THE BEE, 289

There are very many allusions to honey being extensively
used as food among the Israelites and other nations of the
period ; for instance, in Tsaiah vii., “ Butter and honey shall
he eat,” and again, ‘ Butter and honey shall every one eat
that is left in the land.” “A land flowing with milk and
honey” was a common saying, expressiye of fertility and
natural wealth. If we reverse the picture, we shall find that
these comparatively harmless little creatures were held in
great dread by the Israelites, and indeed by other nations,
their greater numbers and wild state rendering them more
formidable foes than are, in general, the peaceful and in-
teresting inmates of our cottage gardens. Pliny mentions,
that in some districts of Crete they were so troublesome as
to force the inhabitants to quit the country; and some
places in Scythia were, according to lian, quite uninha-
bitable from the same cause. Many other of the ancient ~
writers speak in a similar strain, and the Bible historians
form no exception. In Deuteronomy i. is the following ex-
pression, “ And the Amorites which dwelt in that mountain
came out against you, and chased you as bees do, and de-
stroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah:” the ancient Syriac
version and some Arabic manuscripts read, “Chased you as
bees that are smoked,” showing how old is the custom of

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