360 



THE fEMERICTSN BEE JOURNMl,. 



vent that they should bear home their 

 sweet, nor to the flocks for the frisky 

 lambs break down the flowers, and the 

 heifer straying in the even field will 

 shake ofl' the dew antl crush the rising 

 herbs. And it should be away from 

 the spotted lizard and brown toad, 

 from the woodpecker and its home, 

 from the bee-eater and other birds. It 

 should be away from the reach of the 

 cruel swallow, witli red feathers at its 

 breast. For all those devastate widely, 

 and each wishes to bear the bees 

 away as a sweet morsel for their 

 merciless young. But some liquid 

 font should be near, some slow run- 

 ning pool surrounded with moss, and 

 near some small stream flowing 

 through the grass. Their coui't should 

 be shadowed by palms, or by some 

 Olive tree ; so that when the kings 

 lead forth the first new swarms, in the 

 spring-time, the younger bees, just ap- 

 pearing from their combs, may play, 

 and the near bank will encourage 

 them to descend from the heat of sum- 

 mer, and cling to the trees, opposite 

 their former home.'' 



These are but 25 lines, and thus the 

 uoljle jjoet goes on, in, I think, the 

 grandest description to be found in 

 Latin literature. The bee even as the 

 beast of burden seems to have followed 

 man, both civilized and barbarous, and 

 as Riplej' and Dana say, " To have 

 been cultivated from antiquit}-." 



But why indeed should not develop- 

 ment be made in the culture of an in- 

 sect ? Why not as much development 

 as in any other organic structure ? 

 This simple organization contains at 

 least the essential elements of all great 

 structures. Here are the embryonic 

 wings, mandible, palpi, even mouth, 

 and teeth both scaly and concave, and 

 the trunk carried without the modern 

 artificial ■• ticket" and " check." 



Tliere are qualities peculiar to this 

 insect alone, which seem to adapt it to 

 the nature of man, not only the man 

 of husbandry, but the sage, the philoso- 

 pher ; for there seems to have been no 

 want of interest or research on the 

 suliject among the ancients, for the 

 noted Greek philospher, Aristomachus, 

 is said to have devoted 58 years to this 

 single branch of zoology. 



Virgil at present would not help us 

 miuh in a scientific point of view. We 

 can only see the evolution — the change 

 in cidture, and the change in the 

 solid devout science of apiculture. Of 

 course some of his statements arc pos- 

 sible more than probable, for he states 

 further on in the Georgics, that a stock 

 of bees can be obtained from the dead 

 carcass of a steer, beaten and crushed 

 into a mass, and then excluded from 

 the air. Even Horace mentions in a 

 sober manner, this little insect in his 

 second Ejiode. 



" Happ.v the man. in busy schemes unsfeilled. 

 Who living: simply, like our sires of old. 

 Tills the few acres, which his father tilted. 

 Vexed with no thoughts of usury or f^old ; 



Or in some valley up among- the hills. 

 Watches his wandering herds of lowing kine, 

 Or fragrant jars of liquid honey fills. 

 Or shears his silly sheep in suuny shine." 



Yet. that golden bee with its triple- 

 striped body, and all those sunny 

 habits coming as it does most probably 

 from an Asiatic stock, and then being 

 carried westward with the change of 

 empires, scattered over all the lands 

 which spot the earth, finds its finest 

 and sweetest home in that land fur- 

 thest toward the west. Not alone has 

 the bee companions here, but in sun- 

 nier climes further south. 



Turning to their Asiatic home, have 

 they not changed much in regard to 

 domicile, if not disposition ? For Gor- 

 tlon-Cummings, in reference to Indian 

 travel, describes the meeting of bees 

 in the gorge of the Marble Rocks 

 through which the Nerbtidda river has 

 worn its coiu-se. The homes of the 

 hornets and wild bees are situated on 

 the white marble, in clusters, like 

 swallows nests, far above the surface 

 of the river, on the perpendicular walls 

 of the gorge. Those traveling on the 

 Nerbudda, pass by this point in perfect 

 silence, and many visit the wild rocks 

 by irtoonlight, both on account of 

 bees and the scenery of the crags un- 

 der the light of the moon. 



