i8o The Honey-Makers 



than others. Linden honey, for instance, has been famous 

 from antiquity, and is still esteemed wherever found, 

 Lithuania in Russia being particularly noted for its lime- 

 tree honey. When first gathered it is somewhat crude and 

 with a slight turpentine taste, that disappears as the honey 

 mellows with age. 



White clover honey, gathered by the bees in preference 

 to almost any other, is by many considered the most per- 

 fect of all honey. 



Sweet clover honey has a more decided but very deli- 

 cious flavor, and is the main honey-yielding plant in some 

 sections of the country. 



Each part of the country has its own honey, and while 

 in the northern States white clover, linden, and buckwheat 

 afford the principal supply, farther south a great store 

 comes from the viper's bugloss, which was brought to this 

 country from Europe and formerly cultivated in gardens, 

 but is now a weed over large areas in the South, its beau- 

 tiful blue flower-clusters yielding a clear, colorless, and 

 delicate honey. 



Yet farther south the bees gather tribute from the cotton 

 fields, storing tons of clear honey in pure white combs, — 

 fit food for the houris, as thinks the Sultan of Turkey, who 

 has cotton honey supplied to his seraglio. 



Yet farther south the orange blossoms yield a delectable 

 and abundant sweet, while the mangroves and palmettoes 

 are not far behind in excellence. 



The best honey in Persia, Florida, and the Island of 

 Malta, though these countries are widely separated, comes 

 from the orange blossoms, which yield a valued honey wher- 

 ever they bloom. 



In the far West the white sage competes with the thyme 

 of Mount Hymettus in the excellence of its honey, although 

 honey from all members of the Sage Family is somewhat 



