The Life of the Bee 
which they had quickly tested and adopted, 
and found in abundant quantities ready pre- 
pared, in the vicinity of their dwelling. 
And, indeed, one-half of the science and 
practice of apiculture consists in giving free 
rein to the spirit of initiative possessed by 
the bees, and in providing their enterprising 
intellect with opportunities for veritable dis- 
coveries and veritable inventions. Thus, for 
instance, to aid in the rearing of the larve 
and nymphs, the bee-keeper will scatter a 
certain quantity of flour close to the hive, 
when the pollen is scarce of which these 
consume an enormous quantity. Ina state 
of nature, in the heart of their native forests 
in the Asiatic valleys where they existed 
probably before the tertiary epoch, the bees 
can evidently never have met with a sub- 
stance of this kind. And yet, if care be 
taken to “bait” some of them with it, by 
placing them on the flour, they will touch 
it and test it, they will perceive that its 
properties more or less resemble those pos- 
sessed by the dust of the anthers; they will 
spread the news among their sisters, and 
we soon shall find every forager hastening 
300 
