Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-08-28
WINGED SWEETNESS.
ONE OF THE OLDEST AND MOST I'M
PoRTANT INDUSTRIES.

and Honey-A Great Bee and Honey
Exhibition.
When Moses promised to bring the chill
dren of Israel to land flowing with milk
and honey, that promise meant far more
than 1t would to any modern nation. For
In those days no nation on earth knew
the art Of making sugar. No, nor for
many centuries afterward. When Rome
and Greece were in the height Of their
power honey was the only sweetening
knewn to civilization. Still later Richard
the Lion Heart, the leader Of the crusad-
ers, never tasted sugar. Later yet.
William, the Conqueror Of England; and,
still later, Wallace and Bruce, Of Scot
land, knew not sugar. For ages honey
was the worlds reliance for sweets.
Honey was used to sweeten wine; to make
lemonade with various acid juices; in all
cooking; to make all confectionery and
candies. Barley sugar in q rude form
came first; but other sugars rapidly fol-
lowed the discovery Of America.
How ancient is the art Of rearing tame
bees is unknown. But
AS FAR BACK AS HISTORY GOES,
even in the most ancient Egyptian records,
honey" in the Bible is an indication that
tame honey was common; as, indeed, it
must have been to supply the enormous
demand Honey is also mentioned in the
other ancient Bibles of the human race,
as well as in the Jewish Bible, and in such
o way as to prove that bee culture must
have been common art. In. Grecian his
tory, and also in Roman, various localities,
as was natural when honey was so i'm
| portant an article. are mentioned for the
superior favor of their honey, and also as
| wonderfully rich provinces, because honey
| was abundant there. Whether the art of
bee culture was carried to so great degree
Of skill and science in ancient times as 1t
is to-day is problem; but there is reason
to suspect that the apiarists of three or
four thousands of years ago were ex.
tremely skillful. Certainly to-day the
Italian bees, that are deemed so superior
ara the descendants of the superior bees
reared by the bee keepers who
SUPPLIED THE FEAsTs OF THE ROMAN I'm
PERoRs
with choice honey, and the very name oi
the choice Syrian bees Of modern hives Is
reminder of their immense antiquity
Probably the Syrian bees of to-day are moi
as highly cultivated as they were wher
Assyria was in her glory. Syria has Ions
been decaying country, going back to
ward barbarism from her ancient higl
civilization and splendidly organized in
dustries in the days when her gardens ant
her honey were the pride of the Orient
and when her splendid cities and gran,
palaces were the wonder of the nations
And yet her long neglected bees, or lon
reared only by ignorant and degrade
keepers, are to-day one of the two mos
highly valued varieties of cultivated bee
in the world.
The bee is not by nature native {
many countries; yet their cultivation b
, | man has spread bees into all countrie
/ that pretend to any degree Of civilization
and escaping colonies have caused will
/ bees wherever they can possibly sustai
r the climate. In tropical countries the
{ cultivation is said to be estopped by the
speedily learning to cease storing the
sweets for winter except in small quaint
a ties. Nevertheless wild bees are four
q in most tropical countries, though wit
different habits from ours. Cultivate
bees have acquired, from centuries of il
heritance,
A WONDERFUL FACILITY OF ADAPTATION
to climate, like the horse, the dog, ar
other domestic animals and fowls, SO tn
they now flourish in climates so cold tn
nature would never have taken the
there.
How the world managed to get on
long without sugar is thing to wond
at. Think what we should do if sudden
deprived of sugarl Yet there were Nigh
/ cooks in the ancient days, and luxurio
feasts; and Roman and Grecian famili
Of the higher classes set good tables, ev
judged by our modern tastes, and Ike
pretty comfortable homes No doubt
ancient Roman cook, if restored to life
day, could teach our most skillful hou
wives and caterers how to prepare
sorts of delicious viands and preser,
with honey in place of sugar, that mig
we consider our best of sugared cak
pastries, preserves, jellies and confectio
Most large expositions and fairs in viii
aparian products figure now offer PREF
rs ums for cooking, preserving jellying a
IN candying with honey. In this the Detr
II International Fair and Exposition, to
10 held Aug. 26 to Sept. 8, sets nota
70 example this year, and includes the
IN licious vinegar in its list.
lg Undoubtedly the ancients were far
go hind moderns, especially Americans,
eo their bee apparatus. Invention was
st highly priced nor at all protected by q
Vs. ernments in the old historic ages, as W
er us. Hence the hives of the ancients W
q. rude, though the old, typical, pine ap
ae shaped bee hive, that figures so largely
ne pictures, is a very ancient form, ,
ol figures in the most antique Syrian dr.
ings and sculptures. But those old
keepers had no patent hives, frames, CO
foundations, extractors, or tools of
and all sorts, such as moderns use., HI
ever, they were up to all the tricks of
trade. No modern could teach them a
thing about diluting honey, or palm,
off inferior grades, or keeping over and
melting, or any other fraud that
possibly be performed without the al
sugar. In fact, ancient history rect
\ that the Greeks knew of way to
honey liquid for long period by s.
sort of adulteration that was difficult
detect, but reduced its sweetness MAJ
ally. They also knew how to give f
boquet and odor to old and diluted no
Such is
THE IMMORTALITY OF RAsCALITY.
The Apiari8n Department. of the
troit International Fair and Exposi
will, this year, be one of the most
portant ever held in America. The en-,
y are very large from the best bee kee
on the continent who will exhibit |
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