Chaps. 30-47.

Chap. 30.—Three Varieties of Trefoil: The Myophonum.

The leaves of trefoil also are employed for making chaplets. There are three varieties: the first being called by the Greeks sometimes “minyanthes,” [The Psoranthea bituminosa of Linnæus. It is found on declivities near the sea-coast, in the south of Europe.] and sometimes “asphaltion;” the leaves of it, which the garland-makers employ, are larger than those of the other kinds. The second variety, known as the “oxytriphyllon,” [“Pointed trefoil.” Pliny has probably committed an error here, as Dioscorides makes oxyphyllum, minyanthes, and asphaltium to be different names of the same variety. Sprengel, however, identifies this pointed trefoil with the Trifolium Italicum of Linnæus.] has a pointed leaf; and the third has the smallest leaf of them all. Among these plants there are some which have a tough, sinewy stem, such as marathron, [The Anethum fæniculum of Linnæus. See B. viii. c. 41, B. xx. c. 95, and B. xxx. c. 9.] for instance, hippomarathron, [See B. xx. c..] and the myophonum. [The “mouse-killer.” Probably the Aconitum napellus of Linnæus. See B. xxvii. c. 2.] The umbels, too, of fennel-giant and the purple flowers [See B. xvi. c. 62.] of the ivy are employed for this purpose; as also another kind of ivy very similar to the wild rose, [Fée remarks, that there is no such ivy in existence; he agrees with Dalechamps in the opinion that Pliny has confounded κίσσος, “ivy,” with κίστος, the “rock-rose.” See B. xvi. c. 62.] the colour only of which is attractive, the flower being quite inodorous. There are also two [The Daphne Cnidium and the Daphne Cneorum of Linnæus. See B. xxiii. c., and B. xv. c. 7.] varieties used of the cneorum, the black and the white, this last being odoriferous: they are both of them provided with branches, and they blossom after the autumnal equinox. [In reality, they blossom in April and May, and mostly a second time in autumn as well, the Daphne Cneorum in particular.]

(10.) There are the same number of varieties, also, of origanum employed in making chaplets, one of which is destitute of seed, the other, which is also odoriferous, being known as the Cretan [See B. xx. c..] origanum.

Chap. 31.—Two Varieties of Thyme. Plants Produced from Blossoms and Not from Seed.

There are also as many varieties of thyme [Under the head “Thymus,” Fée thinks that both the Satureia capitata of Linnæus, headed savory, and the Thymus vulgaris, and Thymus zygis of Linnæus (varieties of thyme), should be included.] employed, the one white, the other dark: [Fée thinks that in the expression “nigricans,” he may allude to the deep red of the stalk of some kinds of thyme, more particularly at the end of summer. It is the Thymus zigis that has a white, downy stem.] it flowers about the summer solstice, when the bees cull from it. From this plant a sort of augury is derived, as to how the honey is likely to turn out: for the bee-keepers have reason to look for a large crop when the thyme blossoms in considerable abundance. Thyme receives great injury from showers of rain, and is very apt to shed its blossom. The seed of thyme is so minute [From Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. 2, and De Causis, B. i. c. 5. Fée suggests, that the seed, lying at the bottom of the calyx, may have escaped notice, and that in reality, when the ancients imagined they were sowing the blossoms, they were putting the seed in the earth. That, in fact, seems to agree with the view which Pliny takes of the matter.] as to be imperceptible, and yet that of origanum, which is also extremely minute, does not escape the sight. But what matters it that Nature has thus concealed it from our view? For we have reason to conclude that it exists in the flower itself; which, when sown in the ground, gives birth to the plant—what is there, in fact, that the industry of man has left untried?

The honey of Attica is generally looked upon as the best in all the world; for which reason it is that the thyme of that country has been transplanted, being reproduced, as already stated, with the greatest difficulty, from the blossom. But there is also another peculiarity in the nature of the thyme of Attica, which has greatly tended to frustrate these attempts—it will never live except in the vicinity of breezes from the sea. In former times, it was the general belief that this is the case with all kinds of thyme, and that this is the reason why it does not grow in Arcadia: [Which lies in the interior of the Peloponnesus.] at a period when it was universally supposed, too, that the olive never grows beyond three hundred stadia [See B. xv. c. 1.] from the sea. But, at the present day, we know for certain that in the province of Gallia Narbonensis the Stony Plains [“Lapidei Campi.” See B. iii. c. 5.] are quite overgrown with thyme; this being, in fact, the only source of revenue to those parts, thousands of sheep [Similar to our practice of depasturing sheep on Dartmoor and other favourite moors and downs.] being brought thither from distant countries to browse upon the plant.

