BEES AND HEATHER. 



"if the young bushes of ling (Calluna vulgaris) 

 are accessible to goats, sheep and oxen, these bite off 

 the ends of the fresh shoots, together with the leaves 

 attached to them. The remaining portion of the mutil- 

 ated shoot in the neighborhood of the wound dries up, 

 but the part behind keeps alive, and the buds on it 

 develop even more vigorously than would have been 

 the case if the mutilation had not occurred. The shoots 

 which in the following year arise from these buds 

 may suffer the same misfortune. . . . The 

 branches of the small mutilated bushes become so 

 thick and the dry hard periphery of the crown are so 

 crowded together that even the greedy goats are pre- 

 vented from breaking through the armour, and ab- 

 stain from pulling out the green shoots from behind 

 the dry stumps. Then at length the unprotected plants 

 obtain a defensive armour which is capable of saving 

 them entirely from the further attacks of grazing ani- 

 mals." 



Bees and Heather 



Oh ! the wafts o' heather honey and the music on the brae, 

 As I watch the great harts feeding nearer, nearer, a' the day ; 

 Oh! to hark the eagle screaming, sweeping, ringing round the 



sky, 

 That's a bonnier life. . . . Kingsley. 



The Heather flower is a favorite of the honey 

 bee, and the honey gathered from the Heather, though 

 of a darker color, is much preferable to that which 

 is extracted from the garden flowers. (See under 

 Medicinal Virtues for the ancients' idea of Heather 

 honey.) 



83 



