faONEt. ill 



CHAPTER in. 



FOOD OF BEES. HONEY. 



246. The main food of bees is the honey or nectar, pro- 

 duced by plants and flowers. That honey is a vegetable 

 product was known to the ancient Jews, one of whose Rab- 

 bins asks : " Since we may not eat bees, which are unclean, 

 why are we allowed to eat honey? " and replies : " Because 

 bees do not make honey, but only gather it from plants and 

 flowers. ' ' 



247. Yet during its sojourn in the honey-sack, the nectar 

 undergoes a chemical change. Most of its cane-sugar, or 

 saccharose, is changed into grape-sugar, or glucose.* This 

 change is due to its being mixed in the honey-sack (63) 

 with saliva from the glands (39). "But the cane-sugar yet 

 remains in large proportion in honey gathered on the moun- 

 tains. ' ' — (Girard. ) 



248. The nectar is produced by the plants in nectarifer- 

 ous tissues, in which accumulations of sugar can be found, 

 and exudes most frequently through small apertures, named 

 stomatcB. 



249. It contains more or less water, according to the 

 kind of flowers, and the conditions in which it is produced. 

 Some flowers give nectar which is almost completely de- 

 prived of water. Such is the Fuschia (fig. 41). When the 

 nectar of this flower is produced in very dry weather, it 

 sometimes crystallizes in the blossom, as it comes in con- 

 tact with the air. 



* ^Vliat ia chemkally known as glucose should not be confounded with the 

 Impure gtuiose of commerce. 



