BiMlograpliy. 39 



ropean Turkey bordering on tlie Adriatic Sea. A better 

 marked variety — ti e Smyrnian bees — from Western Asia, are 

 also mucli praised by some of the noted Austrian bee-keepers, 

 as are also the Caucasian, from the Caucasus Mountains, which 

 are said to be very act've and amiable It is quite likely that 

 some of these varieties jnight be founa to endure our severe 

 winters better than the ^ jre German type or the Italians. 



riBLIOGEAPIIY. 



It would be a pleasing duty, an-* not an unprofitable one, 

 to give in this connection a compleie history of entomology so 

 far as it relates to Apis mellifica. But this would take much 

 space, and as there is quite a full history in books that I shalj 

 recommend to those who are eager to know more of this inter» 

 esting department of natural history, I will not gc into details, 



Aristotle wrote of bees more than three hundred years B. C. 

 About three hundred years later, Virgil, in his fourth Georgic, 

 gave to the w^r.rt the views then extant on this subject, 

 gathered larg ly from the writings of Aristotle. The poetry 

 will ever be r ja.kable for its beauty and elegance — would 

 that as muchcoulc' be said for the subject matter, which, though 

 full of interest, is also full of errors. A little later. Columella, 

 though usually careful and accurate in his observations, still 

 gave voice to the prevailing errors, though much that he wrote 

 was valuable, and more was curious. As Mr. Langstroth once 

 said to me, Columella wrote as one who had handled the things 

 of which he wrote ; and not like Virgil, as one who was deal- 

 ing with second hand wares. Pliny the elder, who wrote in 

 the first century, A.D., helped to continue the erroneous opin- 

 ions which previous authors had given, and not content with 

 this, he added opinions of his own, which were not only with- 

 out foundation but were often the perfection of absurdity. 



After this, nearly two thousand years passed with no pro- 

 gress in natural 'history ; even for two centuries after the re- 

 vival of learning, we find nothing worthy of note. Swammer- 

 dam, a Dutch entomologist, in the middle of the 17th century, 

 wrote a general history of insects ; also, ' 'The Natural History 

 of Bees." He and his English contemporary, Eay, showed 

 their ability as naturalists by founding their systems on the 

 insect transformations. They also revived the study and 

 practice of anatomy, which had slept since its first introdue- 



