THE FLOWER AND THE BEE 



man than I liave a right to heHevc any of my readers to be, if he 

 liad not gained thereby somewliat of the most valuable of treasures, 

 namely, that inductive habit of mind — that power of judging fairly 

 of facts, without which no good or lasting work will be done, whether 

 in physical science, in politics, in philosophy, in philology, or in 

 history." 



"Take my advice for yourselves, dear readers, and for your chil- 

 dren after you; for, believe me, I am showing you the way to true 

 and useful, and, therefore, to just and deserved power. I am show- 

 ing you the way to become members of what I trust will be — what I 

 am sure ought to be — the aristocracy of the future." 



Many farmers and fruit-growers too readily assume that 

 a knowledge of the life histories of flowers can never aid them 

 in getting a better livelihood. There could be no greater mis- 

 take. The larger part of our cultivated fruits are either par- 

 tially or wholly self-sterile, and in the absence of bees and 

 other pollinating insects remain either entirely barren or largely 

 unproductive. Fruit-culture on the extensive scale in practice 

 at the present time would be impossible without the domestic 

 bee; and it is estimated by Phillips that bee-keeping annually 

 adds indirectly more to the resources of the country by flower- 

 pollination than by the sale of honey and wax. In sections 

 where immense orchards cover many square miles of territory, 

 the wild insects are wholly inadequate to pollinate the great 

 expanse of bloom, and numerous apiaries must be maintained 

 to obtain the best results. An intimate knowledge of the way 

 fruits and vegetables are pollinated is, therefore, of inestimable 

 value to the agriculturist. 



To the bee-keeper also familiarity with the honey flora is 

 indispensable, and may determine the failure or success of his 

 efforts. Nectar-bearing plants may be abundant in one local- 

 ity, and comparatively rare a few miles away. Too often if 

 there is a small surplus of honey, he does not know whether the 



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