THE farmer’s manual. 
17A 
hive, lo exclude both air and light, and with this, they 
attach their cells to the surface of the hive. 
Propolis is a resinous substance, soluble in spirits 
of wine, and oil of turpentine; in this state, it is an 
excellent substitute for the varnish which is used in 
giving the colour of gold to silver, or to fin, made 
into tinfoil. It is very useful to expedite the matu- 
rity of abscesses ; its vapour, when in a consuming 
state, gives great relief to coughs, if inhaled into the 
lungs. Crude wax, or bee- bread, is the next sub- 
stance worthy of notice ; this is the farina of plants, 
collected by the Bees, for the various purposes of 
the hive, and constitutes one of the elements of wax. 
Farina, also, forms the chief element of propolis, by 
a process which it passes through in the stomach of 
the Bees ; yet propolis is not wax, although very si- 
milar, because propolis is much more glutinous and 
fragrant than wax. Propolis has been analyzed by 
M. Vauquelin in the 'Anals De Chimie, 1802 , and 
1818 , and in the Bulletin de Pharmacie, by M. Ca- 
det. By distilation, a very sweet essential oil is ob- 
tained ; if it be placed on burning coals, it emits an 
odour similar to that of aloes ; it mollifies, and in 
this state, it cannot be broken until it is stretched to 
the fineness of a thread. M. Lombard says, “ That 
a perfect ignorance prevails, regarding the matter of 
which propolis is made, or whence the Bees extract 
it.” 
CHAP. XII. 
Oh Pollen, or Farina. 
Botanists designate by the term pollen, or farina, 
that fecundating dust which hangs on the stamina of 
all flowers, and which the Bees collect and transport 
to their hives, in little balls, or pellets, attached to 
