CHAP. 13. (13.)—WHERE THE BEST HONEY IS PRODUCED.
The honey is always best in those countries where it is to
be found deposited in the calix of the most exquisite flowers,
such, for instance, as the districts of Hymettus and Hybla,
in Attica and Sicily respectively, and after them the island of
Calydna. [Note] At first, honey is thin, like water, after which it
effervesces for some days, and purifies itself like must. On
the twentieth day it begins to thicken, and soon after becomes
covered with a thin membrane, which gradually increases
through the scum which is thrown up by the heat. The
honey of the very finest flavour, and the least tainted by the
leaves of trees, is that gathered from the foliage of the oak
and the linden, and from reeds.