The Progress of the Race 



or less in the same relation to the inhabi- 

 tants of our hives as the cave-dwellers to 

 the fortunate who live in our great cities. 

 You will probably more than once have 

 seen her fluttering about the bushes, in 

 a deserted corner of your garden, without 

 realising that you were carelessly watching 

 the venerable ancestor to whom we prob- 

 ably owe most of our flowers and fruits 

 (for it is actually estimated that more than 

 a hundred thousand varieties of plants 

 would disappear if the bees did not visit 

 them) and possibly even our civilisation, 

 for in these mysteries all things inter- 

 twine. She is nimble and attractive, the 

 variety most common in France being 

 elegantly marked with white on a black 

 background. But this elegance hides an 

 inconceivable poverty. She leads a life 

 of starvation. She is almost naked, 

 whereas her sisters are clad in a warm 

 and sumptuous fleece. She has not, like 

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