PIiMics Naturall Hiftorie. 



A theking be dead of fomc pcftilenc maladie^the commons & fubje^ts moiirnt,cbey take thought 

 and grieve with heavie cheere and fad Countenance: idle they be^ & take tio joy to do any thing : 

 they gather in no provifion : they march not forth t Onely with a certain dolefull humming they 

 gatherround about his corps, and will not away. Then requifitc it is and necefTarie, to feverand 

 part the multitude, andfo to take away the bodie from them : otherwife they wouM kcepe a loo^ 

 king at the brcathleffe careaflfejand never go from it j but ftill monc and mourne without end. 

 And even then alio they had need be chcrUlied and comfortedwith good vicftuals^ otherwi-le 

 they would pine away and die with hungCr.To concludCja man niay Ibbne kftow when Bees 

 well in health^by their chearcfulnefle and frefli hue that they carrie, 



^ D:Jeafis.of Sees» 



THerc be diieafes alfo and imperfections in their worker and namely,when they fill hot their 

 combesjorbring not to perfedion their young Bces.The M is called Cleros, like as the 

 otherBlapfigonia,Moreover, the found made by reverberAiionof the aire, -which men 

 call Ecchojis hurtfull unto them ; for they feare mightily that refounding nr >ife,comming with 

 a double ftroke. Mifts and Fogs alio trouble them much. As for Spiders.;they be^hcir greateft 

 enemies of all others, in cafe they can prevaile (b much as to enter into the hive, andwe^ive a 

 copweb within it : for they kill all the Bees,and therb is no remedic again! t it. Over and bcfides^ 

 Q that Moth or Butterflie which uieth to flie about the ihiiffe of a candle bur ning,{a poore filie flic 

 otherwife and of bafe account)here doth much hurt,and t|iaj in divers forts.i: or not only it feife 

 catethand gnaweth the waxe of their combes, but ialibtfe«y blow and leave behind them fuch 

 excrements as afterwards prove otber moths, Allbjwherefoever hegoeth and flieth within the 

 hive,heleavethbehindhimacertainefubftancc, eonimingmoft from the duftie downe of his 

 wings,wich which he ihickeneth the threds(as it were)of copwebs. There breed likewife even in 

 very wood,certain wormes,which above all things make means to eat the combes; What lliould 

 Ifpeake of their ownegreedie feeding and glutting themfelves with too much liquour of the 

 flowers,in the Spring tune elpecially ? whereupon enfiieth a daungcrous fluxe and loofenelTe of 

 their beliie. As for Oiie, it is not banc to Bees onely^but a!fo to all other hifeds : efpecialiy, if a 

 jy man dip their heads in it,and then let them be in the Sunne i for prefently they will die of it.Ma- 

 ny times I5ees are caufers ofthcirowile deathjwith getting a furfet by exceffive devouring ofho-^ 

 nie, namely,when they fee it readie to be taken out of the hive : for othervMife they are very thrif- 

 lic and overgreat fparers, and fuch, as at other times will drive out ihofe that waft prodigally and 

 beglutcinous, no leffe than fuch as be idle luskcs, and flow at worke. Nay, even their ownehonie 

 doth them hurt : for ii they be annointed therewith in their hinder parts.they will die uponit.Lo 

 how many enemies this creature (fo liberall and bountifull) hath I (ce,how many cafualties it is 

 fubjed unto land yet what be thefe I have alieadie rehearfed, in proportion and comparifoe of 

 thofe which are omitted pTheir remedies will we foeake of in convenient time and place: for this 

 prefentjcontent I will my felfe to treat onely of their natures. 



E 



Chap. xx. 



^ Hew to keepe Bees to the hive : and the manner of repairing them, 



B Eesjoyin the clapping of hands,and ringingofbrafenbafbns; at the found thereof they 

 will aflemble and come together. Whereby, it is a plaine cafe, that they have the fence of 

 hearing. When they have done their taske of workcj when they have brought toorth their 

 young ones,and fully accomplilTied all their devoire •, then they performc a folemnitie of exer- 

 cife : wherein after they have flowne abroad in the open aire at libertie, fetched their conipafle 

 about on high,gathered into rings and rounds in manner of tournament for their pleafurc.then 

 ^ acJaft when it is time of repaft, they returne home againe. The longeft time that they can live, 

 that they pafle through all daungers, and no misfortune light iiponthcm, but every thing 

 that is adverle^falloutwell and happily) is not above fevenyearcs. Andneverwasitknowne or 

 heard of,that an hive continued above ten years. Some writers be of opinion. That dead Bees if 

 they bee kept within houfe all a Wintcraand when the Spring is come^bce laid forth in the hotc 



Sunnc 



