CHAPTER XII. 
THE CHEMISTRY OF THE HIVE. 
Honey : its Constitution — Polarisation Defined : its 
Application to Detection of Adulterants — Corn Syrup 
— Dextrose — Cane Sugar — Microscopic Examination 
— Formic Acid in Honey: its Food Value — Wax: 
its Constitution; contains no Glycerine ; Attacked 
by Lime — Melting Combs — Old Combs: to Treat — 
GersteV s and Jones’ Extractors — Solar ^ Extractor 
— Adulterants : to Test — Pollen — Propolis: How 
Used by Bees; How to Clean from Hands; to 
Prevent Adhesion of ; Sources of ; How Gathered 
by Bees ; Useless to Bees under Domestication. 
Honey, although of varied hues and distinctive 
flavours, is still of fairly constant composition, its main 
constituents being two kinds of sugar, called dextrose 
and levulose, combined with water, which is subject 
to considerable fluctuation in amount, the average 
being between one-fifth and one-sixth of the whole ; 
beyond these, small quantities of acid and some aromatic 
principles are present; while pollen is always found 
as an accidental addition. The blossoms whence the 
