THE HONEY BEE. 
119 
tion, because it is the produce of young bees or of 
fresh swarms, but because bees swarm only at the 
height of the honey-season, when the flowers are in 
their richest fragrance, and because the combs are 
then new, and have not as yet served as receptacles 
for the brood. The above remarks apply to the qua- 
lity of the honey in the state in which it is secreted 
in the flowers ; its after-treatment does not improve 
it. The heat and vapour of the hive are injurious to 
it ; in very severe seasons it is sometimes candied ; 
and in the honey-harvest, when it is being separated 
from the wax, its purity may easily be injured by 
imperfect management. 
As an article of nourishment to man, honey has 
been highly valued from time immemorial, whether 
used separately, or blended with other aliments. It 
was held out to the children of Israel as one of the 
valuable products of the promised land ; and to this 
day it is in high estimation in Eastern countries. 
Among the Greeks and Romans it was highly relish- 
ed ; they compounded it with many other nourishing 
substances, and even mixed it with their wines. It 
is nutritious in proportion to the saccharine matter it 
contains, and is regarded by medical men as a good 
stomachic.* Its use as an article of food has been 
greatly diminished by the culture of the sugar-cane ; 
but it is still an article of very considerable traflic, 
and large quantities are imported into this country 
annually, both from the European continent and 
from America. It forms, we are told, a very im- 
* Feburier. 