Chap. 32.—Conyza.

There are two varieties of conyza, also, employed in making chaplets, the male [Fée takes this to be the Inula viscosa of Desfontaines, and identifies the other kind with the Inula pulicaria of Linnæus. See B. xx. cc.,.] plant and the female. The difference consists in the leaves, those of the female plant being thinner, more tapering, and narrower, and those of the male being of an imbricated shape, the plant having a greater number of branches. The blossom, too, of the male plant is more vivid than that of the female: in both kinds it is late in making its appearance, not till after the rising of Arcturus.

The smell of the male conyza is more powerful than that of the female plant: the latter, however, is of a more penetrating nature, for which reason it is that the female plant is held in higher esteem for the treatment of the bites of animals. The leaves of the female plant have exactly the smell of honey; and the root of the male has received the name of “libanotis” from some: we have already made mention [B. xx. c. 64.] of it on a previous occasion.

Chap. 33.—The Flower of Jove. The Hemerocalles. The Helenium. The Phlox. Plants in Which the Branches and Roots Are Odoriferous.

Of the following plants, too, it is only the leaves that are employed for chaplets—the flower of Jove, [Supposed to be the same as the Agrostemma coronaria of Linnæus.] the amaracus, the hemerocalles, [Sprengel identifies it with the Pancratium maritimum of Linnæus. As described by Dioscorides, however, Fée takes it to be the Lilium Martagon, or Turk’s-cap lily. See c. of this Book.] the abrotonum, the helenium, [This is different from the Helenium of the Greeks, the Inula Helenium of Linnæus, mentioned in B. xv. c. 7. Sprengel identifies it with the Teucrium Creticum of Linnæus, the Cretan germander.] sisymbrium, [See B. xx. c..] and wild thyme, all of them ligneous plants, growing in a manner similar to the rose. The flower of Jove is pleasing only for its colours, being quite inodorous; which is the case also with the plant known by the Greek name of “phlox.” [“Flame.” Sprengel identifies it with the Agrostemma coronaria of Linnæus, making the flower of Jove to be the Agrostemma flos Jovis.] All the plants, too, which we have just mentioned are odoriferous, both in the branches and the leaves, with the sole exception of wild thyme. [Fée remarks, that if this is our Thymus serpyllum, this exception is inexact.] The helenium is said to have had its origin in the tears of Helen, and hence it is that the kind grown in the island of Helena [For two islands of this name, see B. iv. c. 20, and c. 23.] is so highly esteemed. It is a shrub which throws out its tiny branches along the ground, some nine inches in length, with a leaf very similar to that of wild thyme.

Chap. 34.—The Abrotonum. The Adonium: Two Varieties of It. Plants Which Reproduce Themselves. The Leucanthemum.

The flower of the abrotonum, [The female Abrotonum is identified with the Santolina chamæcyparissus of Linnæus: the little-cypress Santoline. The male is the Artemisia abrotonum of Linnæus, our southern-wood.] which makes its appearance in summer, has a powerful but agreeable smell; it is of a bright golden colour. Left to range at large, it reproduces itself by layers from the tops of the branches: but when it is propagated by the hand of man, it is better to grow it from the seed than from the roots or slips, though even from the seed it is not grown without considerable trouble. The young plants are transplanted in summer, which is the case also with the adonium. [Pliny has probably committed an error here in transcribing from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. 7, who, when speaking of the abrotonum, says, “It is transplanted in earthen pots, in the way employed for the gardens of Adonis,” these gardens being moveable parterres, laid out in pots or vases. We cannot agree with Hardouin, who looks upon the Adonium as a variety of the Abrotonum, and censures Salmasius for accusing Pliny of committing an error here.] They are both of them plants of a very chilly nature, though, at the same time, they are apt to receive injury if too much exposed to the sun: when, however, they have gained sufficient strength, they throw out branches like those of rue.

