HONEY AND ITS COLORS 
469 
brown's analin acetate test. 
Prepare fresh each time it is used the 
following reagent: 
To 5cc. of anilin (this should be water- 
white) add 5cc. of water, shake, and then 
add glacial acetic acid to clear the emulsion 
(generally about 2cc. is necessary). To 
5cc. of a 1-to-l solution of the honey with 
water in a test tube add 1 to 2cc. of the 
above reagent. Allow the latter to flow 
down the walls of the test tube to form a 
layer. In the presence of commercial in¬ 
vert sugar a red ring forms at the junction 
of the two liquids. 
BRYAN'S MODIFICATION OF FIEHE'S TEST. 
Prepare the following reagent fresh at 
each time of testing: 
Five-tenths gram of resorcinol in 50ce. 
of hydrochloric acid (Sp. Gr. 1.19). Place 
lOcc. of a 50-per-cent honey solution in a 
test tube and run 5cc. of redistilled ether 
on top. Shake contents gently (taking 
care not to form an emulsion), and allow 
to stand until ether layer is perfectly clear; 
transfer 2cc| of the clear ether solution to 
a small test tube, and add a large-sized 
drop of the reagent. Shake,. and note the 
color immediately. In the presence of. com¬ 
mercial invert sugar the drop in the bottom 
assumes an orange-red color, turning to a 
dark red. Most pure honeys show this 
coloration when allowed to stand anywhere 
from half to one hour, but never on the 
immediate application of the reagent. 
Heated honeys do not develop an immedi¬ 
ate coloration. 
feder's ANILIN CHLORIDE TEST. 
Prepare freshly each time it is used the 
following: 
To lOOcc. of C. P. anilin add 30ce. of 
25 per cent hydrochloric acid. For the 
test, 5 grams of the honey are mixed direct¬ 
ly in a porcelain dish with 2.5ec. of the 
anilin reagent. A bright-red color indi¬ 
cates commercial invert sugar. Pure honeys 
may show a faint pink color at the start, 
but on standing this very often disappears. 
SUMMARY. 
To form a conclusion on a sample of 
honey it is necessary to make most of the 
determinations described above. A mois¬ 
ture determination gives the data as to 
whether a sample complies with the United 
States standards in this particular. The 
determination of reducing sugars before 
and after inversion gives the only reliable 
data as to sucrose content. In this connec¬ 
tion it should be noted that a fresh honey 
may show a high percentage of sucrose, 
but on standing show less, little, or none, 
depending on the activity of the enzyme in- 
vertase in the honey. The polarization fig¬ 
ures, together with the reducing sugar con¬ 
tent, furnishes' the data along with the 
Beckman test for the presence or absence 
of commercial glucose. The presence of 
large quantities of sodium chloride in the 
ash would also help in deciding on com¬ 
mercial glucose. Too much dependence 
cannot be placed on the chlorine content 
of a honey unless it is known that the 
honey was not produced near salt water. 
For commercial invert sugar the per¬ 
centage of dextrose and levulose, the 
amount of ash and composition of the ash, 
the amount of tannin and phosphotungstic 
acid precipitate, the diastase and invertase 
reaction, the percentage of nitrogen, and 
the color tests are all helpful and needed. 
The presence of tartaric, phosphoric, hy¬ 
drochloric, and sulphuric, also acetic acids 
in appreciable quantities are extra, and are 
valuable determinations. The quantity and 
kind of pollen, also appearance, are some¬ 
times of value in deciding on a honey. 
For the further consideration of this 
subject see Granulated Honey, Ex¬ 
tracted Honey, Honeydew, Honey as 
Food, and Nectar. ' 
HONEY AND ITS COLORS.— The va¬ 
rious kinds of honey differ very much in 
color, flavor, and density. One variety may 
be practically colorless, while another pro¬ 
duced in the same locality, under the same 
conditions, by the same bees, but from dif¬ 
ferent flowers, may be a dark brown. One 
kind may contain less than one-sixth of 
water, while another may contain a fourth. 
The proportions of dextrose, levulose, and 
sucrose vary considerably; but as the ex¬ 
tent of the variation is known to chemists 
they are compelled to .take this into account 
in forming an opinion from the analytical 
figures. 
Ordinarily honey is judged by its color, 
flavor, and density. There is an almost 
