260 HONEY. 



ence is, that such is the best to buy. If liquid honey is 

 preferred, follow directions in Chap. XVI., and prepare 

 it yourselves. 



It is also well established that all pure honey will,, as a 

 general rule, granulate, if exposed to a sufficiently lo-rt^ 

 temperature. To this rule exceptions have been reported, 

 and such have occurred under my own observations, as 

 will soon be noticed. Thus, ordinary honey remaining 

 liquid in cold weather, when exposed to the air, should 

 be regarded as suspicious, and put to a test. The pres- 

 ence of glucose in such honey may be ascertained as fol- 

 lows : Place a small quantity in a cup, and add to it 

 some strong tea. If the poorer grades of glucose are 

 present, it will turn dark, like ink. If it is combined 

 with the better qualities of glucose, the fact may be de- 

 termined by the use of a little alcohol. Pure honey will 

 unite with alcohol, but glucose has no affinity for it, and 

 they will separate, like oil and water. A common method 

 of adulteration has been practised by placing a piece of 

 fine comb-honey in a jelly cup and filling it up with glu- 

 cose. If this were pure honey it would become candied 

 and conceal the comb. Yet these are found unchanged 

 npon our grocers' shelves the year round. If honey is put 

 in a can, and heated and sealed^ the same as fruit is 

 canned, it will remain liquid until opened. The speci- 

 mens of conib mentioned above could not have been thus 

 treated, as the process would have melted the. opi^b. 



It has been said that the simple additi<(o of water 

 would prevent granulation, but this is not true. • The 

 usual effect is, when in a cool place, for the honey to 

 be thick and candied at the bottomjj and thin at th© top ; 

 and if in a warm place, it will be likely to sour. Experi- 

 ments indicate that the presence of moisture- is- necessary 

 to produce granulation. I have thoroughly evaporated 

 the moisture, and at the sarne time, expelled thse air' from 

 a vessel of honey, so that it/wmld §tapd ope^ jin a cold, 