The leucanthemum [The “White flower.” See B. xxii. c..] has a similar smell to that of the abrotonum: it is a foliated plant, with a white flower.

Chap. 35. (11.)—Two Varieties of the Amaracus.

Diocles, the physician, and the people of Sicily have given the name of “amaracus” to the plant known in Egypt and Syria as sampsuchum. [See B. xiii. c. 2. The sampsuchum, or amaracus, is generally thought to be the sweet marjoram, or Origanum marjorana of Linnæus. But Fée identifies it with the Origanum majoranoides of Willdenow, our organy, wild or false marjoram.] It is reproduced two ways, from seed and from cuttings, being more long-lived than the preceding plants, and possessed of a more agreeable smell. The amaracus, like the abrotonum, has a great abundance of seed, but while the abrotonum has a single root, which penetrates deep into the ground, those of the other plant adhere but lightly to the surface of the earth. Those of the other plants which love the shade, water, and manure, are generally set at the beginning of autumn, and even, in some localities, in spring.

Chap. 36.—The Nyctegreton, Chenomyche, or Nyctalops.

Democritus has regarded the nyctegreton [The “night-watcher.” According to Sprengel, this is the Cæsalpina pulcherrima of Linnæus. But, as Fée says, that is entirely an Indian plant, and has only been introduced but very recently into Europe. Hardouin identifies it with a plant called “lunaria” by the naturalists of his day, which shines, he says, with the moon at night.] as one of the most singular of plants. According to that author, it is of a dark red colour, has leaves like those of a thorn, and creeps upon the ground. He says that it grows in Gedrosia [The Cæsalpina pulcherrima is not to be found in or near Gedrosia (in ancient Persia), but solely on the shores of the Bay of Bengal.] more particularly, and that it is taken up by the roots immediately after the vernal equinox, and dried in the moonlight for thirty days; after which preparation it emits light by night. He states also, that the Magi and the kings of Parthia employ this plant in their ceremonies when they make a vow to perform an undertaking; that another name given to it is “chenomyche,” [From χῆνες “geese” and μύχος a “corner;” because geese run into a corner on seeing it.] from the circumstance that, at the very sight of it, geese will manifest the greatest alarm; and that by some persons, again, it is known as the “nyctalops,” [As to the meaning of this word, see B. xxviii. c. 47.] from the light which it emits at a considerable distance by night.

Chap. 37.—Where the Melilote Is Found.

The melilote [See c. of this Book.] is found growing everywhere, though that of Attica is held in the highest esteem. In all countries, however, it is preferred when fresh gathered; that too, the colour of which is not white, but approaches as nearly as possible to the colour of saffron. In Italy, however, it is the white kind that is the most odoriferous.

Chap. 38.—The Succession in Which Flowers Blossom: The Spring Flowers. The Violet. The Chaplet Anemone. The Œnanthe. The Melanion. The Helichrysos. The Gladiolus. The Hyacinth.

The first of the flowers that announce the approach of spring is the white [This has been thought to be the Cheiranthus incanus, Cheiranthus annus, and Leucoium vernum of modern botany; but Fée is of opinion that it is next to impossible to identify it. See c. of this Book.] violet; indeed, in warm localities, it is seen peeping out in the winter even. Next to it comes the violet known as the ion, and the purple violet; then the flame-coloured flower, the name of which is phlox, [See c. of this Book.] but only the wild one. The cyclaminum [See B. xxv. c. 67.] blossoms twice a year, in spring and autumn, standing equally in awe as it does of summer and of winter. The narcissus and the lily, in the parts beyond sea, are a little later than the preceding plants: but in Italy, as we have already [In c. 11 of this Book. There is no late variety of the lily known at the present day.] stated, they are in blossom with the rose. In Greece, too, the anemone [Or “wind flower:” the Anemone coronaria of Linnæus.] blooms even later; it is the flower of a wild bulb, and is altogether different from the one [A ranunculus. See c. of this Book.] which we shall have occasion to mention among the medicinal plants.

