286 NORTH AMERICAN INSECTS. 



held in this garden; and it is generally frequented by young 

 men intended for the clerical life, who are obliged to attend 

 that they may be able to impart their knowledge to their 

 future parishioners. A regular journal is ke'pt of the pro- 

 ceedings of the establishment, which is open to the inspec- 

 tion of every one. 



" There is a ' Patriotic Apiarian Society of Bavaria,' 

 which is a most laudable institution, and its laws ought to 

 be translated into the language of every country where bees 

 are known. It is not permitted for a peasant to have his 

 own apiary, but a particularly favorable spot is pointed out 

 by the Society, in which the different proprietors deposit 

 their hives. This place is under the management of a skill- 

 ful apiarian, appointed by the Society; and it is ordained 

 that no more than one hundred and fifty hives shall be kept 

 in one place, and each establishment must be four miles dis- 

 tant. A trifling tax is levied upon each hive not belonging 

 to the Society ; and thus the peasant looks forward, at the 

 end of the year, to a certain profit, with a very slight out- 

 lay, and without any demand upon his time or labor. 

 Should a poor peasant wish to become the proprietor of one 

 or more hives, he applies to the Society, who immediately 

 accede to his wishes, and an annual deduction is made from 

 his profits until the Society is repaid the value of the hives 

 it has bestowed.'* 



In many parts of Germany the peasants receive from the 

 Government a florin for every hive which they rear during 

 the season, and, to prevent their killing the bees, the florin 

 is not paid until the spring, at which time it would be of no 

 advantage to the proprietor to destroy his bees. So in this 

 country the foundation of an independent Apiarian Society 

 in each State, or, at least, its particular encouragement by 

 the different Agricultural Societies, would greatly tend to 

 the promotion of this interesting and useful branch of in- 

 dustry. 



