THE BEE. 161 



Have we not also ascertained that those living beings 

 which we were apt to regard as useless, or nearly so, 

 are of far greater importance in the economy of crea- 

 tion than others that we are in the habit of tending 

 with a fostering care ? 



We poison, or otherwise destroy the troublesome 

 flies, whilst we seek, by every means that human 

 ingenuity can devise, to multiply our stock of Bees, 

 and are willing to devote any amount of time, labour, 

 and expense, to save the lives of those swarms that 

 were formerly, and are still in some cases, destroyed, 

 in order to obtain the honey. 



But we ask you, reader, to recall to mind the ser- 

 vices rendered to us by each of these creatures, and 

 then to say which of the two is the most essential to 

 our existence, the Bee or the Ply? 



No one will deny that the Bee is a very useful 

 insect ; to its industry we are indebted for wax and 

 honey, which substances facilitate in many respects 

 the practice of art, science, and domestic economy. 

 But what injury would result to us if every hive, 

 with its inhabitants, were swept from the face of the 

 earth? 



On the other hand, let us suppose that we had no 

 flies to annoy us in the summer months : how should 

 we fare in regard to health ? Who would search out 

 and clear away the carcases of animals, and protect 

 us from the effluvia arising from their decomposition, 

 with the same celerity and precision as do these little 

 natural scavengers? Their very abundance, which 



