THE BEE. 



807 



be proper to observe, that a farm, or a coun- 

 try, may be over-stocked with bees, as well 

 as with any other sort of animal; tor a cer- 

 tain number of hives always require a cer- 

 tain number of (lowers to subsist on. \\ hen 

 the flowers near home are rilled, then are 

 these industrious insects see;i taking more 

 extensive ranges: but their abilities may be 

 over taxed; and if they are obliged, in quest 

 of honey, to go too fir from home, they are 

 over-wearied in the pursuit, they are devour- 

 ed by birds, or beat down by the winds and 

 rain. 



From a knowledge of this, in some parts of 

 France and Piedmont, they have contrived, as 

 I have often seen, a kiiid of (loafing bee-house. 



They have on board one barge threescore 

 or a hundred bee-hives, well defended from 

 the inclemency of an accidental storm; and 

 with these the owners sutler themselves to 

 float gently down the river. As the bees are 

 continually choosing their flowery pasture 

 along the banks of the stream, they are fur- 

 nished with sweets before unrifled: and thus 

 a single floating bee-house yields the pro- 

 prietor a considerable income. Why a 

 method similar to this has never been adopt- 

 ed in England, where we have more gentle 

 rivers, and more flowery banks, than in any 

 other part of the world, I know not : certain- 

 ly it might be turned to advantage, and yield 

 the possessor a secure, though perhaps a 

 moderate income. 



Having mentioned the industry of these 

 admirable insects, it will be proper to say 

 something of the effects of their labour, of 

 that w ix and honey which are turned by man 

 to such various uses. Bees gather t'.vo kinds 

 of wax ; one coarse, and the other fine. The 

 coarser sort is bitter, and with this, which is 

 call 1 propolis* they stop up all the holes and 

 crevices of their hives. It is of a more resin- 

 ous nature than the fine wax, arid is conse- 

 quently better qualified to resist the moisture 

 of !h season, and preserve the works warm 

 and dry within. The fine wax is a* nec"s- 

 sary to the animal's preservation as the honey 

 itself With this they make their lodgings, 

 with this they cover the cells of their young, 

 and in this they lay up their magazines of 

 honey. This is made, as has been alr^-ly 

 cbserved, from the dust of flowers, which is 



carefully kneaded by the little insect, then 

 swallowed, and having undergone a kind of 

 digestion, is formed imo the cells, which 

 answer such a variety of purposes. To col- 

 lect this, the animal rolls itself in the flower 

 it would rob, and thus takes up the vegetable 

 dust with the hair of its body. Then care- 

 fully brushing it into a lump, with its fore- 

 pans it thrusts the composition into two 

 cavities behind the thighs, which are made 

 like spoons to receive the wax, and the hair 

 that lines them serves to keep it from falling. 



As of wax, there are also two kinds of 

 honey; the white and the yellow. The 

 white is taken without fire from the honey- 

 combs. The yellow is extracted by heat, 

 and squeezed through bags, in a press. The 

 best honey is new, thick, and granulated, of 

 a clear transparent white colour, of a soil and 

 aromatic smell, and of a sweet lively taste. 

 Honey made in mountainous countries, is 

 preferable to that of the valley. The honey 

 made in the spring is more highly esteemed 

 than that gathered in summer; which last is 

 still more valuable than that of autumn, when 

 the flowers begin to fade, and lose their fra- 

 grance. 



The bees are nearly alike in nil parts of 

 the world ; yet there are differences worthy 

 our notice. In Guadaloupe, the bee is less 

 by one half than the European, and more 

 black and round. They have no sting, and 

 make their cells in hollow trees ; where, if 

 the hole they meet with is too large, they 

 form a sort of waxen house of the shape of a 

 pear, and in this they lodge and store their 

 JK>riey. and lay their eggs. They lay op their 

 hoitev in waxen vessels, of the size of a 

 pig 'Oil's ejfg. of a black or deep violet colour; 

 and these are so joined together, that there is 

 no space left between them. The honey 

 never congeals, but is fluid, of the consis- 

 tence of oil. and the colour of amber. Re- 

 sembling these, there are found little black 

 bees, without a sting, in all the tropical cli- 

 mates; and though these countries are replete 

 with bees like our own, yet those lorm the 

 most useful and laborious tribe in that part of 

 the world. The honey they produce is nei- 

 ther so unpalatable nor so surfeiting as ours; 

 aiid the wax is so soft, that it is only used for 

 medicinal purposes, it being never found 



