38 TREATISE ON THE 
This would be going inthe face of some well 
authenticated instances of honey being in- 
jured, and even rendered dangerous, in con- 
sequence of the Bees feeding on noxious 
plants. Towards the close of the year, when 
flowers become searce, and in those parts of 
the country where alders abound, and where 
onions and leeks are cultivated on a large 
scale, and allowed to rn to seed, the Bees, 
from taste, or from necessity, or from anxiety 
to complete their winter stores, are seen to 
feed on these plants, which communicate to 
the honey avery disagreeable flavor. Fa- 
ther Lamberti also assures us, that a shrub 
of Mingrelia produces a kind of honey which 
causes very deleterious effects. It is quite 
possible that the poisonous juices extracted 
from these plants might be innoxious to the 
Bees themselves, and thus the correctness 
of their taste might be so far vindicated. 
Sir J. E. Smith asserts that the nectar of 
plants is not poisonous to Bees, and an in- 
stance is given inthe American Philosophical 
Transactions, of a party of young men, who, 