Next, after these, come the œnanthe, [Or “vine-blossom.” See c. of this Book.] the melanion, [Or “black violet,” mentioned by Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. 7. Pliny may probably mean the purple violet, mentioned by him in c. 14 of this Book. “Melanthium” is another reading.] and, among the wild plants, the helichrysos; [Not improbably the same as the “holochrysos,” mentioned in c. 24 of this Book.] then, another kind of anemone, known as the “limonia,” [“Meadow” anemone.] and after that the gladiolus, [“The little sword.” See c. of this Book.] accompanied by the hyacinth. Last of all, among the spring flowers, is the rose, which, with the exception indeed of the cultivated kinds, is also the first to fade. Among the others, the flowers which last the longest, are the hyacinth, the white violet, and the œnanthe; but to make this last keep any time in flower, it is necessary to gather it repeatedly, to prevent it from running to seed. The œnanthe grows in warm localities, and has exactly the smell of the vine when in blossom, to which circumstance it is indebted for its name.

There are two fabulous stories attached to the hyacinth; [There have been conflicting opinions as to the identification of the hyacinth of the ancients. Linnæus identifies it with the Delphinium Ajacis: Sprengel and Salmasius with the Gladiolus communis: Sibthorp with the Gladiolus communis triphyllos: Dodonæus and Porta the Lilium bulbiferum: and Martyn and Fée the Lilium Martagon of Linnæus, the Turk’s-cap lily. From what Pliny says in cc. 39 and 97 of this Book, and in B. xxv. c. 80, it is pretty clear that under the name of hyacinth he has confused the characteristics of two different plants. The hyacinth, too, of Dioscorides, B. iii. c. 5, is a different plant, Fée remarks, being the Hyacinthus comosus of modern botanists.] according to one of them, it bears the impress of the grief [The Greek ΑΙ, “Alas!” which the ancients fancied they saw impressed on the leaves.] which Apollo felt for the youth [See Ovid’s Met. B. x. l. 162-220.] whom he had so tenderly loved; and we learn from the other, that it derives its name from the blood [See Ovid’s Met. B. xiii. l. 397, et seq.] of Ajax, the veins being so arranged in the flower as to form the Greek letters ΑΙ inscribed upon it.

The helichrysos has a flower resembling gold in appearance, a small leaf, and a fine, slender, but hard, stem. According to the Magi, the person who crowns himself with a chaplet composed of this flower, and takes his unguents from a box of gold, of the kind generally known as “apyron,” [“Unsullied by fire.”] will be sure to secure esteem and glory among his fellowmen. Such are the flowers of spring.

Chap. 39.—The Summer Flowers—The Lychnis: The Tiphyon. Two Varieties of the Pothos. Two Varieties of the Orsinum. The Vincapervinca or Chamædaphne—A Plant Which Is an Ever-green.

The summer flowers come next, the lychnis [Or “light” flower: the Agrostemma coronaria of Linnæus.] the flower of Jove, and another kind of lily, [Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. 7, mentions the “cerinthus” next after the flower of Jove: Pliny seems to have taken it for a kind of lily. This flower has not been identified.] as also the tiphyon [Sprengel takes this to be the Lavandula spica, or Lavender.] and the amaracus, surnamed that of Phrygia. Put the most remarkable flower of all is the pothos, [Hardouin identifies this with the Lychnis Chalcedonica, or Cross of Jerusalem, with which opinion Fée seems inclined to coincide. Other commentators incline to the opinion that it is the Jasminum fruticans, a plant in which, beyond its smell, there is nothing at all remarkable. The exotic monocotyledon, known as the “Pothos,” has no connection with the plant here mentioned.] of which there are two varieties, one with the flower of the hyacinth, [This, according to some, is the Lychnis Chalcedonica, the next being the Jasminum fruticans.] and another with a white flower, which is generally found growing about graves, and is better able to stand bad weather. The iris, [As known to us, all the varieties of the iris blossom in spring.] also, blossoms in summer. All these flowers pass away, however, and fade; upon which others assume their places in autumn, a third kind of lily, [The purple lily, Fée thinks.] for instance, saffron, and two varieties of the orsinum [If this is the correct reading, which is very doubtful, this plant is unknown. M. Jan has suggested that Pliny, in copying from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. 7, has read ὀρσινὸς by mistake for ὀρεινός, “mountainous,” the original meaning being, “Two varieties of saffron, one of them growing on the mountains, the other cultivated;” and this last word being rendered by Pliny “hebes,” translated above as meaning “inodorous.”] —one of them inodorous and the other scented—making their appearance, all of them, as soon as the first autumnal showers fall.

