PASTURAGE. 63 



and flower-beds, instead of box ; some use thrift 

 and daisies for the same purpose. Box has the 

 character of giving honey a bitter flavour, and 

 Pliny has observed that the Romans, in laying 

 tribute upon Corsica, exacted from the inhabitants 

 two hundred pounds of wax, but wholly excepted 

 honey, on account of its being flavoured by the 

 box-tree. 



The common teasel (Dipsacus sylvestris) should 

 have a place near every bee -house, as it not only 

 supplies honey from its rich purple heads, but 

 yields a seasonable supply of water, in the cups 

 formed by the leaves at every joint of the stem, 

 which contain from a spoonful to half a pint of 

 water. This convenience is still more efficiently 

 supplied by the large floating leaves of the water 

 lily, which should if practicable be introduced 

 near every apiary. As should also the great hairy 

 willow-herb (Epilobium hirsutum), a very ornamen- 

 tal though a very common plant, growing by the 

 sides of rivulets. 



Furze, broom, heath and saintfoin, are good 

 neighbours to an apiary. The blossoms of furze 

 so abound with honey as to be pervaded strongly 

 by the scent of it, and the broom has been extolled 

 ever since the days of Pliny. Mr. Bradley speaks 

 in the highest terms of its blossoms, as affording 

 a great quantity of honey ; but he greatly prefers 

 the Spanish broom, and says that an acre of it 



