158 SHAKESPEARE'S [HONEY. 



HONEY will suffer no dead bodies to putrefy. 



Honey boiled cureth the wounds inflicted by the sting 

 or teeth of serpents, and helpeth those who have eaten 

 venomous mushrooms. Good it is also for to kill lice and 

 such like vermin in the head, and to rid away nits. 



Holland's P/zny, bk. xxii. ch. xxiv. 



HONEY is engendered naturally in the air, and especially 

 by the influence and rising of some stars. Be it what it 

 will, either a certain sweat of the sky, or some unctuous 

 jelly proceeding from the stars, or rather a liquor purged 

 from the air when it purifieth itself; would God we had 

 it so pure, so clear, and so natural, and, in the own kind 

 refined, as when it descendeth first, whether it be from sky, 

 from star or from the air. Ibid ^ bk> xi ch xii> 



SOMETIME among honey deep in the hive, breedeth 

 certain small worms, as it were attercops [spiders], and do 

 spin and weave and make webs, and have the mastery of 

 all the hive, and therefore the Honey rotteth and is 

 corrupt. Honey that long abideth in old wax, waxeth 

 red, and the corruption of Honey is like to the corruption 

 of wine in flaskets [/.., bottles ; -Bartholomew has in 

 viribus in strength], and shall therefore be taken in time. 

 Also bees do sit on the hive and suck the superfluity that 

 is in the Honey-combs ; and if they did not so the Honey 

 should be corrupt that is in the combs, and spiders should 

 be gendered. They sit on the combs, and do keep busily 

 that those spiders have no mastery, and eat them if they 

 find them, and should else all die. 



Bartholomew (Bertkelet), bk. xix. 55. 



OUR Honey is reputed and taken to be the best, because 

 it is harder, better wrought and cleanlier vesselled up, than 

 that which cometh from beyond the sea, where they stamp 

 and strain their combs, bees and young blowings altogether 

 into the stuff. Also it breedeth (being gotten in harvest- 

 time) less choler. Our hives are made commonly of rye- 

 straw, and wattled about with bramble quarters ; but some 

 make the same of wicker, and cast them over with clay. 

 We cherish none in trees, but set our hives somewhere on 



