308 AUSTRALASIAN 



CHAPTER XX. 



USES OF HONEY IN FOOD— DEINKS— MANUFAC- 

 TURES—MEDICINE. 



In Chapter I. the great antiquity and universality of the use of 

 honey has been dwelt upon with a view to impress upon the 

 reader its importance as one of those gifts of nature so evidently 

 intended by a bountiful Providence for the use and benefit of 

 man ; in this chapter it is proposed to glance at the variety 

 of uses to which it is, or may be, applied at the present day, 

 with the object of turning the attention of the bee-keeper to 

 the practical question of developing a market for his produce. 



HONEY AS FOOD. 



Of the ordinary use of honey as a condiment for the break- 

 fast or tea table it is unnecessary to say much ; every one 

 knows, and has known since his childhood, the enticing ap- 

 pearance of the luscious sweet in its delicate white comb — the 

 aroma and the delicious flavour, so different from most other 

 sweets ; and of late years people are becoming accustomed to 

 appreciate also the pure honey, separated from its comb (with- 

 out any unappetising process of squeezing through cloths), and 

 served either in its clear liquid state or in a thick granulated 

 condition which is now gradually gaining favour with honey 

 eaters. It is probable that the greater portion of all the honey 

 now produced is consumed in this way— either as comb honey 

 or in its extracted state, but still it has not reached the tables 

 of the hundredth part of those who could afford to use it as a 

 cheap luxury, if it were as generally produced as it might 

 easily be, and brought within ea3y reach of all consumers at 

 reasonable prices. It is capable of being made not only a cheap 

 luxury, but a really economical article of food, for those to whom 

 strict economy is a necessity, fnder proper arrangements it 



