BEES. 403 



BEES. 



NORFOLK. 



Report of the Committee. 



Owing to the want of a premium, or some other cause, there 

 was a great apathy among bee owners in presenting any thing 

 for our consideration. And yet, agriculturally, pomologically, 

 scientifically, or si^/ichologically considered, we might suppose 

 many would wax warm upon the subject. The raising of buck- 

 wheat or white clover in preference to other grains or other 

 grasses may depend on the prior question, whether one intends 

 to keep bees or not; and this gives the subject its agricultural 

 aspect. 



The raising of thin-skinned peaches and juicy pears, in pref- 

 erence to such as are woolly as serge or have a skin like the 

 rhinoceros, may depend on whether one keeps bees or not ; 

 and that gives it the pomological aspect. The cellular mem- 

 brane of a hive, for the secretion of honey, gives it the scientific 

 aspect ; and the looking for a heavy produce in the cells, and 

 discovering simply the depredations of the bee moth, presents 

 the s/o7ichological aspect — not to mention certain regrets inci- 

 dent to an awkward handling of the insects. A full and can- 

 did treatise on the bee is a desideratum yet. We want to 

 know all the facts. Our friend Dr. Eddy has not discussed 

 the subject in reference to the injury of fruit, on which the pub- 

 lic mind is distressingly divided. It has been declared bees 

 will not injure fruit ; and we verily believe they will not injure 

 the shagbark nor the watermelon any more than they would 

 hurt a horseshoe or a gutta percha walking stick. But if the 

 fellows will not revel in a Bolmar, Washington plum or a Bart- 

 lett pear, then our eyes and cars, and fingers too, have deceived 

 us. We might as well say (some of us think) that a cow will 

 not meddle with vegetables in the garden because she does not 

 graze tomato plants, or that a yeoman does not like fruit be- 

 cause he refuses olives, as that a bee does no mischief because 



