48 BEEKEEPING 



The workers gather nectar (not honey) 

 from the flowers. This is the sweet liquid 

 secreted by most plants deep in the corol- 

 la of the flower and doubtless intended 

 as a bait to lure various insects into the 

 interior of the bloom, thus providing for 

 cross-pollenation. This nectar is not 

 honey, it merely forms the basis for that 

 delectable product; but just how the bee 

 makes the conversion, just what it adds 

 and what it takes away, has never been 

 determined very definitely. It is known, 

 however, that honey contains the sweet 

 elements that are characteristic of the nec- 

 tar as it comes from the flowers and that 

 it contains, too, a minute amount of 

 formic acid doubtless added by the bee as 

 a preservative. New honey contains 

 enough of the essential oils (perfumes) 

 of the plants from which it was gathered 

 to give it a distinct odor, but after a time 

 this odor vanishes through evaporation. 

 Honey contains less water than does the 

 raw nectar, but students of the subject 



