Chap. 15.] BEES. 15 



duced at the rising of Arcturus, beginning at the day 43 before 

 the ides of September. Some persons delay the gathering of 

 the summer honey until the rising of Arcturus, because from 

 then till the autumnal equinox there are fourteen days left, 

 and it is from the equinox till the setting of the Vergilise, a pe- 

 riod of forty-eight days, that the heather is in the greatest abun- 

 dance. The Athenians call this plant by the name of tetralix, u 

 and the Eubceans sisirum, and they look upon it as affording 

 great pleasure to the bees to browse upon, probably because 

 there are no other flowers for them to resort to. This gather- 

 ing terminates at the end of the vintage and the setting of 

 the Vergiliae, mostly about the ides of November. 45 Expe- 

 rience teaches us that we ought to leave for the bees two- 

 thirds of this crop, and always that part of the combs as well, 

 which contains the bee-bread. 



From the winter solstice to the rising of Arcturus the bees 

 are buried in sleep for sixty days, and live without any nourish- 

 ment. Between the rising of Arcturus and the vernal equinox, 

 they awake in the warmer climates, but even then they still 

 keep ^within the hives, and have recourse to the provisions 

 kept in reserve for this period. In Italy, however, they do 

 this immediately after the rising of the Yergilia?, up to which 

 period they are asleep. Some persons, when they take the 

 honey, weigh the hive and all, and remove just as much as 

 they leave : a due sense of equity should always be stringently 

 observed in dealing with them, and it is generally stated that 

 if imposed upon in this division, the swarm will die of grief. 

 It is particularly recommended also that the person who takes 

 the honey should be well washed and clean : bees have a par- 

 ticular aversion, too, to a thief and a menstruous woman. When 

 the honey is taken, it is the best plan to drive away the bees 

 by means of smoke, lest they should become irritated, or else 

 devour the honey themselves. By often applying smoke, too, 

 they are aroused from their idleness to work ; but if they have 

 not duly incubated in the comb, it is apt to become of a 

 livid colour. On the other hand, if they are smoked too often, 

 they will become tainted ; the honey, too, a substance which 

 turns sour at the very slightest contact with dew, will very 



43 12th September. 



u "Tetralicem" seems preferable to " tamaricem." 



* 5 13th November. 



