310 AUSTRALASIAN 



and preventing its corrupting in a far superior manner to sugar ; thus 

 many species of fruit may be preserved by being laid in honey, and by 

 this means will obtain a pleasant taste, and give to the stomach a 

 healthy tone. One who has once tried it will not use sugar for pre- 

 serving fruit." 



MODERATION IN USE. 



There is no doubt honey, like everything else, may be abused 

 as well as used. Dr. Phelps remarks : — 



"Honey in its purity is a God-given sweet, and in its proper use is 

 conducive to health and strength. Indulged in immoderately, and 

 only then at rare intervals, it may, like many other excellent articles 

 of food, provoke an attack of colic or indigestion. Used however fre- 

 quently, and in connection with other food, it has a tendency to 

 produce pure blood and give tone to the human system." 



This is no more than might be expected, and something of the 

 same sort has been said a long time ago. Solomon, though 

 describing honey as something which is " sweet to the soul, 

 and health to the bones," does not omit to warn against its 

 excessive use, as in Proverbs xxv. 16, " Hast thou found honey, 

 eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled there- 

 with and vomit it." And again in verse 27, " It is not good 

 to eat much honey, etc." There are besides some people of 

 exceptional constitutions who cannot with impunity eat even 

 in moderation any of the purest honey, but such cases are very 

 rare. Referring to them, Dr. Phelps says : " To the rare 

 individual for whom the temperate use of honey may produce 

 functional disorders, I would say try heating honey before 

 using it, and see if all such trouble is not remedied.'' Perhaps 

 however it would be wiser for such persons to abstain 

 altogether from the use of honey. 



DELETERIOUS HONEY. 



As to some particular kinds of honey which are found to be 

 deleterious, if not absolutely poisonous, and which have been 

 referred to in Chapter IV., it is of course the duty of every 

 beekeeper to see that no such article finds its way into the 

 market from his apiary. His brand should be a guarantee for 

 purity in this respect as well as in all others. The cases are 

 indeed exceedingly rare in which it can be truly asserted that 

 the pure honey itself is in any degree deleterious. When dis- 



