HONEY 
461 
Catsclaw . 
.... 38.21 
40.81 
Mesquite . 
_38.04 
41.03 
Locust . 
.... 35.98 
40.35 
Dandelion . 
.... 35.64 
41.50 
Goldenrod . 
_34.45 
37.85 
Aster . 
41.31 
Apple . 
.... 31.67 
42.00 
Raspberry . 
.... 33.57 
41.34 
Buckwheat . 
.... 36.75 
40.29 
Wild bnckwheat. 
.... 35.39 
41.36 
Cotton . 
.... 36.19 
39.42 
Basswood . 
.... 36.05 
39.27 
Sumac . 
.... 33.72 
37.61 
Tupelo . 
.... 24.73 
48.61 
In every ease the levulose predominates. 
This is of value, as in commercial invert 
sugar the two are equal or the dextrose 
predominates. See Insert Sugar. 
The distinction between honey and honey- 
dew honey is only possible by means of the 
polariscope. If a solution of the honey 
turns a polarized ray of light to the left it 
is levorotatory, and the honey is a true 
honey; but if it turns the ray to the right 
it is a honeydew honey, provided no com¬ 
mercial glucose has been added. 
For further consideration see Granu¬ 
lated Honey, Extracted Honey, Honey- 
dew, Honey as a Food, Honey, Analysis 
of, and Nectar. 
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HONEY. 
The amount of water present in honey 
depends upon the degree of evaporation to 
which the bees have brought the product in 
the hive. Honey which has been taken out 
of the hive prematurely is said to be “un¬ 
ripe.” According to the committee on food 
standards and also the German Standard, 
honey which consists of more than 25 per 
cent of water must be classed as immature. 
It is obvious some standard percentage such 
as this is necessary, even tho arbitrary, in 
order that a basis may be had for deterniin- 
ing what honeys are unripe. 
Honey which has not been capped over is 
sometimes ripe, but more often unripe; and 
the combs of unripe honey should never he 
placed on the market as anything but im¬ 
mature honey. It possesses poor keeping 
qualities. Honey extracted from uncapped 
combs should be exposed to evaporation be¬ 
fore bottling. 
The amount of moisture in honey is not 
conditioned by the nectar of the flower 
from which the honey is derived. It varies 
jn some degree, however, with the environ¬ 
ment of the apiary. Evaporation within 
the hive is promoted or retarded by local 
conditions of humidity. For this reason 
honey from arid parts of the country is 
thicker in general than honey from regions 
where rainfall is plentiful. The difference 
in average water content of ripened honeys 
between those from the humid States of 
the upper Mississippi and those from the 
Southwest, is 3.5 per cent, according to the 
tests in the Government sugar laboratory. 
The degree of granulation which a par¬ 
ticular sample of honey may reach, as well 
as the length of time it takes to granulate, 
is another physical characteristic worth 
noting and forms roughly an index to its 
purity. Honeys high in dextrose are prone 
to granulation; This characteristic of al¬ 
falfa honey is well known. Conversely, 
honeys low in dextrose do not granulate 
readily. Note that tupelo, a non-granulat¬ 
ing honey, shows only 24.73 per cent of 
dextrose, while alfalfa, an early granulat¬ 
ing honey, shows by the table 36.85 per 
cent. See science of granulation under 
Granulated Honey. Impure honeys, such 
as honeydew honey and honey adulterated 
with glucose, do not ‘granulate as readily 
as pure honey. Sage and tupelo by na¬ 
ture seldom granulate. This characteristic 
is utilized by packers in preparing a prod¬ 
uct which will not readily crystallize on the 
market when exposed to changes in temper¬ 
ature. See Bottling. 
Ordinarily honey is judged by its color, 
flavor, and density. There is an almost 
endless variety of flavors, making it prac¬ 
ticable to suit the most exacting connois¬ 
seur. The flavors, like the evanscent aroma 
of honey, are very difficult to describe and 
really cannot be satisfactorily communi¬ 
cated thru printed description. Alfalfa, 
buckwheat, basswood, cotton, orange, and 
several other kinds of honey have a charac¬ 
teristic flavor and aroma which any one 
accustomed to them can recognize without 
difficulty. The presence of honeydew is 
usually detected by a burnt-sugar flavor. 
The flavors of some of the prominent hon¬ 
eys are described under the respective 
plahts. 
Color is a fair guide, but not always so, 
for the famous heather honey of Europe is 
quite dark, and yet no honey stands higher 
in popular esteem cm that continent. The 
