The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1895-08-21
TO PEOPLE WHO EAT HONEY.
A Few Words From a Producer to The
Consumer.

To tie Editor Of The Ne,es and Cou-
rier: One person may successfully
raise honey or other country produce,
but where business success is looked
for another individual claims consid
eration-the consumer. This appears
to be a case where the ordinary rule is
reversed, the demand being influenced
largely by the supply. For where the
supply is deficient in quantity the de-
mand will soon die out. So far as
honey is concerned in this State both
supply and demand are at the lowest
ebb. This article then in Difference
to the consumer, who is not in fault
in this instance, is designed to furnish
some points for his especial consider
alton.
Some one has well said, "Sugar is a
modern invention; honey is the gift
of God" Unless we realize that for
thousands of years man S only available
sweet was honey Its Importance as an
article of food to the ancients is not
easily comprehended. One could not
understand why Jacobs sons, jour
neying down to Egypt, carried among
their presents some honey from the
Land Of Canaan, nor why the law-giver
from Mount Sinai included special
provisions concerning bees. The sa-
cred writings are full Of references to
honey, while classical authors from
Homer to Pliny thought bee culture
worthy of prominent place in their
writings. Honey was staple article
of commerce when the Phoenecians
controlled the trade Of the world,
ezekiel, xvii, II J it was an item in
the tithes paid to the priesthood, and
often figured in the tribute exacted
from conquered peoples.
Among the Greeks and Romans it
had place in the worship of the gods
at ceremonial feasts and funeral rites.
So honey continued to be held one Of
the purest and most valued articles Of
human food until the use Of sugar be-
came general, less than three hundred
years ago.
That honey is immeasurably supe-
rior to cane sugar as food will appear
from the following considerations !:
Probably sugar in some Of its forms is
the most important article Of human
diet. All grains and vegetables con-
tanning starch, such as wheat, corn,
oats, rice, potatoes, etc., undergo a
chemical change in the process OF di-
gestion, which converts the starch
into form of sugar. Fruits contain
another form of sugar, so do many
vegetables. Now, in the case Of cane
sugar and the syrups made from cane
juice, the process of digestion. by the
agency of the gastric juice, splits up
or divides the sugar into dextrose or
starch sugar, and levulose or fruit su-
gar, after which these products are
absorbed for purposes Of nutrition.
Where the digestive organs are weak
this process is often not effected at all ,
and the sugar cannot be assimilated.
1t then readily undergoes a fermen-
tation, with disastrous consequences
to the person using it, producing all
sorts Of gastric troubles. The indi-
gestion produced by the use of sugar,
syrups and candy might almost be
classed as disease by itself.
In the case Of honey this danger
Joo, not ov;et IT, ia already an in
verted sugar, needing no action Of the
gastric juice, no chemical change
whatever to fit it for absorption into
the system. Honey is at once ready
to be assimilated and is not liable to
fermentation or decomposition. In
plain everyday talk honey is sugar
already digested, containing the de-
licious aroma of flowers, and also a
minute quantity Of formic acid, which
is added by the bees as a preservative
or antiseptic. Clearly then this pro-
duct is not merely luxury: but a
concentrated food Of high nutritive
value. 1t should be used alone as a
relish, but as part Of the everyday
diet Of every family which is able to
procure it. Imagine how the children
would delight in this return to ancient
usage. The following quotation puts
this point very strikingly:
"The introduction of vile com
pounds, known as table syrups, with
their impurities and adulterations, has
had the effect Of opening the eyes Of
consumers, and Of reopening for honey
it's God-given place as an article OF
food. Instead Of dealing disease and
death promiscuously to those who
indulge in it's use, as do these syrups,
honey gives mankind, in its most
agreeable form, both food and medi-
cine. 1t gives warmth to the system,
arouses nervous energy and imparts
yigor to all the vital functions. 10
the laborer it gives strength, to the
business man mental force.
The prefence.of that vile adulterant.
glucose, in most Of the Commercial!
syrups, in candy and in thousand
manufactured compounds is a constant
menace to health, for among other evil
properties lis said to be a predisposing
cause of Bright's disease, which pre-
walls SO much more generally in our
day. And here lies another strong
argument in favor Of honey. 1t is a
matter of experience that honey may
take the place Of sugar in almost every
kind of cookery, as witness many
modern cook books where are contain
ed a long list of cakes, preserves, pud1-
dings and candies which owe their
superior qualities to this change,
The medicinal properties of honey
are we'll understood by mothers and
nurses, who have faith in old time
"kitchcn remedies f" and are admitted
by the medical profession. It's value
in the treatment of coughs, colds and
pulmonary affections, also in various
kidney complaints, has been testsd
and approved for ages. There arc
many cases where sugar is prohibited
in which honey is used with special
benefit.
In concluding this plea for the more
general and daily use of honey it may
be not out of place to give one or two
recipes. Hereis the "milk and honey
Of the ancients:
"Takc a bowl of milk and break
coma lioht wheat bread into it, also