Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/812

 794 HONEY headache and vomiting, and possesses poison- ous qualities, supposed to be derived from the rhododendron, azalea Pontica. The substances recognized in honey are grape sugar, manna, gum mucilage, extractive, a little wax, pollen, acid, and odoriferous substances. When al- lowed to drain from the comb it is wholly fluid, and this, as well as the superior quality first made in the season, and deposited in the upper part of the hives, is known as virgin honey. But as ordinarily pressed out it holds a solid crystalline sugar, which may be sepa- rated by draining and pressing the fluid por- tion through a linen bag. The sugar is be- lieved to be identical with grape sugar; but excepting its consistency and tendency to crys- tallize, it is not apparently different from the fluid honey. Their taste and chemical proper- ties are the same. The proportion of crystal- lizable sugar increases with the age of the honey, so as to give it in time a granular char- acter. The consistency of honey is thus very variable. The best and newest of the spring season is a clear fluid contained in a white comb ; older honey is yellowish and reddish. It is freely dissolved in cold water, and in this condition honey undergoes the vinous fermen- tation. 'Various substances are introduced into honey to add to its weight or to improve its color. Starch is most commonly employed, but chalk, plaster of Paris, and pipe clay are also used. The presence of such matters may be detected by dissolving some of the honey in warm water, and letting the mixture stand for the deposit to fall, when its character may be easily ascertained. The different sugars are also used as adulterants, the presence of all which may be detected either by microscopic observations directed to the forms and com- parative sizes of the crystals, or to the presence of the sugar acari, or by the chemical tests also cited with the others by Dr. Hassall in his work, "Adulterations Detected." Starch su- gar, possessing the same chemical properties as the sugar of honey, cannot be detected ; but being often accompanied by sulphate of lime, resulting from the materials used in its prepa- ration, the presence of this is an indication of adulteration with starch sugar. From the re- motest times honey has been employed as an article of food ; and to the ancients, in the ab- sence of sugar, it was of greater importance than to the moderns. A land flowing with milk and honey was to them a region abound- ing in the chief necessaries of life. As an ar- ticle of diet and of medicine, honey possesses the properties of sugar, and is perhaps more laxative. Many constitutions, especially those subject to dyspepsia, cannot resist its disorder- ing tendency ; but those accustomed to its use find it wholesome and agreeable. In medicine its use is principally as a vehicle for other more active substances ; but its composition and action upon all constitutions being somewhat uncertain, a solution of pure sugar is generally preferred even for this purpose. When in HONEY GUIDE combination with vinegar, the preparations are called oxymels. Honey is easily clarified by heating it in a water bath till it becomes so fluid as to be readily strained through flannel. The wax and lighter impurities may be re- moved by skimming, while the heavier sub- stances sink to the bottom. HONEY ANT, a name given to several species of ants, of Mexico and Texas, the major work- ers of which secrete a saccharine fluid or kind of honey, which is used for the nourishment of the young brood. In the myrmecocystus Mexi- canus, the abdomen of these workers becomes swollen like a balloon, and filled with a trans- parent honey; these individuals are inactive, not quitting the nest, their sole occupation being apparently the elaboration of this fluid, which they discharge into receptacles prepared to receive it. In crematogaster inflatus there is a bladder-like swelling on the hinder part of the thorax, furnished with small circular orifices at the posterior lateral angles, from which the saccharine fluid exudes. HONEY BEE. See BEE. HONEY DEW, a saccharine liquid found upon trees, and, when abundant, sprinkled upon the surface between them. This phenomenon has been the subject of much discussion ; by some its origin is attributed to insects, and by others it is held that insects have no agency in the matter. It would appear that both parties are correct. That plant lice or aphides do ex- crete a saccharine liquid is a well established fact (see APHIS), of which any one by careful observation can satisfy himself. On the other hand, it seems to be equally well established that sometimes this liquid is exuded by the leaves of trees, without any insect being con- cerned in the operatioto. What causes the plant to throw off sugar in this manner, and always upon the upper surface of the leaves, is a question needing further investigation. Dry weather is most favorable to its production ; it is readily washed away by rains, and has been observed to reappear upon the same tree sev- eral times in succession. The production of honey dew is especially frequent upon linden trees. Bee-keepers regard this as of some im- portance as a source of honey, and ants and other insects are fond of it. HONEY GUIDE, a bird of the cuckoo family, and genus indicator (Vieill.). The bill is short, broad at the base, with the culmen curved ; wings long and pointed, with the first quill nearly as long as the third, fourth, and fifth, which are equal and longest; tail moderate, emarginate in the middle, and rounded on the sides ; tarsi very short, covered with trans- verse broad scales ; toes unequal, the outer an- terior one the longest; claws moderate and strong. About ten species are described, in- habiting the wooded districts of Africa, India, and the Indian islands. It is about as large as a chaffinch, and flies chattering about the trees apparently in a state of great excite- ment in order to attract the traveller's atten-