REPORT ON FORESTS. 291 



Apiculture, although it requires considerable skill in manipu- 

 lation, should be a subsidiary forest occupation. This has been 

 strongly recommended to the forestry people throughout 

 Europe who have their homes in the forest. In South Jersey 

 there is abundant bee pasturage. The locust, the linden, the 

 catalpa, the chestnut, the red-maple, the hazel, laurel, huckle 

 and blue-berries, grape vines, willows, holly, persimmon, mag- 

 nolia and a host of other plants, yield honey, or pollen. From 

 pollen bee-bread is manufactured on which the larvae are fed. 

 From buds, etc., the bees collect a viscid glue, or propolis, with 

 which they strengthen their cells, and fill up the cracks in their 

 hives as a protection against cold. 



In order to secure a fine type of bee it is necessary to sup- 

 plant the native queen with one of a better variety, either 

 Italian or Carniolan.* 



Besides gathering large quantities of honey, bees materially 

 increase the fruit and seed crops by fertilizing the flowers. 



Poultry-raising is also an important subsidiary occupation. 

 In the dry soil and mild climate of the Pines chickens and tur- 

 keys, and along the rivers water-fowl, thrive, securing through- 

 out a large portion of the year their own livelihood, and at the 

 same time do incalculable service to the forest farmer in restrain- 

 ing insects, t 



It is, in short, through a combination of several of these indus- 

 tries, which are minor only in name, that forestry and farming 

 may become profitable on soil which is not naturally fertile and 

 where many people own only small areas. 



The destruction of vast areas of forest without regard to the 

 future has a deleterious sociological effect upon the standard of 

 life and character of the people of such regions. In South 



*The domestic bee in America (Apis mellifica) was introduced by early settlers from Europe. They 

 have multipled and become common. The Cyprian race from the Island of Cyprus has produced the 

 largest yield of honey on record for a single colony in America. They are the most assiduous of bees, 

 but are very sensitive and require great care in manipulation. The Italian variety is also famous and 

 easier to handle. The gentlest of bees, however, is the gray race of the Mountains of Carniola (Krain, 

 near the Adriatic) in Austria. This bee is steadily growing in favor in America. See "The Honey 

 Bee," by Frank Benton, publication cf the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



f While visiting the Dunes of Holland I was told that hens were successfully used to combat an 

 insect which devoured the sedge which held the sand. They were kept on the dunes in large quantities 

 and as early as three o'clock in the morning were actively at work. I was also told by several willow- 

 growers in Europe that when their plantations become infested with insects they simply let in their 

 chickens, which soon devour the bugs. One of the most beneficial fowls in this respect is the turkey. 