Messrs. Armstrong & Buddington 

 were seeking a sight for the Nerbudda 

 bridge at this point, but were warned 

 not to fire a gun or disturb the bees, 

 but were tempted by rock pigecjns, and 

 after discharging their guns, and even 

 plunging into the water, they were 

 unable to escape, and surveyor Bud- 

 dington was drowned. The wild 

 honey furnishes a great part of the 

 eatable product for the wild Ethioi»au, 

 and the uncivilized Black of lately ex- 

 plored Africa. 



David Livingston mentions in his 

 recent explorations in central Africa, 

 that there exists such a bird as the 

 Cucidus Indicator or Honey-Guide, and 

 his native companions to the number 

 of 113 out of 114 said, that this bird 

 leads invariably to wild bees. By 

 itieans of this bird he obtained a large 

 quantit}' of honey while near the 

 African central forest. The wax is a 

 worthless article to the natives. Near 

 Loiida, situated in the lonesome forest, 

 native hives are met with, made from 

 natural cavities in Mepaur trees, and 

 set on logs. He even mentions seeing 

 the wild natives laden with from 80 to 

 100 pounds of honey, but never saw 

 any but log hives. On the banks of 

 the Quango the honey found a market, 

 at sixpence a pound, and the tribute to 

 Sekeluta of the wild Batoka country is 

 paid in jars of native honey. 



At a village 16 degrees, 13 minutes. 

 38 seconds latitude, 32 degrees, 32 

 minutes longitude, Livingston was pre- 

 sented with a pint of honey by the 

 Ethiopian chiefton's son. This honey 

 seems to be peculiarly adapted to the 

 wants of civilization also, consisting as 

 it does of the sugar, mucilage, and an 

 acid changing of course to a vinous 

 compound when exposed to air, and 

 furnishing all the properties of a good 

 deturgent and aperient to the diseased 

 body. However much the true ideas 

 regarding the bee may be misunder- 

 stood by all nations in general, the use 

 of its product seems to be universal. 



The ancients have fixed their in- 

 adequate ideas of the bee with no small 

 praise. The hum of the bee was no 

 more harsh to tlieir ears than to our 

 own. It signified industry, contents 

 ment and happiness. Their human 

 nature did not of course expel all of 

 the objections to treatment and con- 

 tact with them, and even among the 

 Seveit Hills of Rome, and in the city of 

 the Greeks, near the birth-place of the 

 blind bard, they received the praise 

 which is due to the minute, as well as 

 the mighty. 



Praise which does not sound soft to 

 our ears, for it is the language of the 

 beggar among the seven cities that 

 contend for immortal Homer. Yet the 

 Grecian heart thrilled with the same 

 imptdse at its sound that does the 

 American at its translation, for it sang 

 the '■ Fall of Ilium "— '■ Fall of Troy," 

 and the "Wrath of Peieus' son-" 



The characteristics of the bee have 

 changed with eighteen centuries, and 

 in contrast with the song of the poet, 

 and the interest shown only by the 

 wisest of all lands, in those early days, 

 it exists not to be wondered at and .ad- 

 mired, not as an industrial curiosity, 

 but as a social insect, assisted onlj' to 

 assist. The help-meet of the flower, 

 even as the sini and rain. 



The hum of our social insect sounds 

 now no longer along the woody 

 streams of " Sunny European lauds," 

 with the omen of a wild "Hymen- 

 optera," but now it is chatteled, even 

 taxed. Thus lias the bee been men- 

 tioned for good, for better, and for 

 best, lauded for industry, studied for 

 scientific ends, and placed superlative 

 with regaifl'to its sweet. " As sweet 

 as honey and the honey-comb." 



Each revolving year adds more to 

 its scientific investigation. Each age 

 to the settlement of fact and explana- 

 tion of mystery. Failure and loss in 

 our undertakings may bring despon- 

 dency for the time, but the hope at 

 least that each and all may add some- 

 thing to the understanding of an In- 

 sect, beneficial both to the flora of the 

 world and the luxuries (the best of the 

 few) ; yields a present satisfaction, if 



