of 



57 



habited, that it is now far less considerable 

 than it was half a century ago. To this 

 may be added, that the present custom of 

 using silk and other materials in lieu of 

 beavers' fur in the manufacture of hats, has 

 wonderfully lessened the demand for it, as 

 well as reduced the price. An idea, how- 

 ever, may be formed of the astonishing num- 

 ber of beavers' skins that were formerly 

 made use of, when we state that in 1808, no 

 less than 12(5,927 were sent from Quebec 

 alone to tliis country. The flesh of the Bea- 

 ver is much prized by the Indians and Ca- 

 nadian voyagers, especially when it is roasted 

 in the skin after the hair has been singed off : 

 and in some districts it requires all the in- 

 fluence of the fur-traders to restrain the 

 hunters from sacrificing a considerable quan- 

 tity of beaver fur every year to secure the 

 enjoyment of this luxury ; and Indians of 

 note have generally one or two feasts in a 

 season, wherein a roasted beaver is the prime 

 dish. It resembles pork in its flavour, but 

 it requires a strong stomach to sustain a full 

 meal of it. (Richardson' 1 8 Fauna borcali- 

 Amcricana.) 



Our readers wilt see that the foregoing 

 account relates to the American Beaver. 

 The European species does not boast of such 

 architectural habits, but lives in burrows 

 along the banks of the Rhone, the Danube, 

 the Weser, and other large rivers in the 

 north of Europe ; yet, from some of the de- 

 scriptions which have been given of them, 

 we are disposed to believe that, considering 

 the materials within their reach, their in- 

 stinctive skill is not greatly inferior to those 

 who dwell on the other side of the Atlantic. 

 It is believed that at no period were Beavers 

 common in Britain, though the mention of 

 them by some of our earliest historians is a 

 clear proof of their existence here. 



BECCAFIGO, or FIG-EATER. (Sylvia 

 hortensis.) A migratory song-bird, about 

 the size of a linnet, but with a remarkably 

 short body. It feeds on fruits and berries, 

 and is highly prized by the Italians for the 

 delicacy of its flesh, particularly in autumn, 

 when it is in excellent condition for the table. 

 It is often seen in England in the summer, 

 where it is called the Pettychaps ; but it 

 generally returns to a warmer climate in 

 September. It has a lively, loud, and piercing 

 note ; but it is seldom seen, as it usually 

 sings from the midst of some closely em- 

 bowered covert. Its head, back, neck, wings, 

 and tail are generally of a greenish grey, 

 but some more incline to a greenish brown. 



BEE. (Apis.) The generic name of a 

 family of Ilvmenopterous insects, [for the 

 classification of which, see APID.E.] Of all 

 the insect tribe none have more justly ex- 

 cited the attention and admiration of man- 

 kind than the Bee ; and yet, although it has 

 engaged the study of naturalists for two 

 thousand years, we still occasionally find, 

 in the economy of this social and industrious 

 little animal, some obscurely known or uii- 

 elucidated fact, which is thought worthy of 

 the labours of those who devote their time 

 aud abilities in the pursuit and advancement 

 of this interesting branch of natural science. 



The most important species is the HONEY- 

 BEE (Apis mellificd), so long celebrated for 

 its wonderful polity, the neatness and pre- 

 cision with which it constructs its cells, and 

 the diligence with which it provides during 

 the warmth of summer a supply of food for 

 the support of the hive during the rigours 

 of the succeeding winter. In its natural 

 state the Honey-bee generally constructs its 

 nests in hollow trees ; but so universally is 

 it now domesticated that we rarely find it 

 otherwise than hived in any part of Europe. 



Peter Kalm, the Swedish traveller, ob- 

 serves, that the people of North America 

 were unanimously of opinion that the 



HONZY-BBE. (APIS MZLLIFICA.) 



Honey-bee was unknown in that country 

 before the arrival of the Euroi>earis ; but 

 that they were first brought over by the 

 English who settled there. The Indians 

 likewise declared that their fathers had 

 never seen any bees either in the woods or 

 elsewhere, before the Europeans had been 

 several years settled there. This, he says, 

 is further confirmed by the name which the 

 Indians gave them : for, having no particular 

 name for them in their language, they call 

 them English flies, because the English first 

 brought them over ; but at the time he 

 wrote (nearly a century ago) they flew plen- 

 tifully about the woods of North America. 

 Honey and wax are the two valuable ar- 

 ticles of commerce for which we are indebted 

 to this useful insect. Now, if we examine 

 the structure of the common Bee, the first 

 remarkable part which presents itself is the 

 proboscis, an instrument serving to extract 

 honey from flowers : it is not formed, like 

 that of other flies, in the shape of a tube, by 

 which the fluid is to be sucked up, but rather 

 like a tongue, to lap it up. When thus 

 lapped out of the nectary, it is conveyed to 

 the crop or honey-bag ; where it undergoes 

 but little alteration, and is transferred or 

 disgorged into the cells destined to receive 

 it. While the Bee is busy in extracting the 

 sweets of the flowers, it becomes covered with 

 the farina or pollen of the anthers ; this 

 pollen it wipes off with the brushes of its 

 legs, collects every particle together, and 

 kneads it into two little masses, which it 

 lodges on the broad surface of the tibia of 

 each hind leg, where a series of elastic hairs 

 over-arches a concavity, and acts as a sort 

 of lid or covering. Thus employed, the Bee 

 flies from flower to flower, increasing its store 

 of honey, and adding to its stock of kneaded 

 pollen, which is called bee-bread. The ab- 

 domen is divided into six annulations or 

 rings, which are capable of being contracted 

 or extended at pleasure ; and the insect is 

 internally furnished with a honey-bag, a 



