133.Bees are kept in most parts of Italy in straw hives, similar to those in use in Britain. They are also kept in wooden boxes of various kinds; and in the neighbourhood of Placentia, Cadell informs us, the hives are formed of the hollow trunk of a tree one foot in diameter, and two feet high. These hives are placed on a shelf fixed to the outer wall of the house, high up, being eight or ten feet from the ground. (Travels, &c., vol. ii. p. 144.) Sardinia has long been celebrated for its bees, one species of which produces a bitter honey. (Azuni, Hist, &c.)