104 MANUAL OF THE APIAET. 



CHAPTER IV. 



PRODUCTS OF BEES ; THEIR ORIGIN AND 

 FUNCTION. 



Among all insects, bees stand first in the variety of the 

 useful products which they give us ; and next to the silk- 

 moths in the importance of these products. They seem 

 the more remarkable and important, in that so few insects 

 yield articles of commercial value. True, the cochineal 

 insect, a species of bark-louse, gives us an important 

 coloring material ; the lac insect, of the same fanjily, gives 

 us the important element of our best glue — shellac ; the 

 blister-beetles afford an article prized by the physician, while, 

 we are indebted to one of the gall-flies for a valuable element 

 of ink. But the honey-bee affords not only a delicious article 

 of food, but also another article of no mean commercial rank 

 — namely, wax. We will proceed to examine the various pro- 

 ducts which come from bees. 



HONET. 



Of course the first product of bees, not only to attract 

 attention, but also in importance, is honey. And wjiat is 

 honey? We can only say that it is a sweet substance 

 gathered from flowers and other sources, by the bees. We 

 cannot, therefore, give its chemical composition, which would 

 be as varied as the sources from which it comes. We cannot 

 even call it a sugar, for it may be, and always is composed of 

 various sugars, and thus it is easy to understand why honey 

 varies so much in richness, color, flavor, and effects on diges- 

 tion. In fact, it is very doubtful if honey is a manufactured 

 article a,t all. It seems most likely that the bees only collect 

 It as It is distilled by myriad leaves and flowers, and store it 

 up, that it may minister to their and our necessities. To be 

 sure, some writers contend that it undergoes some change 

 while in the bee's stomach ; bu^ the rapidity with which they 



