374 The Honey-Makers 



the bee-hive of the holy Roman Empire ; and the Nurem- 

 berg honey-cakes are still celebrated. 



From the middle ages to near the present time the 

 German bee-masters led in the honey and wax producing 

 industry, but lately they have had to give place to the New 

 World, with its virgin bee-pastures and its great activity. 



The United States now stands at the head, the most 

 famous honey being that of California. It is to the modern 

 world what the honey of Hybla and Hyraettus was to 

 the ancient ; and it is interesting to learn that a large part 

 of it is made from the white sage, — a plant similar to the 

 Attic and Sicilian thyme, and which gives to the honey a 

 similar flavor. 



Honey is still gathered by the bees of Attica and of 

 Sicily, and the honey of Hymettus is eaten in Athens to- 

 day, there being as many as one hive to each person in the 

 province of Attica. The flowers and the bees are about 

 Hymettus as of old, and the honey retains its ancient fame, 

 though it scarcely deserves to, according to the testimony 

 of Mahaffy, who, in his "Rambles and Studies in Greece," 

 says, taking a view from the Acropolis, and noticing the 

 sterility of the soil : — 



" Then Thucydides' words come back to us, when he 

 says Attica was ' undisturbed on account of the lightness of 

 its soil,' as early invaders rather looked out for richer pas- 

 tures. This reflection, too, of Thucydides applies equally 

 to the mountains of Attica, round Athens, which are not 

 covered with rich grass and dense shrubs, like Helicon, like 

 Parnassus, like the hills of Arcadia, but seem so bare that 

 we wonder where the bees of Hymettus can find food for 

 their famous honey. It is only when the traveller ascends 

 the rocky slopes of the mountain that he finds its rugged 

 surface carpeted with quantities of litde wild flowers, too 

 insignificant to give the slightest color to the mountain, but 



