8 



TYPES OF HAWAIIAN HONEYS. 



Hawaiian honeys consist of two quite distinct types: (1) A floral 

 product which compares very favorably with the official definition of 

 honey and is derived mainly from the flowers of algeroba, and (2) a 

 honeydew product very decidedly abnormal in its chemical composi- 

 tion. Between these two types, and partaking of some of the char- 

 acteristics of each, are natural honeys that are the result of some of 

 the bees in a hive visiting flowers where floral nectar is gathered and 

 others visiting sugar cane where honeydew is collected. The nectar 

 and the honeydew are deposited together in the comb, and the char- 

 acter of this product is determined by the relative proportions of the 

 two collected and stored by the bees. So long as there is an abun- 

 dance of flowers, the honey produced will be wholly of the first type, 

 but as the supply of floral nectar decreases the bees visit the cane 

 fields, where they collect honeydew, and when there is a dearth of 

 flowers honey clew alone is collected. This condition results in 

 natural combinations of the two types, which show every gradation 

 from the pure floral product to that derived wholly from honeydew. 



ALGEROBA HONEY. 



The source of the floral product is mainly the flowers of algeroba, 

 or the native " Keawe " (Prosopis juliflora). (PI. I, fig. 1.) In 

 the early days individual owners of bees selected locations mountain- 

 wards, near native forest trees, from some of which honey was pro- 

 duced. The apiaries rarely increased to above 50 colonies in num- 

 ber, and the product was consumed locally. It was not until the 

 introduced algeroba had spread along the seacoast, forming an abun- 

 dance of bee pasturage, with locations for apiaries easy of access, 

 that the production of honey assumed commercial proportions. The 

 principal apiaries to-day are situated along the coast of the islands 

 of Oahu, Kauai, and Molokai, in the shelter of the algeroba forests. 

 These locations are well stocked with bees (possibly in some cases 

 overstocked), and the present production of algeroba honey is a 

 little over 200 tons. Last year's (1906) total crop of honey amounted 

 to 600 tons, and the remaining 400 tons was either a distinctly honey- 

 clew honey or honeydew honey and floral honey with decided honey- 

 dew characteristics. 



As regards its chemical composition, the algeroba honey is by far 

 the best that Hawaii produces on a commercial scale. The definition 

 of honey, as found in Circular No. 19, Office of the Secretary, United 

 States Department of Agriculture, is: 



1. Honey is the nectar and saccharine exudations of plants gathered, modified, 

 and stored in the comb by honeybees (Apis mellifica and A. dorsata) ; is levo- 

 rotatory, contains not more than twenty-five (25) per cent of water, not more 

 Bui. 17 



