetate will 

 be tinged this color, the depth of coloration depending upon the 



