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 
389 
