The Lansing state Republican. [volume] (Lansing, Mich.) 1855-1874, 1861-09-04
FACTS FOR FARMERS.
From The q LIN ,on Quarterly.
rHE HONEY BEE.

From The q l. u ton QuAftefy.
THE HONEY BEE.
In an arabic country, With little waste land
and good farming. very few stocks can be sup
norted. snd this has led some enthusiastic bee
N. s,ers 10 regret the advancement OF agriculture.
and the consequent decrease OF wild hOwers-or
weeds. according TO the eye that viess them
and the enclosure of wastes or commons. Even
a short distance will make a great difference IN
the amount OF honey collected We know OF
an instance where bcekeeper at Carshalton, III
Surrey, suspected from the lighting OF his bees
and other signs, that there was not pasfurase
enough, conveyed away one Of his lghtest and
most worthless hives, and hid il in the Wood
m,nsterne furzes, a distance OF about a mile and
a half Fortunately it lay there undiscovered.
and on removing it home he found that II had
becO ne one of his heaviest stocks. W. mention
this Is q case coming under our own knowledge
because a late writer, who has shown rather
wsspish disposition in his attacks on Mr.. Cotton 3
system, seems TO question not only the advant-
age but the practic ability OF the transportation OF
hives altogether. But the fact is, that the North
of England and Scotland where there are large
tracts Of heatherland apart from any habtatiOn,
nothing Is more Immon for the beemasters oil
the towns aud villages 10 submit their hives, du-
herd of the district.
There is something very interesting and Ar
cadan in this leading Of the bees out 10 pasture,
and it deserves more attention than it has yet
met with in this country. The transportation We
have hitherto spoken OF is only to short dis
lance ard on a small scale; but in Germany
travelling Caravans of these little wild beasts may
be met with, which sometimes make journey
Of thirty miles, taking four days to perform it.
There is nothing new in this transmigraiion, for
Columelia says that the inhabitants of Achaa
sent their hives into ttica TO benefit by the la
ter blooming flowers. The most pleasing picture,
however, of all, is that of the floating bee-hous-
es of the Nile mentioned by old and modern
writers, and thus described by DIR. Bevan:
ain lower Egypt. where the flower harvest is
not 80 early by several weeks as in the upper
districts OF that country, this practice of trans
pOrtatiOn - carried on To considerable extent.
About the end o. October, the hives after being
collected together from the different villages and
conveyed up to the Nile marked and numbered
by the different individuals to whom they be-
long, are heaped pyramdally upon the boats pre-
pared to receive them, which, floating gradually
down the river, and stopping at certain stages
OF their passage, remain there a longer or q shOr-
ter time, according to the produce which is sf-
'''NeN " VIC Souuu1s hitci uo'
cling in this manner three months, the bees,
culej the perfumes of the orange flowers Of
Of the Said, the essence of roses Of the Faicum,
the treasures of the Arabian jessamine, and a
variety of flowers, are brought back about the
beginning Of February to the places from which
they were carried"
An equally pleasing account is given by Mr..
Cotton OF tie practice in France:
" In France they put their hives in q boat.
some hundreds together, which floats down the
stream by night and stops BY day. The bees
go out in the morning ard return in the evening
and when they are all back and quiet, Oh the
boat floats. have heard them come home to
the ringing Of bell but l believe they would
come home just the same, whether the bell rings
or not"
Connected with their transmigrations is the
question to the extent Of their fight. We be.
heve that two miles may be considered as the
radius OF the circle of their ordinary range,
though circumstances will occasionally drive them
at least mile further.
Judging by the sweep tina, the bees take by
the side OF a railroad train in motion, We should
set dOwa their pace about thirty miles an hour.
This would give them four minutes to reach the
extremity OF their common range. A bee makes
several journeys from and to the hive in day !:
ss'AN AA"'Su iC""' ncu tudt u uOuty S8tncTlO2 Dee
was absent about 81 minutes, and pollen cOliec-
tor about half that time. The pollen or farina OF
flowers is doubtless more plentiful and accessi.
than the ! rev.
In speak = Of the food OF bees we must not
omit the honey dew, this shining, gumlny sub
stance must have been often noticed, on she
leaves OF the linden, the oak and the chestnut,
by the most injurious observer. The ancients
considered it either "a disposition OF the atmOs-
phere, or an oxidation from the leaves of trees !;
for to these opinions the "ceri meiiis ce,estia
dona." and ''qaeress sadabant roseida meiia,"
OF Virgil seem To refer. Gilbert White held the
singular notion that it was the ELI lvit of flow.
ers evapOrated and drawn into the atmosphere
ny the heat OF the weather, and then falling down
again In the night with the dews that entangle
them. It's origin is certainly one of those vexed
questions, which. like that of fairy rings vet
require further light for 4 satisfactory explana-
tloa At present 1t is impossible to reconcile the
discrepancy in the observation of naturalists,
some actually asserting that they have seen
showers of il falling To adjust the most com
moa opinions. it is now generally admitted that
there are two sources. if not two kinds, one be-
Tag a secretion from the leaves of certain plants,
the other q secretion from the body of an insect