ILLUSTRATIONS. 123 



of their being brought to America of late." Kalni's Travels in Xorth America, 

 col. 1. 



Upon this it may be remarked, tint the country beyond the Alleghany Moun- 

 tains was but very little known at that period ; that admitting the truth of 

 Kalm's assertion, that bees naturally migrate southward, they might then have 

 t-xisted in tins country, without having extended their travels to the cold cli- 

 mate where Josselyn wrote, and, consequently, might have escaped his observa- 

 tion ; that the indians might have been deceived by seeing bees flock to the vi- 

 cinity of the white settlements, which they would naturally prefer upon account 

 of the abundance of the food, and that, at all events, the opinions of the indians 

 on subjects of this nature are not entitled to weight ; and that when Kalra states 

 that the bee of this country is smaller than that of Sweden, it goes to prove that 

 it is a variety, and probably indigenous. 



Bartram says, " In the course of conversation with dr. Grant of Mobile, I re- 

 marked that during my travels since leaving the Creek nation, and when there, 

 I had not seen any honey bees. He replied that there were few or none west oT 

 the Ithmus of Florida, and but one hive in Mobile, which was lately brought 

 there from Europe, the english supposing that there were none in the country, 

 not finding any when they took possession of it after the Spanish and french. I 

 had been assured by the traders that there were none in West Florida, which, 

 to me, seemed extraordinary, and almost incredible, since they are so numerous 

 all along the eastern continent, from Nova Scotia to East Florida, even in the 

 wild forests, as to be thought by the generality of the inhabitants, aborigines of 

 this continent." William Barlrani's Travels through the Carolines and Flari- 

 das, in 1773. 



In Lewis and Clarke's expedition up the Missouri, (wl 1.) it is stated, " We 

 observed at the entrance of Maria's river, which is forty-sevtin degrees, twenty 

 five minutes, and seventeen seconds north, that the bee martin, or king bird, 

 is common to this country, although there are no bees here, and, in fact, we 

 have not met with the honey bee since leaving the Osage river." The junction 

 of the Osage and Missouri is in latitude thirty-eight degree?, thirty-one min- 

 utes, sixteen seconds ; and it is not likely that the honey bee would, contrary 

 to the law of its migration, extend itself into the inhospitable regions of the 

 Horth, unless invited by the cultivation of the country. This, therefore, proves 

 nothing. The opinion of Bartramls deserving of respect, and it certainly leans 

 in favour of what he considers the general sentiment, that the honey bee is an 

 Indigenous animal, and [ can bear testimony to the truth of his remark, that 

 ihey are numerous in the wild forests. In the most distant and extensive woods 

 >f the west, remote from all habitation and cultivation, this useful insect is to be 

 <vmd . In a new settlement on the Ridge Road, in Genessee county, a lonely 



