The crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1877-1878, 1878-09-05

No insect has had so many historians
given literature so many SMILES and illus
trations, or occupied so large Il share Of
the naturalst's attention as the bee
Aristomachus, studying its habits for sixty
years, and Philiscus, retiring into the
depths of Il forest to pursue the same fas.
cinatlng course OtObScrvatiOn undisturbed,
may be cited to illustrate from ancient
times the devotion to tins branch Of
science, OF winch, in more modern days,
Rcaumur and Huber are such distin-
gulshed examples. But patience in re.
search and Sagacity in observation, how
ever eminent in degree, have alike failed
to exhaust the subject, and the physiology
and domestic economy of the bee continue
to afford to-day problems and marvcls as
novel and remarkable as when first Virgil
sang Of the wonders of the hive. The diff
tcrcnt classes into which the community
is divided, the offices which distinguish
each, and their wondrouS divcrSites Of
structure, the architecture of their cells
and combs, their codes of ethics and civil
polity, the attention paid to the rearing of
the young and the sending forth of new
swarms-all these, though the very rudi-
mcntS Of the science, after centuries of
close scrutiny, present themes for admira-
ton and research. Nor has the queen bee
had all her story told, for bee literature is
still contributing to our knowledge of "thc
monarch mother of the hive Nearly
every nation has. at one time or another,
made agriculture an important industry,
and prccedcnts for the object which the
British, as other bcc-kccping associa-
tlons have in view are therefore numerous.
Most interesting, perhaps, among these
national enterprises were those of the
Greeks and Egyptians, both of whom, to
secure for their bees an equal abundance
ofilowerS throughout the year, carried their
hives from country to country, pursuing,
summer. Hundreds of bargcs hcaped up
with hives annually Travelled up and down
| the Nile between lower and upper Egypt,
and the Greek bec-iarmcrs of AChaia reg
ularly sent their insects off mt the proper
season on u tour of Attica and the islands.
In France these bee bargcs still exist on
some rivers, and the little insects, floating
down by night, awake each morning to
find themselves in the midst Of new past
urcS. Nature itself, as shown at the cx-
hlbtlOn now open. here comes to the as
slStancc of man, for while the silkwOm
demands Il particular food, the cochincal
Il special location, and the lac insect pecu-
liar trees for their proper development.
the honey bee thlivcS best in the waste
corners Of the earth, the hcathcr-covcrcd
moor and hillside, the ditch and boskagc
bright with mallow, tcascl 5urdock, and
dandcIion the hcdgc-row tangled with
honcysucklc and bramblc the common
Ovcrgrown with yarrow, the bank, where
flourish the wild cabbage and wild tur-
MP, expelled from the fields, and all those
odd and ends of land where, the thistle
and groundsel, boragc and nrttlc possess
the soil. All these are mriudcd among
the bees tavorte plants, and, even with
mlgnoncttr to tempt it, the insect seeks
the wild SaintOin in preference Across
garden brilliant with all the triumphs of
modern floral science, it will wing its way
to some neglected bit of woodland where
the clcmatis is growing aud will reject
all the splcndorS of the pa tcTr to seek
out Il humble bcan-icid Ample provi. |
sion for the bee has thu, .ccn made by |
nature; but man, by his ord nary cultiva- |
ton of clover santoin, and luccrnc. peas
and beans, mustard AMI m.ny other com
mon crops, admirably supplements the |
little creatures diet. For board. there
fore, the bee costs nothing; for lodging
mere triilc while, lor attendance, no
other living charge makes so slight claim !
upon human attention Given fine wealth
cr, the hive owncrmay bask ia the sun all |
day, complaccnt in the knowledge that
the honey is augmCnting in the cells aS
certainly It's money put out at compound
interest is accumulating in the bank.
Facility of production, however, is not
the only argument required to make agri-
culture attractive to the cOttagcr and |
worIilngman. 1t must also be shown that |
the lndustryiS u paying one. Aprizc hive
of honey, obtained by joining swarus,
weighed, in the exhibition last year, the
comb and honey alone, one hundred and
sixty pounds while the prize comb in the
present show weighs, the portion exhibited,
over forty pounds These. however, are
prize W productions, and we must rate an
average hive at one-htth, or thirty pounds
of honey per annum, which, with honey at
II pound, gives an annual in
come per hive of twenty-five shillings and
slXpence. A dozen hives would give no
more trouble than one, so that by simply
putting out twelve hives on bench the
cottager may, if he chooses. make his bees
pay his rent. Those, therefore, who say
that an easy source of income is neglected
have ample grounds for their statement.
But 1t Is not only to the country cottager
that agriculture recommends itself for
here, in the very heart of London. in the
topmost story of house in the Strand, is
thriving colony of bees. They find their
in the parks and in the gardens
of the Embankment the lime-trees in our
streets, the flowers in windows; on hand
baTows, and shops, and, in spite of the
wide area which the bees have to range,
and the labor of flying with their burdens
up to such height the hives are flourish,
ing and productive. BY bringing fa.t ,
like these prominently before the pubic.
and thus practically demonstrating the ia-
cllitics, within easy reach of the poorer .
classes, that exist both in town and c0m
try, the bee-keeping association, are do ,
ing good service, and il is ,ltistactow /.
therefore to know that then rnlcavor te =
waiting at the hands Of the public 10 en- =
they desire. The Ba oness !;
Burdett-Coutts, who has this year Jnored :
the association by becoming esident I
has, in contributing to tbn fund Of the as
sociation, afforded yet another Instance of
ler judi, aus liberality, ami 4 the inter e
ests of ,hos to whom ariyulture would c
prove so grea Il boon, W ,rust the exam. Y
pie Of this liberal pg onage may next !
year find abundant in cation.
A 81 mite Work. 4