HONEY. 45 



goes on, after which the remaining liquid is less liable 

 to fermentation, when extracted from the comb. 



Honey appears to consist mainly of two kinds of 

 sugar, one of which is closely allied to that contained 

 in the grape, and which by spontaneous change is 

 apt to crystallise in contact with air. The other is 

 uncrystallisable, like the purest treacle, and mingled 

 with it are slight quantities of colouring matter and 

 mucilage. These sugars are somewhat apt to undergo 

 a vinous fermentation, of which advantage has been 

 taken in the manufacture of mead — a drink much 

 used by the inhabitants of these islands in ancient 

 times as a stimulant, and even intoxicant. 



The taste of honey varies according to the flowers 

 or other sources from which it has been chiefly de- 

 rived. That procured from flowers, especially those 

 of the labiate family — from the clovers, the lime- 

 blossoms, and the heaths — is most esteemed. That 

 which has been derived from sugar-syrup differs but 

 slightly from the liquid of its origin. That procured 

 from what is called honey-dew, or the secretion of 

 various sorts of aphides, is very worthless in quality, 

 though bees are extremely fond of the liquid. 



It is a remarkable and unfortunate fact, that the 

 honey collected from certain flowers is, though in- 

 nocuous to bees, more or less injurious to the human 

 body. Xenophon tells us in his Anabasis that his 

 soldiers found many hives in the neighbourhood of 

 Trebizonde, and, after eating of the contents, the 

 men were seized with violent purging and vomiting, 

 stupefaction, and inability to stand. Those who ate 

 little became like men very drunk, and those who ate 

 much, like madmen, and some like dying persons. 



