266 THE HISTORY OF ANTMAIS. [B. IX 



they eject the drones, and put figs and other sweet things near 

 them. The elder bees work in the hives, and become hairy 

 from remaining within. The younger ones go out in the fields, 

 and are smoother: and they kill the drones when they have no 

 longer any room for them, for they are placed in a recess of 

 the hive. When a swarm has been weak, strange bees have 

 been known to come and fight with them, and take away their 

 honey ; and when the bee-keeper killed them the others came 

 out and defended themselves, and would not injure the man. 



20. Other diseases, and especially one called clems, fre 

 quently attack strong swarms. In this disease small worm a 

 are produced on the floor of the hive, and as these increase, 

 the whole swarm is held, as it were, in a spider s web, and 

 the combs decay. There is another disease, which is like a 

 wildness in the bees, and causes a strong smell in the hives. 

 The bees should be fed on thyme, the white sort is better than 

 the red. In close weather they should have a cool place, 

 and a warm one in the winter. They suffer the most when 

 they work with materials affected with the rust. 



21. When the wind is high, they carry a stone with them 

 for a balance. If a river is at hand they never drink any 

 where else, first of all laying down their weight. If no 

 river is near, they drink in some other place, and then 

 vomit up their honey, and again set to work. There are 

 two seasons for making honey, the spring and autumn. 

 That formed in the spring is sweeter, whiter, and, on 

 the whole, better than that formed in autumn. The 

 best honey is made from the new wax and young flowers. 

 The red honey is inferior, on account of the wax ; for, like 

 wine, it is injured by the vessel which contains it ; this 

 honey therefore should be dried up. When the thyme is 

 in flower, and the comb is full of honey, it does not become 

 inspissated. The gold-coloured honey is also good. The 

 white honey is not formed of pure thyme, but is good for the 

 eyes, and for wounds. Weak honey always floats on the sur 

 face, and ought to be separated. The pure honey is beneath. 



22. When the woods are in flower the bees form wax ; at 

 this season, therefore, the wax ought to be taken from the 

 hive, for they immediately make more. These are the plants 

 from which they collect it, atractyllis, melilot, asphodel, 

 myrtle, phleos, agnus, broom. When they can procure 



