1872.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



99 



wards the Romans laid tribute on Corsica(l) and 

 Pontus, and at the triumphal celebration honey 

 was distributed to tho victors. 



In the Holy Bible, among the Hebrews, we 

 find honey often mentioned. The wise Sirach 

 counts it with flour and milk, as the chief neces- 

 sities of life. It is likened to that bread from 

 heaven — manna ; was the first food of children, 

 was used for strengthening the weak and weary 

 and formed a large part of the national wealth, 

 which, as an article of commerce, was brought 

 to Tyre— that old and honored trading post of 

 Phoenicia. 



Among the gifts taken by the brothers of 

 Joseph to Egypt, is mentioned honey ; Sampson's 

 riddle of honey within the ribs of the lion, is 

 well known. 



The Israelites showed the wealth of the land 

 of Canaan by declaring that it flowed with milk 

 and honey ; and among the first fruits which the 

 Mosaic law commands shall be paid as tribute, 

 is honey. It is said of Jonathan, the son of 

 Saul, that when weak from fighting the Philis- 

 tines, he went into the woods, and there found 

 honey flowing out of a tree (probably honey of 

 wild bees, and melted by the great heat) ; into 

 this he dipped the point of his spear, and thus 

 eating it, revived his strength(2). 



John the Baptist fed himself in the wilderness 

 on wild honey and locusts ; and it was immedi- 

 ately on their arrival, placed before strangers 

 and guests as a sign of welcome. 



We find already, with the Israelites, laws 

 regulating the ownership of bees. Thus , we read 

 in Babbabatra-Tosefta : Bees must lie fifteen 

 ells distant from the town, so that no man may 

 be stung ; and in Babba Kama, 114 b., 10 Mis- 

 ehra, 2 Rabbi, Ismael, son of R. Jochanau Ben 

 Berokah says : It is the right of every one to go 

 into the field of his neighbor, and cut off a 

 branch of a tree on which a swarm of bees have 

 settled, but they must make compensation for 

 any damage they may cause ; — who pours out 

 his wine in order to save the honey of another, 

 must, after the sale of the honey, be compensated 

 for the loss of his wine ; — bee swarms belong to 

 the finder, unless the owner claims them ; — 

 finally, is the weighty point — "women and 

 children can bear witness as to the direction 

 from which the swarm came ; " — for in those 

 times the testimony of women and children had 

 no weight. 



During the Middle Ages, Emperor Charles the 

 Fourth, was most favorable to bee-culture, and 

 the two Nuremberger Forests, St. Sebald and 

 St. Laurence, his own and that of the Holy Ro- 

 man See, were called bee-gardens. The Bee- 

 Masters' Association or guild, paid him annually 

 over 4000 gold florins as bee-tax and tribute, and 



(1) The Island of Corsica had to pay to Rome a 

 yearly tribute ol 200,000 pounds of wax, which was 

 about one-half the yield, since in all from 7 to 8 

 pounds of honey was gathered. Varro mentions a 

 man who rented his apiary at an annual rent of 5000 

 pounds of honey, and the renter retained 2000 pounds 

 as his pay. 



(2) 1 Samuel, 14. 



received from him, in the year 1350, a diploma 

 which regulated their order. 



The witness that bee-culture was maintained 

 in Geimany for years before the time of Henry 

 IV., we find in German history, during the 1 'th 

 century, that a tribute was often levied which 

 had to be paid for honey. 



During these centuries, the knowledge gath- 

 ered from by these Bee-Masters' guilds was 

 transmitted orally from father to son. The Bee- 

 Masters' guild of Muskau in Lusatia, owned 

 some 7000 hives ; the members, who chose from 

 among themselves judges and deputies, must 

 be skilled beekeepers, and before obtaining the 

 position must have shown the strongest proof 

 that they were well qualified. They held yearly, 

 two meetings, when the President (Zeidelrichter) 

 seated upon a raised platform, and bearing his 

 white staff, pronounced judgment and punished 

 those found guilty according to their few but 

 very strong laws; candidates for membership 

 would also be presented at these meetings, and 

 with shaking of hands promise obedience ; strifes 

 would be settled, the guild dues collected, in the 

 beginning in the shape of honey, and later in 

 money. 



Laws for the protection of bees are found 

 everywhere among the ancient nations, and 

 especially stringent ones ; the old Saxon law was 

 that the theft of a swarm of bees from within an 

 enclosure, should be punished with death, and 

 the payment of nine times its worth should the 

 stock have been in an unenclosed position. 



In Moravia and Silesia the Zerotiu family did 

 much to elevate bee-culture. Some of their 

 regulations in regard to bees from the years 

 1581, 1613, and 163 ■>, are still extant, which show 

 that at this time already bee-culture must have 

 been well understood. The then beekeepers had 

 their own police, their own justices, whose mem- 

 bers were sworn, a beekeepers' guild, certain 

 privileges, and bee-taxes. 



During the glorious reign of Maria Theresa, 

 alongside improvements, bee-culture was not 

 overlooked. Professor Jantscha from Craniola, 

 was called to Vienna as Professor of Bee-culture, 

 had in Angarten, and his successor Manzbery, in 

 Belvidere, an apiary where they gave practical 

 instruction. On the 8th of April, 1775, appeared 

 that worthy patent whereby bee-culture was 

 elevated by the removal of impost on bees, the 

 unhindered utilization of the heaths, as also the 

 removal of all hindrance in the manufacture and 

 sale of honey and wax. 



b. THE VARIOUS SPECIES AND QUALITIES OP 

 HONEY. 



Good honey must be sweet, sharp, of a pleas- 

 ing aromatic taste, clear color, pure, almost 

 transparent, not watery or liquid, but on the 

 other hand not too tough or heavy, and be free 

 from all sediment. Stirred with the finger, it 

 should cling to it like bird lime ; being slowly 

 raised it should form long threads, and in drop- 

 ping it should occupy a small space and cling 

 together and disintegrate. 



As to the time of gathering, you have spring, 

 summer, and fall honey, the first of which 



