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 glucose, or grape sugar), pollen-granules of various forms, often so perfect that they may be referred to the particular plants from which the nectar has been gathered.
As good Honey contains sugar in a form suitable for such quick assimilation, it should be taken generally in some combination less easily absorbed, otherwise the digestion may be upset by too speedy a glut of heat production, and of energy. Therefore the bread and Honey of time-honoured memory is a sound form of sustenance, as likewise, the proverbial milk and Honey of the Old Testament. This may be prepared by taking a bowl of new milk, and breaking into it some light wheaten bread, together with some fresh white Honeycomb. The mixture will be found both pleasant and easy of digestion.
Our forefathers concocted from Honey boiled with water and exposed to the sun (after adding chopped raisins, lemon peel, and other matters) a famous fermented drink, called mead, and this was termed metheglin (methu, wine, and aglaion, splendid) when the finer [261] Honey was used, and certain herbs were added so as to confer special flavours.
"Who drank very hard the whole night through
Cups of strong mead, made from honey when new,
Metheglin they called it, a mighty strong brew,
Their whistles to wet for the morrow."
Likewise, the old Teutons prepared a Honey wine, (hydromel), and made it the practice to drink this for the first thirty days after marriage; from which custom has been derived the familiar Honeymoon, or the month after a wedding.
Queen Elizabeth was particularly fond of mead, and had it made every year according to a special recipe of her own, which included the leaves of sweet briar, with rosemary, cloves, and mace.
Honey derived from cruciferous plants, such as rape, ladies' smock, and the wallflower, crystallizes quickly, often, indeed, within the comb before it is removed from the hive; whilst Honey from labiate plants, and from fruit trees in general, remains unchanged for several months after being extracted from the comb.
As a heat producer, if taken by way of food, one pound of Honey is equal to two pounds of butter; and when cod liver oil is indicated, but cannot be tolerated by the patient, Honey may sometimes be most beneficially substituted.