180 
THE farmer’s manual. 
quiry of the curious, as well as of all classes of socie- 
ty. I ^hall qiioie this chapter at large, and give full 
scope to the reasonings of the writers, for the pur- 
poses of general instruclion, “ Honey is a guin- 
mv, sacrharitie. fermcitative substance, and the im- 
mediaip prinriple of all vegetation, wdAouJ dislinclion. 
This elcinentary substance appears destined to the 
nourishment of all plants, and particularly in their 
infancy, in the same manner as milk is destined to 
the nourishment of the^oung viviparous animals. It 
is found in all flowersT but principally in the single 
ones ; its presence is afterwards perceived in all fruits; 
it shows itself i?i the humble flowers of our meadows, in 
the ears of corn in our fields, and in the leaves of the 
trees. It exists in the roots, as wed as in the body 
and bark of all vegetables ; it exudes from the trunks of 
trees ; finally, it appears to be the soul and vital prin- 
ciple of all plants. On losing this jirinciple, the 
plants generally decay, and it is the perioil of their 
existence. Even the aliments of the human body 
are impregnated with this fluid, and the Bees know 
how to obtain it from almost every substance. It is 
still, however, but a gummy, saccharine substance, 
which must pass into the stomach of the Bees before 
it is converted into honey'. As the productions of 
nature are infinitely varied, so the honey, its consis- 
tency, taste and colour, vary according to the produc- 
tions of each country. The same species of flowers 
yield a diflerent kind of honey according to the dis- 
tricts, and the greater or less humidity of the season. 
Even honey of different qualities is extracted from 
the same hive : that in the cells, in which there has 
been no brood, is less acrid ; the honey of the swarm 
is superior to that which has been exposed for one year 
to the vapours of the hive ; and the honey of the spring 
is superior to that of autumn. The honey extracted 
from flowers is the nectar which they enclose, and 
which was so much boasted of by the ancients, who 
formed from it the celestial beverage of their gods, 
