MONEY, AS FOOD AND MEDICINE, 
NATURE AND PREPARATION OF TONEY. 
Trem NATURE OF TONEY. 
ONEY, frésh from the comb, is clear, translucent, 
3 slightly amber-colored, and viscous, becoming granu: 
> Jarin time, with whitish transparent crystals. In taste 
and smell, it is sweet, agreeable andaromatic. Itshould not: 
irritate the throat when eaten, and its peculiar flavor should 
beso decided, that it can be readily detected when mixed 
with other articles of die:. 
Honey derived from the blossoms of rape and othev 
cruciferous plants, granulates or crystalizes speedily—often, 
indeed, while yet in the comb before removal from the hive ; 
while that from labiate plants, and from fruit trees in 
general, maintains its original condition unchanged for sev- 
eral months, after being extracted from the comb. Honey 
produced in northern climates likewise crystallizes sooner 
than that from southern countries. 
“Under the microscope,” says the Druggists’ Advertiser, “the 
solid part of honey is seen to consist of myriads of regularly - 
formed crystals ; these crystals are for the most part exceed- 
ingly thin and transparent, and very brittle, so that many of 
them are broken and imperfect ; but when entire they consist 
of six-sided prisms, apparently identical in form with those 
of cane sugar. It is probable, however, that these represent 
the crystals of dextrose, as they oceur in honeys from which 
eane sugar is nearly or wholly absent. Intermingled with 
the crystals may also be seen pollen granules of different 
forms. sizes and structure, often in such perfect condition 
that they may be referred to the particular plant from whick 
the juices have been gathered. Crystalline sugar, analogous 
to grape sugar, may be obtained by treating granular honey 
with a small quantity of alcohol, which, when expressed, 
takes along with it the other ingredients, leaving the crystals 
nearly untouched. The same end may be attained by melt- 
ing the honey, saturating its acid with carbonate of calcium, 
filtering the liquid, then setting it aside to crystallize, and 
washing the crystals with alcohol. Inferior honey usually 
contains a large proportion of uncrystallizable sugar and 
vegetable acid. When diluted with water, honey undergoes, 
the various fermentation, and in very warm weather a1. 
inferior grade of honey will sometimes undergo a change 
