Chap. 15.] 
BEES. 
15 
duced at the rising of Arcturus, beginning at the day*^ before 
the ides of September. Some persons delay the gathering of 
the summer honey until the rising of Arcturus, because from 
then till the autumnal equinox there are fourteen days left, 
and it is from the equinox till the setting of the Yergiliae, a pe- 
riod of forty-eight days, that the heather is in the greatest abun- 
dance. The Athenians call this plant by the name of tetralix,^^ 
and the Euboeans sisirum, and they look upon it as affording 
great pleasure to the bees to browse upon, probably because 
there are no other flowers for them to resort to. This gather- 
ing terminates at the end of the vintage and the setting of 
the Yergilise, mostly about the ides of IN'ovember.'^^ Expe- 
rience teaches us that we ought to leave for the bees two- 
thirds of this crop, and always that part of the combs as well, 
which contains the bee-bread. 
From the winter solstice to the rising of Arcturus the bees 
are buried in sleep for sixty days, and live without any nourish- 
ment. Between the rising of Arcturus and the vernal equinox, 
they awake in the warmer climates, but even then they still 
keep within the hives, and have recourse to the provisions 
kept in reserve for this period. In Italy, however, they do 
this immediately after the rising of the Yergilice, up to which 
period they are asleep. Some persons, when they take the 
honey, weigh the hive and all, and remove just as much as 
they leave : a due sense of equity should always be stringently 
observed in dealing with them, and it is generally stated that 
if imposed upon in this division, the swarm will die of grief. • , 
It is particularly recommended also that the person who takes 
the honey should be well washed and clean : bees have a par- 
ticular aversion, too, to a thief and a menstruous woman. When 
the honey is taken, it is the best plan to drive away the bees 
by means of smoke, lest they should become irritated, or else 
devour the honey themselves. By often applying smoke, too, 
they are aroused from their idleness to work ; but if they have 
not duly incubated in the comb, it is apt to become of a 
livid colour. On the other hand, if they are smoked too often, 
they will become tainted ; the honey, too, a substance which 
turns sour at the very slightest contact with dew, will very 
*3 i2tli September. 
" Tetralicem " seems preferable to " tamaricem." 
*5 13tli Noyember. 
