The New Student's Reference Work/Honey

Honey (hŭn′y̆), a very sweet, thick liquid made by bees and some other insects. The bees gather the nectar or sweet juice from flowers and carry it to the hive, where it is changed into honey and the cells of the honeycomb filled with it. Different flowers give different flavors and color to the honey. Clover honey is white, while heather honey or buckwheat honey is dark. The honey of Hymettus, a mountain in Attica, was held in high esteem, probably because of the flavor of wild thyme, which grew there abundantly. Honey is used as food, in the preparation of medicines and in the manufacture of some kinds of ale. It is sold in the comb and also as “strained honey.” In this form it is sometimes adulterated with glucose. It is not unhealthy but is less sweet than pure honey. The annual production of honey in the United States is more than 60,000,000 pounds.