250 BEES AND BEE-KEEPING. 



tion, being called by the Indians, the white man's fly. 

 Whilst the country remained in a wild state, nature 

 furnished vast quantities of honey-producing flowers, 

 one variety succeeding another in great profusion, 

 from early spring until late in the fall, which enabled 

 bees to multiply and spread over the country very 

 rapidly. Their motto it seems partakes somewhat 

 of the spirit of Young America in their migratory 

 wanderings. "Westward, ho !" is their watchword. 

 I will here mention a circumstance that I believe 

 is not noticed by any other writer. I have never yet 

 observed a swarm of bees flying past me (and I have 

 seen many), apparently in search of a home, nor 

 indeed have I heard of one, but that was going either 

 westward or southward ; although the country where 

 I have made these observations is a timber one, with 

 no perceptible difference in any direction. This fact is 

 significant. I have no doubt they have spread both 

 to the north and east, yet the great tide of emigra- 

 tion is to the west and south, until they have reached 

 the last outskirts or belts of timber found between 

 the Missouri river and the Rocky mountains. Here 

 their progress westward seems to have been effectu- 

 ally checked by those vast prairies and deserts, to- 

 gether with the Rocky and Sierra Nevada mountains, 

 which intervene. It would seem, and no doubt has 

 been, quite impossible for them to pass those gigan- 

 tic barriers and reach (unaided by man) the flowery 

 plains of California. That they have made the at- 

 tempt I have no doubt. The Mr. Rose spoken of in 

 another part of this work, informs me that many 



