WHY  DO  BEES  WORK  IN  THE  DARK. 
243 
The  examination  of  various  specimens  of  honey  did  not  confirm 
this  view,  but  it  led  to  the  detection  of  a  variety  of  salts,  among 
which  lime  was  particularly  abundant,  especially  in  honey  from 
inland  places.  Potash  was  also  found  in  considerable  quantity, 
and  this  would  tend  to  make  the  honey  deliquescent.  As  far  as 
my  examination  has  extended,  nothing  seems  to  explain  why 
some  varieties  of  new  honey  become  candied  sooner  than  others. 
The  presence  of  lime  does  not  seem  to  explain  anything,  except 
that  bees  may  introduce  a  good  deal  of  filth  into  their  honey  ;  for 
the  lime  was  probably  gathered  in  the  form  of  nitrate,  which  is 
an  abundant  salt  in  water  from  dunghills,  stagnant  ponds,  and 
bogs,  and  wherever  there  is  decaying  animal  matter  ;  so  that  the 
bees  drinking  at  such  places  must  be  a  happy  thought  for  honey 
eaters.  But  one  practical  suggestion  arises  from  this  examina- 
tion— namely,  supply  your  bees  with  salt  and  water,  and  they 
will  probably  not  frequent  dunghills.  In  places  near  the  sea 
bees  can  procure  common  salt  and  the  salts  of  sea  water  for  them- 
selves ;  and  it  will  be  remembered  that  the  most  celebrated 
honeys  of  the  world,  such  as  those  of  Mount  Hymettus,  Mount 
Ida,  Mahon,  Cuba,  the  Bermudas,  &c,  are  all  fluid,  and  even 
syrupy,  and  that  all  these  places  are  within  easy  access  of  the 
sea. 
I  asked  my  friend  Mr.  Rodwell  to  examine  two  specimens  of 
honey,  both  inland — one  from  Switzerland  and  the  other  from 
Hertfordshire.  He  found  in  the  Swiss  honey,  iron,  alumina,  and 
phosphates,  together  with  lime,  magnesia  and  potash ;  and  in  the 
Hertfordshire  honey  all  the  above  ingredients,  together  with 
ammonia.  As  far  as  the  results  of  the  examination  of  these  and 
the  other  specimens  are  concerned,  it  would  seem  that  bees  are 
extensive  collectors,  picking  up  all  sorts  of  stray  materials  for 
the  purpose  of  making  up  their  tale  of  honey.  Whether  there  is 
any  dishonesty  in  this  on  the  part  of  the  workers,  whether  these 
various  salts  serve  some  purpose  not  yet  determined,  or  whether 
they  get  accidentally  into  various  kinds  of  dirty  water  which  the 
bees  drink,  we  cannot  say.  At  any  rate,  the  fact  is  very  curi- 
ous that  such  a  variety  of  salts  should  be  found  in  honey.  It  is 
most  probable  that  honey  from  other  localities  would  show  a 
similar  varied  constitution  of  the  ash. 
