BEE. 
415 
The honey which these insects collect will dif- 
fer in flavour, according to the country where it is 
produced: much seems to depend on soil and situa- 
tion, and the honey from Narbonne is particularly 
prized for its excellence. Bees frequently make 
long excursions into the neighbouring countries in 
search of those flowers which yield the most de- 
licious sweets, and these are generally said to grow 
in a dry and steril soil. The Abbe La Pluche 
mentions this circumstance, and informs us that it 
was confirmed to him by a gentleman with whom 
he was travelling from Chalons upon the Marne to 
Charleville. “ We were about a league and a half 
from the estate of this gentleman,” says the Abbe, 
44 which lies in the valley, on the edge of the lovely 
meadows of Attigny : as yet we saw nothing but 
heath, and could not discover any village for above 
a league in circumference. c Do you take notice,* 
said he, showing us a crop of buck-wheat, which 
refreshed us with a very agreeable scent : 4 do you 
take notice of my servants who are dispersed about 
the country, and are all at work for me.’ But per- 
ceiving that we did not understand his meaning ; — 
4 This is the whole mystery,’ continued he : 4 those 
bees, who are flying among the flowers, come hi- 
ther from a distance of two or three leagues. We 
daily see them forsake our gardens, and take their 
flight over the meadows, despising the oil and fer- 
tility of our valleys. In short, they continue their 
progress to the mountains and plains of Cham- 
paigne, where they find lavender, thyme, sweet 
