HONEY (AS. hunig, OIIG. honag, honang, Ger. Honig, of uncertain origin). A thick, sweet liquid, of more or less pronounced flavor. pro duced by bees of various kinds and by other insects. The neuter or working bees gather the nectar from the nectaries of flowers (and other sweet substances if flowers are lacking), extract ing it by means of the proboscis and passing it into the crop or honey-hag. The bee disgorges the honey into the cells of the comb. Apparently the sweet substance undergoes sonic change in the honey-hag, as honey differs in flavor from the nectar of the flowers from which it is gather ed. The consistency of honey varies with age. and is influenced by its source, that from sonic flowers being much thicker than that from others. The flavor also varies with the source from which it is gathered. that from clover, sweet clover, basswood or linden flowers, for instance, being very agreeable: that from buckwheat is darker colored and less liked by some. Age also affects the flavor. Some honey which at first has a weedy taste loses this on keeping.
Honey has on an average the following per centage composition: Carbohydrates, 81.2; water, 18.2; protein, 0.4; and ash. 0.2. The carbohy drates are made up of dextrose and Levulose in about equal proportion. honey sometimes contains a little wax and sonic aromatic bodies, which give it flavor, The best and newest honey is clear and contained in a white comb. Older honey is of a yellowish tone, and sometimes darker. On standing, dextrose sometimes crys tallizes out from liquid honey and renders it opaque or often thick. The composition of honey varies somewhat according to the food of the bees, their age. season. etc. It is a favorite article of diet. owing to its sweet taste and agreeable flavor. The actual food value depends upon the sugars (carbohydrates) present. Like
all other carbohydrate foods, it is a source of energy. Honey has a fairly high fuel value, on an average-1520 calories per pound. It is, however, generally eaten fur its flavor rather than for its true food value. To the ancients, who were unacquainted with sugar, it was of more importance than it is now. Taken in mod erate quantity honey is \ vhole.onie and laxative, but persons suffering from digestive disorders often find that it aggravates their symptoms, and there are persons in health who, owing to some idiosyncrasy, cannot cat honey without distress. Its therapeutic action is probably not very great, but it is frequently employed in mixtures pre scribed for allaying coughs and in various agree able cooling drinks used in febrile and inflam matory affections. It should be mentioned that honey occasionally possesses poisonous properties, due to the flowers from which it was gathered. The poisonous honey of Trebiz(md is gathered from Azalea pan tire. In America, has oecurred from eating honey gathered from laurel (Kallnia latifolia and kobitia angustifolia). :Many other instances of poison honey are on record.
Honey is marketed in the comb and also ex tracted from it. The latter, sometimes called `strained' honey, is frequently adulterated with eommercial glucose. It is stated that much of the so-called honey which is sold contains nona of the product gathered by the bee, and is en tirely artificial. Of sixty-six samples of honey examined by the :Massachusetts State hoard of Health, fifteen were adulterated with cane-sugar or commercial glucose or both. One sample con tained as high as 88 per cent. of commercial glucose. See also BEE.