PASTURAGE. 65 



to make an apiary productive, the commons 

 abounding with wild thyme and various other 

 flowers, which the scythe never touches ; and the 

 trees, in addition to their farina, affording in some 

 seasons a profusion of honey-dew. The forward- 

 ness and activity of hives thus situated, may, in 

 part, be attributed to the sheltering protection of 

 the woods. 



Keys says he never observed bees to be par- 

 ticularly fond of the wild thyme. In this he is 

 opposed to almost all the authors who have 

 written upon the subject. Theophrastus, Pliny, 

 Varro, Columella, and various other writers, speak 

 in the highest terms of it. The Abbe Barthelemy 

 speaks thus of bees. "These insects are ex- 

 tremely partial to Mount Hymettus, which they 

 have filled with their colonies, and which is covered 

 almost every where with wild thyme and other 

 odoriferous plants ; but it is chiefly from the 

 excellent thyme the Mount produces, that they 

 extract those precious sweets, with which they 

 compose a honey in high estimation throughout 

 Greece." 



" Here their delicious task the fervent Bees, 

 In swarming millions, tend : around, athwart, 

 Through the soft air the busy nations fly, 

 Cling to the bud, and, with inserted tube, 

 Suck its pure essence, its ethereal soul ; 

 And oft with bolder wing, they soaring dare 



