"jG Transactions of the [Sess. 



friends across tlie water discovered that the yellow substance 

 formed in the refinement of oil, mixed with some pure Bee's-wax 

 to give the proper perfume, made very good-looking comb-foi;nda- 

 tion, and was far cheaper than genuine wax, and large quantities 

 of this compound were last year exported from the States to this 

 country. But besides Bee-keepers, there were the Bees themselves 

 which had to be deceived, and when this impure material was fixed 

 in the frames for them to work into comb, they turned up their 

 noses at it — or, more properly perhajjs, those highly sensitive organs, 

 their antennEe — and positively refused to have anything to do 

 with it. In these times of adulteration it is rather difficult to know 

 when we get a genuine article. The last instance on record is the 

 case of a man bent on self-destruction, who bought poison ; but the 

 poison was adulterated, and the man recovered ! 



Let us consider, in conclusion, what is the position of Bee-culture 

 in different countries, as far as we know, at the present time. Bees 

 ai'e found all over Eussia and Siberia — in southern Russia very ex- 

 tensively — because the peasants use honey instead of sugar ; and 

 wax-tapers, to the value of no less than £180,000, are required every 

 year for the gorgeous ritual of the Greek Church. In Russian 

 Poland some of the peasants are said to possess four hundred hives 

 each ; and in Spain, Bees are kept to a still larger extent, a single 

 parish priest in that country being known to have as many as five 

 thousand hives. Humboldt tells us that, in his time, from the island 

 of Cuba, wax to the value of 650,000 dollars was exported annually. 

 In Denmark, Bee-keeping is extensively carried on ; while in Ger- 

 many and Hungary large colonies are found. In 1873 the aggre- 

 gate number of stocks in Gennany was estimated at 1,450,000 — 

 Bavaria alone having 330,000. Bee-culture is largely encouraged 

 by the German Government : teachers in the management of Bees 

 are paid by the State, who travel through the rural districts. In 

 the villages Bee-clubs are common, and as a result of all this care, 

 Germany has produced many skilful apiarians, and contributed much 

 to our knowledge of apiculture. It is in America, however, that 

 the science has been most extensively carried on, and every scien- 

 tific appliance brought into use. America is highly productive of 

 honey-sucking flowers, and as a consequence, lai'ge honey harvests 

 are obtained. In 1874, one Bee-farm alone — that of Mr Harbison, 

 in San Diego county, California — furnished the enormous quantity 

 of 67 tons of honey. In Egypt, as the plants blossom and fruit 

 ripens aboiit six weeks earlier in Upper Egypt than in Lower, the 

 Bee-keepers in the latter, in the spring, move their hives in hun- 

 dreds in boats, and convey them up the Nile. The Bees go forag- 

 ing every day, returning at night to their hives. Then the boats 

 are gradually moved along down the river, and thus advantage is 

 taken of the succession of flowers that flourish so abundantly on 



