Honey 193 



Eastern North America such a scene of beauty in the 

 early summer ; Kalmia hirsuta ; Rhododendron maximum, 

 one of the most glorious of blooming plants ; Azalea nudi- 

 flora, the lovely purple azalea or pinxter flower that makes 

 the mountains of the Carolinas so charming in the spring- 

 time ; and Andromeda mariana or stagger-bush whose 

 foliage is poisonous to lambs and calves. On the other 

 hand the pretty little Andromeda nitida bears honey- 

 scented flowers that yield a nectar abundant, delicate and 

 wholesome. 



It is interesting to note that all of the above-mentioned 

 poisonous plants belong to the Heath Family that gives us 

 our blueberries, huckleberries, cranberries, wintergreens, 

 and snowberries ; and to which belongs the heather, whose 

 honey is so abundant, and so highly prized that the bees of 

 Scotland are carried to the Highlands for the purpose of 

 gathering it. 



The Heath Family offers us esteemed fruits with one 

 hand, the juices of which are never poisonous ; and with 

 the other gives us the most wonderful blooms of the 

 American forests, — blooms that convert the mountain-sides 

 into amazing flower-gardens, but whose beauty is for the 

 eye alone. 



The beautiful and fragrant yellow jessamine that turns the 

 southern swamps and vv^aysides to gold in the springtime 

 has also the reputation of yielding poisonous honey. 



With such wealth of poisonous bloom it is remarkable 

 that the honey of this country is ever fit to eat ; yet, as a 

 matter of fact there are very few instances of harm having 

 resulted from eating it. The bees prefer the harvest found 

 in wholesome plants, that also bloom in abundance. 



Pliny gives us signs by which poisonous honey can be 

 detected ; but as a matter of fact it is very seldom that 

 color or flavor betray the danger. 



13 



