218 CONFESSIONS OF A BEACHCOMBER 



This is not a prohibition district, and if the happy, un- 

 reflective bird chooses to partake even to excess of the free 

 offering of Nature, the quintessence of the flowers of the 

 tree distilled by sunshine, why should not he ? Am I the 

 only one to be " recompensed by the sweetness and satis- 

 faction of this retreat " ? 



When the melaleuca blossoms, bees seem to work with 

 quite feverish haste ; but the honey gained is dark in colour 

 and has a certain pungent, almost acid, flavour. Holding 

 a frame of comb to the light, you see the clear gold of the 

 bloodwood and the tawny tints of the melaleuca as 

 erratically defined as geographical distinctions in a tinted 

 map. Bees keep it apart to indulge in it, peradventure, at 

 revolutionary epochs. Italian bees are docile, at least less 

 pugnacious than other species. Does not the dark spiritu- 

 ous honey inspire them with that degree of courage which 

 we English call Dutch? 



