BOOK IX. V. 5-vi. I 



tain heaps of sticks and stones for the use of the 

 bees, 



That upon frequent bridges they may rest 

 And spread their wings to catch the summer sun, 

 If swift east winds have caught them loitering 

 And rained on them or plunged them in the deep." 



Next, round the whole apiary, little trees of small 6 

 growth ought to be planted and in particular shrub- 

 trefoils on account of their health-giving properties 

 (for they are a remedy for bees when they are list- 

 less) ; also wild cinnamon and pines and rosemary, 

 and clumps of marjoram and thyme and violets and 

 whatever else the nature of the ground allows to be 

 profitably planted. Not only growing things but also 

 anything whatsoever which has a disagreeable and 

 noisome odour should be kept away from the apiary, 

 such as the smell of a crab when it is burnt on the 

 fire or the odour of mud taken from a marsh. Like- 

 wise let hollow rocks and shrill noises produced by 

 valleys, which the Greeks call echoes, be avoided. 



VI. When, therefore, the sites have been arranged, On the 

 beehives must be constructed in accordance with beeUve*s. 

 local conditions. If the place is rich in cork-trees, . 



we shall certainly make the most serviceable hives 

 from their bark, because they are neither cold in 

 winter nor hot in summer ; or if it grows plenty of 

 fennel-stalks, with these too, since they resemble 

 the nature of bark, receptacles can be quite as con- 

 veniently made by weaving them together. If 

 neither of these materials is at hand, the hives can be 

 made by plaiting withies together ; or, if these are 

 not available either, they will have to be made with 



" Vergil, Oeorg. IV, 27 ff. 



443 