The garland-makers employ the flowers of the thorn [The Acanthus, probably. See B. xxii. c., and B. xxiv. c. 66.] even for making chaplets; the tender shoots, too, of the white thorn are sometimes preserved as a choice morsel [Forskhal speaks of an acanthus in Arabia, the leaves of which are eaten raw. Fée thinks, that these shoots might be eaten without any inconvenience, but doubts if they would make such a tempting morsel as Pliny describes.] to tempt the palate.

Such is the succession of the summer flowers in the parts beyond sea: in Italy, the violet is succeeded by the rose, the lily comes on while the rose is still in flower, the cyanus [Or blue-bell.] succeeds the rose, and the amaranth the cyanus. As to the vincapervinca, [Linnæus and other authorities identify this with the Clematis of Dioscorides, the Vinca major and minor of modern botany, our periwinkle. Fée, however, is inclined to identify it with the Chamædaphne, or ground-laurel of B. xv. c. 39, the Ruscus racemosus of Linnæus.] it is an evergreen, the branches from which run out like so many strings, the leaves surrounding the stem at each of the knots: though more generally used for the purposes of ornamental gardening, it is sometimes employed in chaplets when there is a deficiency of other flowers. From the Greeks this plant has received the name of “chamædaphne.”

Chap. 40.—The Duration of Life in the Various Kinds of Flowers.

At the very utmost, the white [See c. of this Book.] violet never lasts longer than three years: should it exceed that period, it is sure to degenerate. The rose-tree will last so long as five years without being pruned or cauterized, [This method of cultivation, also mentioned by Theophrastus, is never employed in modern horticulture.] methods by which it is made to grow young again. We have already stated [In c. 10 of this Book.] that the nature of the soil is of the very greatest importance; for in Egypt, we find, all these plants are perfectly inodorous, and it is only the myrtle that has any particular smell. In some countries, too, the germination of all the plants precedes that in other parts of the world by so long a period as two months even. The rose-beds should be well spaded immediately after the west winds begin to prevail, and, a second time, at the summer solstice: every care, however, should be paid, between these two periods, to keeping the ground well raked and cleaned.

Chap. 41. (12.)—Plants Which Should Be Sown Among Flowers for Bees. The Cerintha.

Bees and beehives, too, are a subject extremely well suited to a description of gardens and garland plants, while, at the same time, where they are successfully managed, they are a source, without any great outlay, of very considerable profit. For bees, then, the following plants should be grown—thyme, apiastrum, the rose, the various violets, the lily, the cytisus, the bean, the fitch, cunila, the poppy, conyza, [See B. xix. c..] cassia, the melilote, melissophyllum, [“Honey-leaf.” The Melissa officinalis of Linnæus: our balm-gentle. It is the same as the “apiastrum,” though Pliny has erroneously made them distinct plants.] and the cerintha. [“Wax-flower.” The Cerinthe major of Linnæus: the greater honeywort.] This last is a plant with a white leaf, bent inwards, the stem of it being a cubit in height, with a flower at the top presenting a concavity full of a juice like honey. Bees are remarkably fond of the flowers of these plants, as also the blossoms of mustard, a thing that is somewhat surprising, seeing that it is a well-known fact that they will not so much as touch the blossoms of the olive: for which reason, it will be as well to keep that tree at a distance from them. [See B. xi. c. 8. On the contrary, Virgil says, Georg. iv. l. 20, that a wild olive-tree should be planted near the hives, to protect them with its shade. Varro says also, De Re Rust. iii. 16, that the bee extracts honey from the olive-tree; but according to Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. ix. c. 64, it is from the leaf, and not the flower of that tree that the honey is extracted.]

There are other trees, again, which should be planted as near the hives as possible, as they attract the swarm when it first wings its flight, and so prevent the bees from wandering to any considerable distance.

Chap. 42.—The Maladies of Bees, and the Remedies for Them.

The greatest care, too, should be taken to keep the cornel [See B. xv. c. 31. Fée is inclined to doubt the correctness of the assertion here made by Pliny.] at a distance from the hives; for if the bees once taste the blossoms of it, they will speedily die of flux and looseness. The best remedy in such case is to give them sorb apples beaten up with honey, or else human urine or that of oxen, or pomegranate seeds moistened with Aminean [See B. xiv. c. 5. The remedies for the diseases of bees in modern times are of a very similar nature, but attention is equally paid to the proper ventilation of the hives.] wine. It is a very good plan, too, to plant broom about the hives, the bees being extremely fond of the blossoms.

