230 HONEY. 



will in both cases be alike. F. Lamberti asserts, 

 that the best honey in the world is produced in 

 Pontus, and that its superiority is attributable to 

 the great quantity of balm growing there. In 

 this quarter of the world, the Narbonne honey is 

 regarded as the finest, owing to the rosemary 

 which abounds in the neighbourhood of Narbonne. 

 " The honey, for which Narbonne is so deservedly 

 celebrated, is every year diminishing. Bees have 

 ceased to be an object of attention to the peasan- 

 try ; they now devote their time to the vineyards, 

 and neglect the bees. The flowers of the wild 

 plants, in the neighbourhood of Narbonne, are 

 highly aromatic, and give the flavour which is 

 peculiar to its honey : this peculiarity is attributed 

 exclusively to the wild rosemary, Rosmarmus 

 ojflcinalis." (Duppa's Miscellaneous Observations 

 and Opinions on the Continent. 18.25.) Attempts 

 are said to have been made to imitate Narbonne 

 honey, by adding to other honey an infusion of 

 rosemary flowers. 



Of the power which some flowers possess of im- 

 parting deleterious qualities to their honey, I have 

 already spoken in the chapter on Pasturage. I will 

 here add, however, what has been said of the ap- 

 pearance of this pernicious kind of honey. "It is 

 usually distinguished from what is innocent, by 

 its crimson or reddish brown colour, its bitter 

 flavour, and thicker consistence ; but in Florida 



