21. When the wind is high, they carry a stone with them for a balance. If a river is at hand they never drink anywhere else, first of all laying down their weight. If no river is near, they drink in some other place, and then vomit up their honey, and again set to work. There are two seasons for making honey, the spring and autumn. That formed in the spring is sweeter, whiter, and, on the whole, better than that formed in autumn. The best honey is made from the new wax and young flowers. The red honey is inferior, on account of the wax; for, like wine, it is injured by the vessel which contains it; this honey therefore should be dried up. When the thyme is in flower, and the comb is full of honey, it does not become inspissated. The gold-coloured honey is also good. The white honey is not formed of pure thyme, but is good for the eyes, and for wounds. Weak honey always floats on the surface, and ought to be separated. The pure honey is beneath. 22. When the woods are in flower the bees form wax; at this season, therefore, the wax ought to be taken from the hive, for they immediately make more. These are the plants from which they collect it, atractyllis, melilot, asphodel, myrtle, phleos, agnus, broom. When they can procure thyme, they mix water with it before they smear the cells. All the bees emit their excrements either on the wing, as it has been said before, or into a single cell. The small bees, it has been already remarked, are more industrious than the large ones, so that their wings become worn at the edges, and their colour black and burnt, but the bright and shiny bees are idle, like women. 23. Bees also appear to have pleasure in noises, so that they say that they collect them into their hives by striking earthen vessels and making noises. But it is very doubtful whether they hear or not, and if they hear, whether they collect together from pleasure or from fear. The bees drive out all that are idle or wasteful. They divide the work, as it has been already said; some work at the honey, others at the grubs, and others at the bee bread; some, again, form the comb, others carry water to the cells, and mix it with the honey, while others go to work. Early in the morning they are silent, until one bee arouses them by humming two or three times, when they all fly to their work; when they return again there is some disturbance at first, which gradually becomes less, until one of them flies round with a humming noise, as if warning them to sleep, when on a sudden they all become silent.