in the hive, evaporates the water and thus thickens the honey.
Ignorant people believe that honey is regurgitated from the true stomach of the bee, which is far from true. The honey-stomach is simply a reservoir in which the honey is made and then stored until the bee can empty it into a cell. Her true stomach lies behind the honey-stomach and connects with it by a mouth that can be opened or closed at will; when she wishes to eat some honey, she opens the stomach mouth and takes in what she needs. The chyle which she manufactures in her true stomach to feed the young bees, when regurgitated, does not pass through the honey-stomach; instead, the mouth of the real stomach is pushed up through the centre of the honey-reservoir until it connects directly with the æsophagus. (Plate XXVI, Fig. 7 p.)
When an ancient Roman was asked on his hundredth birthday how he had preserved his vigour, physically and mentally, he answered laconically, Inerius melle, exterius olea—"Inside with honey, outside with oil." He spoke wisely, for honey is undoubtedly the most healthful of sweets, because it is so largely composed of the predigested grape-sugar.
It is hard for us to realise that, until comparatively recently, honey was the only sweet in general use. Cane-sugar was not commonly eaten in Europe until the seventeenth century, and previous to that time honey held sway as the sweetening medium of all foods. The amount of honey produced in the United States now is estimated to be more than
