BOOK IX. VIII. 4-8 



nor placed in position until evening conies, so that 

 the bees may go forth quietly in the morning after a 

 whole night's rest, and we shall need to watch care- 

 fully for about three days to see whether they all 

 sally forth in a body; for when they do this, they 

 are meditating escape. We will presently prescribe 

 what remedies we ought to apply to prevent this. 



Bees which come to us by gift or by capture are 5 

 accepted less scrupulously, although even in these 

 circumstances I would not care to possess any but the 

 best, since good and bad bees require the same ex- 

 penditure and the same labour on the part of their 

 keeper; also (and this is especially important) in- 

 ferior bees should not be mixed with those of high 

 quality, since they bring discredit upon them ; for a 

 smaller yield of honey rewards your efforts when the 

 idler swarms take part in the gathering of it. Never- 6 

 theless, since sometimes, owing to local conditions, 

 an indifferent set of bees has to be procured (though 

 never on any account should a bad one be acquired), 

 we shall exercise care in seeking out swarms by the 

 following method. Wherever there are suitable 7 

 woodlands where honey can be gathered, there is 

 nothing that the bees would sooner do than make 

 choice of springs near at hand for their use. It is 

 a good plan, therefore, usually to frequent these 

 springs from the second hour onwards and watch 

 how many bees come to them for water. For if only 

 a few are flying about (unless there are several sources 

 of water which attract them and cause them to be 

 more widely dispersed) we must conclude that there 

 is a scarcity of them, which will make us suspect that 

 the place will not produce much honey. But if they 8 

 come and go in large numbers, they inspire greater 



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