340 PLINY'S NATURAL HISTORY. [Book XXI. 



lilote, melissophyllum, 68 and the cerintha. 69 This last is a plant 

 with a white leaf, bent inwards, the stem of it being a cubit 

 in height, with a flower at the top presenting a concavity full 

 of a juice like honey. Bees are remarkably fond of the flowers 

 of these plants, as also the blossoms of mustard, a thing that 

 is somewhat surprising, seeing that it is a well-known fact that 

 they will not so much as touch the blossoms of the olive : for 

 which reason, it will be as well to keep that tree at a distance 

 from them. 70 



There are other trees, again, which should be planted as 

 near the hives as possible, as they attract the swarm when it 

 first wings its flight, and so prevent the bees from wandering 

 to any considerable distance. 



CHAP. 42. THE MALADIES OF BEES, AND THE REMEDIES FOB 



THKM. 



The greatest care, too, should be taken to keep the cornel 71 

 at a distance from the hives ; for if the bees once taste the 

 blossoms of it, they will speedity die of flux and looseness. 

 The best remedy in such case is to give them sorb apples 

 beaten up with honey, or else human urine or that of oxen, or 

 pomegranate seeds moistened with Aminean 72 wine. It is a 

 very good plan, too, to plant broom about the hives, the bees 

 being extremely fond of the blossoms. 



CHAP. 43. THE FOOD OF BEES. 



In relation to the food of bees, I have ascertained a very 

 singular fact, and one that well deserves to be mentioned. 



68 " Honey-leaf." The Melissa officinalis of Linnaeus : our balm- 

 gentle. It is the same as the " apiastrum," though Pliny has erroneously 

 made them distinct plants. 



69 " Wax-flower." The Cerinthe major of Linnaeus : the greater honey- 

 wort. 



70 See B. xi. c. 8. On the contrary, Virgil says, Georg. iv. 1. 20, that 

 a wild olive-tree should he planted near the hives, to protect them with its 

 shade. Varro says also, De Re Rust. iii. 16, that the bee extracts honey 

 from the olive-tree; but according to Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. ix. c. 64, 

 it is from the leaf, and not the flower of that tree that the honey is ex- 

 tracted. 



71 See B. xv. c. 31. Fee is inclined to doubt the correctness of the 

 assertion here made by Pliny. 



72 Sfie B. xiv. c. 5. The remedies for the diseases of bees in modern 

 times are of a very similar nature, but attention is equally paid to the 

 proper ventilation of the hives. 



