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INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



BY O. C. WHEELER, A. M. 



THE ORIGIN Am HISTORY OF THE HONEY BEE. 



Itf ttte absence of historical data concerning' the origin and 

 history of the noney bee, we are compelled to rely upon well 

 known collateral facts, and the inevitable deductions of anal- 

 ogy ; yet these often Constitute evidence as strong, and produce 

 convictions as clear as the most direct and positive testimony. 



Should we assume that this most useful and exemplary insect 

 was among the "Living Creatures 11 made by Deity prior to 

 the creatiojj of man, the following arguments come to our sup- 

 port, unbidden as sidereal luminaries to the relief of night 

 clear as a vernal stream, leaping from its snowy source, down 

 the mountain's side resistless as the ocean's swelling surges : 



1st, Otter .classes of creatures, not as important to the sup- 

 ply of human wants, and the .early interests of man, were cer- 

 tainly among the labors of the original " six days." 



2d. The fact just stated, aside from their excellence, per se, 

 proves that this insect was of sufficient importance to have 

 been one of the very early subjects of creative genius and power. 



