226 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dome0tic IBcpartmcnt. 



TiiAiNiXG OF CniLDUKX. — Tlio most essential qual- 

 ifications for trainiiif^ a child well, are not of a nature 

 to bo communicated by books, or lectures on educa- 

 tion. They arc, lirst, the desire to be right in the 

 matter ; second, sense ; third, kindness ; and fourth, 

 firmness, ^\'here these are wanting, the wisest ad- 

 monitions in the v.orld -will be of no other use than 

 to relieve the mind of the person who throws them 

 away. The doctrine of an eminent writer, (of a gen- 

 eration now nearly gone,) that a child should be 

 reasoned into obedience, had, in its day, more of a 

 misleading efficacy than might have been thought 

 possible ; and many a parent was induced to believe 

 that a child should be taught to give its obedience, 

 not because it ivas obedience, but because the thing 

 ordered was reasonable ; the little casuists and con- 

 troversialists being expected to sec the reason of 

 things as readily in real life as in the dialogues be- 

 tween Tutor and Charles. The common sense of 

 mankind has now made an end of this doctrine, and 

 it is known now, as it was before the transit of that 

 eminent person, that obedience — prompt, implicit, 

 unreasoning, and almost unconscious — is the first 

 thing to be taught to a child, and that he can have 

 no peace for his soul without it. That first and fore- 

 most rule of exacting obedience is so far from being 

 subject to the condition of showing reasons, that I 

 believe a parent with a strong will, although it be a 

 perverse one, will train a child better than a parent 

 of a reasonable mind, tainted by infirmity of pur- 

 pose. For, as " obedience is better than sacrifice, 

 and to hearken than the fat of rams," so an au- 

 thority wliich is so absolute by virtue of its own 

 inherent strength, is better than one Avhicli is shaken 

 by a reference to the ends and purposes, and by rea- 

 sonable doubts as to whether they are the best and 

 most useful. Nor will the parent's perversity, unless 

 it be unkind or ill tempered, occasion the child half 

 so much uneasiness in the one case, as the child will 

 suffer from those perversities of its own which will 

 spring up in the other. For habits of instant and 

 mechanical obedience are those that give rest to the 

 child, and spare health and temper ; whilst a recu- 

 sant or dawdling obedience wiU keep it distracted in 

 propensity, bringing a perpetual pressure on its 

 nerves, and consequently on its mental and bodUy 

 strenijth. 



To PRESERVE Beefsteaks. — As the Avarm season 

 is fast approaching, when meat cannot be kept for 

 more than a day or two in a fresh state, it wiU be of 

 no inconsiderable benefit to many, to be informed, 

 that if fresh meat is rolled up in Indian corn meal, it 

 ■will keep fresh for four or five daj-s. The steak 

 should be laid down in pieces from one to three 

 pounds, and each covered entirely with the meal. — 

 North Am. Farmer. 



l)outl)'s IDcfartnunt. 



Bees. — The honey-bee surely deserves the first 

 place. Its abode is like a palace, compared with 

 most other insect houses ; indeed, from the number 

 of its inhabitants, we may more properly call it a 

 city. The industry, too, of this little creature is 

 such, as to give it a strong claim upon our attention ; 

 and I dare say you have often watched it, flying from 

 flower to flower, and returning home heavily laden 



with yellow dust. The bee has many good qualities 

 besides diligence, to render it a favorite, and these 

 we shall see as we go on with its history. 



You most likely have seen a honey-comb, and 

 tasted the sweet liquid it contains. Do you not 

 think it very wonderful, that small insects should be 

 able to make wax and honey, neither of which men 

 have the power of making? How much labor, too, 

 must it cost to build and fill the numerous cells ! 

 Let us follow a colony of bees through the various 

 tasks they have to perform, and we shall see with 

 what surprising instincts they are endowed. 



Many countries abound with wild bees, and these 

 form their own nests ; but here we keep them under 

 an artificial covering called a hive, which is made of 

 straw. These hives have a little opening on one 

 side, for bees to go in and out at; they generally 

 stand upon a wooden bench, and in cold weather are 

 placed under some sort of shed. 



A swarm of bees, on entering a new hive, imme- 

 diately want cells or little chambers, in which to 

 store up tiieir honey, and bring up the young. 

 These cells cannot be made without wax ; the first 

 business, therefore, is to obtain that substance. You 

 probably suppose that the bees collect it from flow- 

 ers, and that they will go out and fetch home a store. 

 But no, they seem to be quite idle, and hang in long 

 rows, like garlands, or strings of beads ; one at each 

 end taking hold of the roof, the rest clinging to each 

 other's legs ; and so they remain for four-and-twenty 

 hours, without moving. 



This does not proceed from laziness, however, nor 

 are they waiting to think what must be done : you 

 will never guess why they hang thus ; so I must tell 

 you. Wax, instead of being found in flowers, as 

 some people imagine, is formed in thin cakes, under 

 the scales which case the bee's body. It appears 

 that it is made best while they are quite quiet ; and 

 this is their way of taking rest. While they are 

 clustering, the wax is forming ; and when they have 

 hung a number of hours, it may be seen under their 

 scales, which then appear edged with white. 



And now, at last, a bee comes out from the crowd, 

 cleans about an inch, by driving away the others 

 with his head, and settling in the middle of this 

 space, begins to lay the foundation of a comb, which 

 is a flat piece of wax, composed of a great number 

 of cells. These cells are joined to each other's sides, 

 and placed in a double row, end to end, so that each 

 side of the comb is full of holes, flt for containing 

 eggs or honey. The bee we have just mentioned 

 pulls out the little cakes one by one from its w^x- 

 pockets, holds them in a pair of pincers, with which 

 its legs are furnished, and works them about with its 

 tongue, which is as useful as a trowel. When these 

 are flxcd to the roof of the hive, it disappears among 

 its companions. 



Other bees follow this example, adding their little 

 store of wax, until a lump is formed large enough to 

 work upon. The cells are then shaped by another 

 set of laborers, and a third party flnish and polish 

 the work, by drawing their mouths, their feet, and 

 their whole bodies over it again and again, until it is 

 quite smooth. Some, in the mean time, collect food, 

 and bring it to those which are working at the cells, 

 that they may not be hindered. When a laborer is 

 hungry,' he bends down his trunk before the bee 

 which is to feed liim ; this trunk is a movable 

 mouth, like what you must often have seen in the 

 fly ; a few small particles of honey are poured into 

 it by his companion, and he then goes on with his 

 work. Though there are many thousand laborers in 

 a hive, they (lo not begin in several places at once, 

 but wait until a single bee has laid the foundation, 

 as I have just described to you. Each bee has only 

 a certain (juantity of wax ; so they must make it go 

 as far as possible. If the cells Avere made round, a 



