licious
Honey-cakes were never wanting, these being made of meal, Honey,
and oil, whilst corresponding in number to the years of the devout
offerer.

Pure Honey contains chemically about seventy per cent. of glucose
(analogous to grape sugar) or the crystallizable part which sinks
to the bottom of the jar, whilst the other portion above, which is
non-crystallizable, is levulose, or fruit sugar, almost identical with
the brown syrup of the sugar cane, but less easy of digestion. Hence,
the proverb has arisen "of oil the top, of wine the middle, of Honey
the bottom."

The odour of Honey is due to a volatile oil associated with a yellow
colouring matter _melichroin_, which is separated by the floral
nectaries, and becomes bleached on exposure to the sunlight. A
minute quantity of an animal acid lends additional curative value for
sore throat, and some other ailments.

Honey has certain claims as a food which cane sugar does not
possess. It is a heat former, and a producer of vital energy, both in
the human subject, and in the industrious little insect which collects
the luscious fodder. Moreover, it is all ready for absorption
straightway into the blood after being eaten, whereas cane sugar
must be first masticated with the saliva, or spittle, and converted
somewhat slowly into honey sugar before it can be utilised for the
wants of the body. In this way the superiority of Honey over cane
sugar is manifested, and it may be readily understood why grapes,
the equivalent of Honey in the matter of their sugar, have an
immediate effect in relieving fatigue by straightway contributing
power and caloric.

Aged persons who are toothless may be supported almost exclusively
on sugar. The great Duke of [258] Beaufort, whose teeth were
white and sound at seventy, whilst his general health was likewise
excellent, had for forty years before his death a pound of sugar
daily in his wine, chocolate, and sweetmeats. A relish for sugar
lessens the inclination for alcohol, and seldom accompanies the
love of strong drink.

With young children, cane sugar is apt to form acids in the stomach,
chiefly acetic, by a process of fermentation which causes pain, and
flatulence, so that milk sugar should be given instead to those of
tender years who are delicate, as this produces only lactic acid,
which is the main constituent of digestive gastric juice.

When examined under a microscope Honey exhibits in addition to
its crystals (representing