methods of honey testing fob bee keepers. 17 
cwis the graduation mark upon the spindle indicates the percentage of 
water in the honey. 
For the accurate determination of glucose, cane sugar, and other 
adulterants, the bee keeper will usually be obliged to resort to the 
services of a chemist. This is especially true as regards cane sugar, 
as there is no simple test for this substance which can be applied by 
the ordinary layman. As regards glucose and added invert sugar, 
however, there are certain simple colorimetric tests which can be 
easily and quickly carried out. 
A good colorimetric test for the presence of commercial glucose or 
starch sirup in honey is that of Beckmann, by means of a dilute solu- 
tion of iodine in potassium iodide. One part of the honey to be ex- 
amined is dissolved in one part by volume of water in a test tube 
and shaken up with a few drops of the iodine solution. If the honey 
solution remains a pale yellow, commercial glucose is probably absent; 
if the solution is colored a red or purple, however, the presence of glu- 
cose sirup is clearly indicated. In making this test it is always best 
to carry out a comparative test under similar conditions, using a 
honey of known purity and adding the same number of drops of 
iodine solution. In this manner a reliable comparison of colors can 
be secured. 
The adulteration of honey with invert sugar sirup is being prac- 
ticed to some extent in this country, though not as widely at present 
as in certain European countries. This sirup has in many respects 
the same composition as pure honey; it is deficient, hoAvever, in ash, 
albuminoids, and other constituents which occur in honey in small 
amounts. Through the action of the high temperature of boiling a 
small quantity of decomposition products of sugar is produced in this 
artificial honey which serves to distinguish it from pure honey unless 
the latter has been boiled for some time, in which case it also will con- 
tain decomposition products similar to those contained in the invert 
sugar sirup. An easy test for artificial invert sugar in honey is by 
means of a concentrated solution of aniline acetate. This reagent 
should be prepared freshly each time before using. Five cubic centi- 
meters of chemically pure aniline are shaken up with 5 cubic centi- 
meters of water and 2 cubic centimeters of glacial acetic acid added. 
The milky emulsion of aniline and water should clear up perfectly 
on addition of the acid. About 5 cubic centimeters of the honey to 
lie tested are diluted in a test tube with an equal volume of water and 
a little of the aniline solution poured clown the walls of the tube so as 
to form a thin layer upon the surface of the liquid. If artificial 
invert sugar is present, a red ring will form beneath this layer, and 
on gently agitating the tube the whole quantity of aniline acetate will 
be tinged this color, the depth of coloration depending upon the 
