Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 257, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 October 1919 — Flavor and Quality of Honey Vary With Plants Upon Which Bee Feeds. [ARTICLE]

Flavor and Quality of Honey Vary With Plants Upon Which Bee Feeds.

Honey, which is ndw a luxury, was in old times a necessity; for it was then the principal sweetener of food. Sugar was not Introduced until the latter days of the Romun Empire, and was first oddly described as an Indian salt that was as sweet as honey. The numerous references to honey in the Bible are due to its being the common sweetener used by the people. Honey from the comb is considered to be the. most luxurious form of this delectable sweet, and many persons eat the wax with the honey. That is a foolish thing to do, however —as foolish as it would be to eat/the paper that butler Is wrapped" up In.orThe bag that contains sugar. The wax in the honeycornb is in no way nutritious, and is d(cld(‘(nj7Jn<trcestlt)le.T The proper way to eat honey in the comb is to place a piece of the comb on one’s plate, with the cells In a vertical position, and press one’s knife firmly upon it. so that all the honey runs out. Eat the honey and leave the wax. ———: —-—■ . —‘ 4 The bees do not care for blossoming flowers, as the poets imagine. They are practical, utilitarian creatures and prefer the period just before fructification. They dearly love clover, but most kinds of forest trees are very useful to them. The flavor and the quality of honey vary with the plants upon which the bee’ feeds. Heather honey is naturally popular in Scotland, and the famous Narbonne honey owes its flavor to rosemary. Occasionally the bee is injudicious, however, and chooses injurious herbs. The soldiers of Xenophon, after eating the honey of Treblzond, became either mad or drunk. The effect was owing to the bees having eaten a poisonous azalea.