The honeycomb is made from flowers, and the materials for the
wax they gather from the resinous gum of trees, while honey is
distilled from dew, and is deposited chiefly at the risings of the
constellations or when a rainbow is in the sky: and as a general
rule there is no honey before the rising of the Pleiads. (The bee,
then, makes the wax from flowers. The honey, however, it does not
make, but merely gathers what is deposited out of the atmosphere;
and as a proof of this statement we have the known fact that
occasionally bee-keepers find the hives filled with honey within the
space of two or three days. Furthermore, in autumn flowers are
found, but honey, if it be withdrawn, is not replaced; now, after
the withdrawal of the original honey, when no food or very little is
in the hives, there would be a fresh stock of honey, if the bees
made it from flowers.) Honey, if allowed to ripen and mature, gathers
consistency; for at first it is like water and remains liquid for
several days. If it be drawn off during these days it has no
consistency; but it attains consistency in about twenty days. The
taste of thyme-honey is discernible at once, from its peculiar
sweetness and consistency.
Pages:
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282