BOOK IX. VI. 1-4 



wood of a tree either hollow or cut up into boards. 

 Those made of earthenware have the worst quaUties 2 

 of all, since they are burnt by the heat of summer 

 and frozen by the cold of winter. Two kinds of hives 

 remain to be described, those which are either made 

 of dung or built of bricks. Celsus was right in con- 

 demning the former because it is very liable to catch 

 fire; the latter he approved, although he made no 

 secret of its chief disadvantage, namely, that if 

 occasion should arise, it cannot be moved to another 

 site. I do not agree with him who thinks that hives 3 

 of this kind ought to be used in spite of this draw- 

 back, for it is not only against the interests of the 

 owner that they should be immovable when he wants 

 to sell them or furnish another site with hives (for 

 these considerations concern the convenience of the 

 owner alone), but the question arises as to what ought 

 to be done for the sake of the bees themselves, when 

 it is advisable that they should be sent to another 

 district because they are suffering from disease or 

 from the barrenness and poverty of the locality and yet 

 cannot be moved for the reason mentioned above — 

 a state of affairs which ought above all things to be 

 avoided. So, though holding in respect the 4 

 authority of a learned man, yet, without seeking to 

 set myself up against him, I have not omitted to 

 express my own opinion. For Celsus' chief anxiety, 

 lest the bees' quarters should be exposed to fire or 

 thieves, can be avoided by building a brick wall round 

 the hives to prevent the plundering of robbers and 

 to give protection against the violence of fire, and, 

 when the hives have to be moved it will be possible to 

 take apart the framework of the structure and move 

 the hives elsewhere. 



445 