Chap. 43.—The Food of Bees.

In relation to the food of bees, I have ascertained a very singular fact, and one that well deserves to be mentioned. There is a village, called Hostilia, on the banks of the river Padus: the inhabitants of it, when food [This plan is still adopted on the river Po, the ancient Padus, as also at Beauce, in the south of France, where the hives are carried from place to place upon carts. In the north of England it is the practice to carry the hives to the moors in autumn.] fails the bees in their vicinity, place the hives in boats and convey them some five miles up the river in the night. In the morning the bees go forth to feed, and then return to the boats; their locality being changed from day to day, until at last, as the boats sink deeper and deeper in the water, it is ascertained that the hives are full, upon which they are taken home, and the honey is withdrawn.

(13.) In Spain, too, for the same purpose, they have the hives carried from place to place on the backs of mules.

Chap. 44.—Poisoned Honey, and the Remedies to Be Employed by Those Who Have Eaten of It.

Indeed, the food of bees is of the very greatest importance, as it is owing to this that we meet with poisonous [This has been doubted by Spielmann, but it is nevertheless the truth; the nature of the sugar secreted by the glands of the nectary, being analogous to that of the plant which furnishes it. The honey gathered from aconite in Switzerland has been known to produce vertigo and even delirium. Dr. Barton also gives a similar account of the effects of the poisonous honey collected from the Kalmia latifolia in Pennsylvania; and Geoffroi Saint Hilaire says that, having eaten in Brazil some honey prepared by a wasp called “lecheguana,” his life was put in very considerable danger thereby. Xenophon also speaks of the effects of the intoxicating or maddening honey upon some of the Ten Thousand in their retreat.] honey even. At Heraclia [The rhododendrons and rose laurels, Fée says, which are so numerous in these parts, render the fact here stated extremely probable.] in Pontus, the honey is extremely pernicious in certain years, though it is the same bees that make it at other times. Authors, however, have not informed us from what flowers this honey is extracted; we shall, therefore, take this opportunity of stating what we have ascertained upon the subject.

There is a certain plant which, from the circumstance that it proves fatal to beasts of burden, and to goats in particular, has obtained the name of “ægolethron,” [“Goats’ death.” Fée says that this is the Rhododendron Ponticum of Linnæus. Desfontaines identifies it with the Azalea Pontica of modern botany.] and the blossoms of which, steeped in the rains of a wet spring, contract most noxious properties. Hence it is that it is not every year that these dangerous results are experienced. The following are the signs of the honey being [In reality, there are no visible signs by which to detect that the honey is poisonous.] poisonous: it never thickens, the colour is redder than usual, and it emits a peculiar smell which immediately produces sneezing; while, at the same time, it is more weighty than a similar quantity of good honey. Persons, when they have eaten of it, throw themselves on the ground to cool the body, which is bathed with a profuse perspiration. There are numerous remedies, of which we shall have occasion to speak in a more appropriate place; [B. xxix. c. 31.] but as it will be as well to mention some of them on the present occasion, by way of being provided for such insidious accidents, I will here state that old honied wine is good, mixed with the finest honey and rue; salt meats, also, taken repeatedly in small quantities, and as often brought up again.

It is a well-known fact that dogs, after tasting the excretions of persons suffering from these attacks, have been attacked with similar symptoms, and have experienced the same kind of pains.

Still, however, it is equally well ascertained, that honied wine prepared from this honey, when old, is altogether innoxious; and that there is nothing better than this honey, mixed with costus, [See B. xii. c. 25.] for softening the skin of females, or, combined with aloes, for the treatment of bruises.

Chap. 45.—Maddening Honey.

