HUMANITY TO HONEY BEES. 



On books deep poring, ye pale sons of toil, 

 Who waste in studious trance the midnight oil, 

 Say, can you emulate with all your rules, 

 Drawn from Grecian or from Gothic schools, 

 This artless frame? Instinct her simple guide, 

 A Heaven -taught insect baffles all your pride! 

 Not all your mavshall'd orbs that ride so high, 

 Proclaim more loud a present Deity, 

 Than the nice symmetry of these small cells, 

 Where on each angle genuine science dwells, 

 And joys to mark, through wide creation's reign, 

 How close the lessening links of her continued 

 chain. Evans. 



The following observations are from 

 the pen of Wyatt J. Pettitt, East Cliff, 

 Dover, and form part of a most interesting 

 series of articles on Bees, about to appear 

 in the " Agricultural Magazine," from whose 

 pages we have made this selection. We are 

 most anxious to impress on the minds of our 

 readers the cruelty, as well as- the impolicy 

 of destroying honey-bees ; and it is with this 

 object that we give extensive currency to the 

 author's remarks on the subject. 



The encouragement of any branch of in- 

 dustry which would in no small degree in- 

 crease the comforts of our rural population, 

 demands our serious consideration. The 

 culture of the honey bee has in our own 

 country been too much neglected, and the 

 old system of wholesale murder by means 

 of the deadly fumes of brimstone has been 

 resorted to, to the great injury of bee cul- 

 ture. The production of honey and wax in 

 this country falls far short of the demand, 

 consequently we are large importers of 

 these useful commodities. It has been 

 stated that upwards oifour hundred thousand 

 pounds sterling is every year paid by Eng- 

 land for the produce of these indefatigable 

 little insects, while we have in this "land 

 of flowers" plenty of pasturage from which 

 we could procure honey and wax in abun- 

 dance, superior to that which is imported 

 from other countries. We have only to 

 provide " hives of industry," and instead of 

 sending our " hard cash" to our Transatlantic 

 brethren, distribute it amongst the apiarian 

 population in our rural districts. 



Every bee-keeper should remember the 

 words of Thomas Nutt, viz., — " Never kill 

 your bees /." for independent of its cruelty, it 

 is a ruinous practice — it is like cutting down 

 a tree to get at its fruit. Kobert Huish 

 speaks of the annual suffocation of bees as a 

 " direct national evil, and that every means 

 ought to be adopted to check the progress 

 of it." If it is proved to be a national evil, 

 it must be a direct personal evil to all who 

 continue the practice. " If we were to kill 

 the hen for the egg," says Wildman, " the 

 cow for the milk, or the sheep for the fleece, 



every one would instantly see our impro- 

 priety ; and yet this is practised every year 

 by our inhuman and impolitic slaughter of 

 the bees," which under the care of the 

 humane apiarian would be ready, when in- 

 vited by the warmth of the sun in_ the fol- 

 lowing spring, to recommence their labors 

 in collecting the " golden treasure." 



It is he who feels no reverence for God's sacred 



name, 

 That lights the sulphur up to cause the dreadful 



flame. 

 Alas! I think, viewing the monster's busy hand 

 Taking the dreadful match, I see a murderer 



stand. 



Bee-keeping affords interesting and ra- 

 tional amusement to the man of leisure, as 

 well as a source of profit to the humble 

 cottager ; the quantity of honey taken on 

 the humane system, is far greater in pro- 

 portion, and in quality far superior, to that 

 taken by any other method. The profit 

 which may be derived by a judicious 

 management of bees, is something consider- 

 able : we have realised from five stocks in 

 one season the sum of £11 17s. 3d. It may 

 not be out of place here to relate an anec- 

 dote in illustration of the profit of bee- 

 keeping: "A good old French bishop, in 

 paying his annual visit to his clergy, was 

 very much afflicted by the representations 

 they made of their extreme poverty, which 

 indeed the appearance of their houses and 

 families corroborated ; whilst he was deplor- 

 ing the sad state of things which had 

 reduced them to such a condition, he arrived 

 at the house of a curate living amongst a 

 poorer set of parishioners than any he had 

 yet/ visited, who would, he feared, be in a 

 still more woful plight than the others. 



Contrary, however, to his expectations, 

 he found appearances very much improved. 

 Everything about the house wore the aspect 

 of comfort and plenty. The good bishop 

 was amazed. " How is this, my friend," 

 said he, "you are the first pastor I have 

 met with a cheerful face and a plentiful 

 board ! Have you any income independent 

 of your cure ? " " Yes, sir," said the 

 curate, " 1 have. My family would starve 

 on the pittance I receive from the poor people 

 I instruct. If you will walk with me into 

 the garden, I will show you the stock that 

 yields me excellent interest." On going to 

 the garden he showed the bishop a long 

 range of bee-hives. "There," said he ''is 

 the bank from which I draw an annual divi- 

 dend, and it is one that never stops pay- 

 ment." His harvest of honey enabled him 

 to reduce materially his consumption of 

 sugar, and also to send a considerable quan- 

 tity to the market ; of the coarser portions 

 he made a tolerable substitute for malt 

 liquor, and the sale of his wax paid his 



