94 Honey, its Origin and Adulteration. 



clear, thick liquid, which after standing becomes thicker, till 

 at length it " sets," as it is technically called. A small bit of 

 this placed under a quarter of an inch objective, shows that 

 this is owing to the grape-sugar (which has gradually been 

 forming at the expense of the cane) crystallizing out in ex- 

 tremely thin, regular six-sided prisms. All the cane-sugar is 

 retained in the liquid portion of the honey. This crystalliza- 

 tion proceeds as the whole of the cane-sugar becomes converted 

 into grape. When this takes place, so great is the proportion 

 of crystals that the honey is said to " candy," and is not con- 

 sidered so good from the presence of acetic acid, which is pro- 

 duced by the grape-sugar, which in its turn undergoes a change 

 through the agency of fermentation. 



The honey crystals are not identical, as Dr. Hassall says, 

 with those of cane-sugar. Although they greatly resemble the 

 summits of regular prisms of the latter, yet the angles do not 

 measure the same. Besides, cane-sugar always enlarges the 

 sides instead of the summits, which are very much narrowed. 



On more closely examining a slide containing a bit of old 

 honey, besides the prisms will be seen small bundles of crystals. 

 These are the manna-sugar. They remain after honey has been 

 fermented, and may thus be separated. With these, small round 

 or oval bodies will also be noticed spread over the field of the 

 microscope, and are the pollen globules, showing in a beautiful 

 manner from what flower the honey was collected. Of course 

 they vary with every locality ; but it is worthy of remark that 

 a bee will only visit the same species of flower at the same 

 journey ; for the examination of a great number of bees will 

 show that two kinds of pollen are never found on the same 

 insect, although they may be very different on another working 

 on the same flower bed. A single bee with all its industry, 

 energy, and innumerable journies it has to perform, will not 

 collect more than a tea-spoonful of honey in a single season, 

 and yet the total weight of honey taken from a single hive is 

 often from sixty to one hundred pounds. A very profitable 

 lesson of what great results may arise from persevering and 

 associated labour ! 



The evidence on which the author relied for the presence 

 of formic acid was by distilling the honey and receiving the 

 distillate in an alkaline solution. The resulting solution, after 

 decomposition by an acid and evaporation, afforded all the usual 

 reactions, and readily reduced the salts of silver. 



The foregoing facts, therefore, clearly show that — 



First. Honey is derived simply from a solution of cane- 

 sugar identical in every respect with that from the sugar-cane. 



Secondly. That it afterwards receives the addition of a small 

 quantity of formic acid from the glands of the bee. 