In the country of the Sanni, in the same part of Pontus, there is another kind of honey, which, from the madness it produces, has received the name of “mænomenon.” [Μαινόμενον, “maddening.”] This evil effect is generally attributed to the flowers of the rhododendron, [The ægolethron of the preceding Chapter, Fée thinks. If so, the word rhododendron, he says, would apply to two plants, the Nerion oleander or rose laurel (see B. xvi. c. 33), and the Rhododendron Ponticum.] with which the woods there abound; and that people, though it pays a tribute to the Romans in wax, derives no profit whatever from its honey, in consequence of these dangerous properties. In Persis, too, and in Gætulia, a district of Mauritania Cæsariensis, bordering on the country of the Massæsyli, there are poisonous honeycombs found; and some, too, only partly so, [Fée refuses to credit this: but still such a thing might accidentally happen.] one of the most insidious things that possibly could happen, were it not that the livid colour of the honey gives timely notice of its noxious qualities. What can we suppose to have possibly been the intention of Nature in thus laying these traps in our way, giving us honey that is poisonous in some years and good in others, poisonous in some parts of the combs and not in others, and that, too, the produce in all cases of the self-same bees? It was not enough, forsooth, to have produced a substance in which poison might be administered without the slightest difficulty, but must she herself administer it as well in the honey, to fall in the way of so many animated beings? What, in fact, can have been her motive, except to render mankind a little more cautious and somewhat less greedy?

And has she not provided the very bees, too, with pointed weapons, and those weapons poisoned to boot? So it is, and I shall, therefore, without delay, set forth the remedies to counteract the effects of their stings. It will be found a very excellent plan to foment the part stung with the juice of mallows [These asserted remedies would be of no use whatever, Fée says.] or of ivy leaves, or else for the person who has been stung to take these juices in drink. It is a very astonishing thing, however, that the insects which thus carry these poisons in their mouths and secrete them, should never die themselves in consequence; unless it is that Nature, that mistress of all things, has given to bees the same immunity from the effects of poison which she has granted against the attacks of serpents to the Psylli [See B. vii. c. 2.] and the Marsi among men.

Chap. 46. (14.)—Honey That Flies Will Not Touch.

Another marvellous fact, again, connected with honey in Crete. Upon Mount Carina in that island, which is nine miles in circuit, there is not a fly to be found, and the honey that is made there no fly will touch. [Fée seems to take it for granted that Pliny is speaking here of honey made by other insects than bees; but such does not appear to be the case.] It is by this circumstance that honey said to have come from that district is usually tested, it being highly prized for medicinal preparations.

Chap. 47.—Beehives, and the Attention Which Should Be Paid to Them.

The hives ought to have an aspect due east, [Fée remarks here that Pliny is right, and that Columella and Palladius are wrong, who would have the hives to look due north.] but never looking towards the north-east or the west. The best hives are those made of bark, the next best those of fennel-giant, and the next of osier: many persons, too, have them made of mirror-stone, [Lapis specularis: a sort of talc, probably. See B. iii. c. 4. B. ix. c. 56. B. xv. c. 1. B. xix. c. 23, and B. xxxvi. c. 45.] for the purpose of watching [In B. ix. c. 16, he mentions hives made of horn for this purpose. Glass hives are now made for the purpose, but the moisture which adheres to the interior of the glass prevents the operations of the bees from being watched with any degree of nicety.] the bees at work within. It is the best plan to anoint the hives all over with cow-dung. The lid of the hive should be made to slide from behind, so as to admit of being shut to within, in case the hive should prove too large or their labours unproductive; for, if this is not done, the bees are apt to become discouraged and abandon their work. The slide may then be gradually withdrawn, the increase of space being imperceptible to the bees as the work progresses. In winter, too, the hives should be covered with straw, and subjected to repeated fumigations, with burnt cow-dung more particularly. As this is of kindred [“Cognatum hoc.” He probably alludes to the notion entertained by the ancients that bees might be reproduced from the putrefied entrails of an ox, as wasps from those of a horse. See the story of Aristæus in B. iv. of Virgil’s Georgics.] origin with the bees, the smoke produced by it is particularly beneficial in killing all such insects as may happen to breed there, such as spiders, for instance, moths, [Or butterflies—“papiliones.”] and wood-worms; [“Teredines.”] while, at the same time, it stimulates the bees themselves to increased activity. In fact, there is little difficulty in getting rid of the spiders, but to destroy the moths, which are a much greater plague, a night must be chosen in spring, just when the mallow is ripening, there being no moon, but a clear sky: flambeaux are then lighted before the hives, upon which the moths precipitate themselves in swarms into the flame.