THIRTEEN] SECURING OUR ALLIES 
that yielded hundreds of bushels, the birds also 
greatly increased, but what they took was no longer 
missed. I presume they do not get less than five 
per cent. of the crop. That is about half what I 
owe them for music alone. I shall always remain 
a debtor to my catbirds more particularly, and to 
all other bird visitors. I believe I will leave two 
more cherry trees uncovered hereafter. 
The bee is another factor of importance in coun- 
try life. Ido not say that every family should, or 
must have, half a dozen hives of bees, but I believe 
the number of swarms should average half a dozen 
to all the households of the community. This is 
partly for the sake of food — one of the most de- 
licious and concentrated of all foods — but still 
more to secure the aid of our little friends in pollen- 
izing fruit. ‘There are many apples, pears, and 
other fruits, as we have already seen, that cannot 
pollenize themselves sufficiently, and some of them 
not at all. This is a provision of nature to pre- 
vent uniformity and to secure evolution. Differ- 
ent varieties must be brought together in marriage, 
in order to unite their good qualities in children. 
The common brown honey bee is from Germany. 
The Italian bees have yellow abdominal bands, and 
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