I see in the BEE JOURNAL, under the above caption, a question
from Mr. H. G. Colwell, of Columbus, Ohio, relative to the
effects of honey eaten by the Grecian troops, under Xenophon,
as they passed through Colchia in their famous retreat
homeward. In regard to this, you propose a query, “Why did
the ancient Colchian honey cause the above disorder?” I have
frequently had my attention turned to this subject in reading
Xenophon's Anabasis in the original, from which the extract
by Mr. Colwell is taken. From the best sources of information
at my command, the following seems to be the most rational.
The honey of Asia Minor in many localities appears to be
gathered from the flowers of the order Apocynoceæ, or
dog's-bane. Of this order, Prof. Wilson, in his botany,
page 588, observes: “These plants possess active, and often
suspicious qualities, residing in the white juice with which
the order is pervaded, and in the seeds, which are often
deadly poisons. The alkaloid _strychnine_, or _strychinea_,
one of the most violent poisons, is the active principle
of the Strychorea Nux-vomica, of India. It is sometimes
administered as a medicine, but with doubtful success; a
single seed of one species is sufficient to kill 20 persons.
The order is generally emetic.”
In corroboration of this, I will give you the opinion of the
celebrated Ainsworth, who traveled over the route of the
Grecians, and took notes of all the localities and incidents
recorded by Xenophon. He observes that “this fact of the
honey of Asia Minor being, in certain places, and at certain
seasons, of a poisonous nature, was known to all antiquity,
and is very common at the present day, so much so, that I
have known the peasants to inquire if we would prefer the
bitter or the sweet honey, for the honey so qualified has a
slight, but not unpleasant, bitterness, and is preferred by
many, from producing, when taken in moderate quantities, the
effect of slight intoxication. Pliny notices two kinds of
honey, one found at Heraclea, in Pontus, and another among
the Sanni or Mocrones. The first he supposed to be produced
by a plant called Ægolethron, or goatsbane; the second by a
species of rhododendron. Dioscorides, Diodorus, Siculus and
Aristotle, all notice the honey of Heraclea Pontica. The
celebrated botanist, Tournefort, ascertained on the spot,
that the honey of bees feeding on the Azalea Pontica, as
also on the Rhododendron Ponticum, possessed mischievous
properties; but as the bitter and intoxicating honey is
found in many parts of Asia Minor, where these plants do
not flower, it is extremely probable that these peculiar
properties are further derived from the flower of the Nerium
Oleander, or common rose-laurel, the leaves of which are
known to be acrid and poisonous. The natural family to which
the rose-laurel belongs (Apocynaceæ) is distinguished by
plants endued with dangerous and fatal properties, and these
act on the nerves so as to produce stupefaction. Rhodoraceæ
also possesses narcotic properties, but in a less marked
degree.”
It appears from this, that the honey gathered by the bees
from these poisonous plants, possessed some of the inherent
qualities of the plants themselves, and operated like a
narcotic or opiate on the nerves, producing stupefaction
and intoxication. If you see proper you can give the above
a place in the Weekly, with which I am, so far, very well
pleased.
Sago, Ohio.
For the American Bee Journal.
Combined Summer and Winter Stand.