The Farm-Yard.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 2, Issue 31, 28 February 1850, Page 3

The Farm-Yard.

Looking at the farm-yard as a picture, it present's a pleasing scene, and also many objects to our view worthy of consideration; for we cannot contemplate the implements of husbandry, and the inhabitants of this inclosed space, without pleasur l and gratification •. if we observe the whole economy of the place, we shall see a swnple rusticity in every part, that reminds us of primitive innoccncy, when to cultivate the earth was the chief employment of man ; and we shall be constrained to acknowledge how much we aro indebted to I ihe country and the plough (or our daily lirend, and to the innocent sheep of Ihe pasture (for the covering that protects us from the ini clemency of the weather. The contented husbandman, happy iu his heath, repines mil, that ' he has to endure Ihe labour which fallen naI ture entailed on him, when Divine Wisdom declared, " By tlu; sweat of thy brow shal I thou gather thy livinghe whistles to hH team, carols to his work, and thanks his God with inward gratitude that he reaps the ripa grain, houses his harvest, or brholds the milkmaid drawing from tho distended udders of the cows, the wholesome and strengthening milk that feeds and invigorate* the human constitution.

How many lesßons of morality may we draw from the siglil of a farm-yard ; t lie watchful doff fill.)itl3 the approaches to the house, anil tends hN master's cattle, with a caro and 3olicitude Clint would put to slmme many a negligent person: the lino-plumed cock crows aloud to raise the sluggard Irom his slcinbcre, and proclaims tlio advent of day, and the call to industry nnd labour. The chuckling hen calls lier chickens lo the food which she scratches out for their sustenance, and spreads her wings (o cover nnd warm them in her maternal embrace ; such a scene as this is 3 paye in Nature's volume on which the eye d.vells wllh sntisl.tcliuii, and from which may be extracted much philosophical information j and thn more it is studied, the more interesting aud entertaining will it become ; we see in it not only the source of our support nnd the supply of our natural wants, but wo nlso behold the fountain and origin from whence our national greatness has sprung, and Irom whence it is still sus'ained, The seat of the highest dignity, tho Presidental Bench of the " House of Pi!Eit=,'' is covered by the " ll'ootaick," nn I acknowledgment of what has been the staple commodity of commerce ia this country, and that commodity, so valuable and so honoured, | the timid sheep carry about with them till I they yield it to the hands of their shearers. Long, very long, might we dwell 011 this subject, but as the eye nnd the mind may he be gratified together, we leave it to silent contemplation, and the efti-ct of the Picture we have given herewith.— Guide lo Knowledge.

Dees. Among all the different classes of winged insects, tlie most beneficial lo man, and one of llio most wonderful, me Beet. Bees are common in mostcounlrio; but, although naturalists have for ages considered tlmm as an important subject of inquiry) their history as yet is but imperfectly known. In some countries, Hues arc nn object cf great;<ttcntion, and their honey and wax are considerable articles of commerce. In every hive, Bees nreof throe kinds; viz. lst t tho working bees, or mules ; 2d, mules, or drones, which nrc less numerous ; uud. 3d, the female bee, which is called the mother, or qwen. Tin workers are the smallest, the

males llie largest, and the females are of middle size. The males are nearly double the size of the workers, hut want sting}. The females, Or queens, have stings, and me longer than the males, or the. workers ; in other tespecta they ate exactly like them. Bees usually rolled together in hives. A hi'-e generally contains from fifteen to twenty thousand; in others, from thirty to sixty thousand. In nil these there is but one queen mother, or female; and the number of males does not exceed tivo or three hundred ; the remiiner is composed of working Bees, which labour for the others, to support them. Neither the males nor females go abronl in quest of wax or honey. All the working bi*es are furnished with a trunk for their labors, nnd a sting for their defence. These little animals, whom we behold so sociable in their community, are ever industrious to'a<sist each other, and prevent their mutual necessities with surprising generosity ; and shall wb leave our fellow-creatures in distress? Ou the contrary, we are convinced, that the finest of all pleasures consists in preserving persons from calamity, and it is a pleasure capable of increasing in proportion to our abi'i.ies to give. The Bees, when they begin to form the different cells in the hive, commence nt the top, where iliey lay a bed of glue, to which they fix the first cells of the comb, which they continue downwards, till they have no room left. The comb they divide into three cantons: one where they rear their young ; another where they store their wax for their future occasions ; and the third, where they preserve their honey for the winter. The wax is a provision altogether as necessary for the Isees, in one sense, as the honey, for it is with the wax they build their appartments, and also where they'trensure up their honey. A bee is first an egg; this egg, which in time becomes a bee, is exceedingly white. The eggs of bees are cast into the empty cells, not carelessly Into any cells, but only the middle cells, which are always appointed for the breeding cells, whilst those all round the hive are reserved for the honey.—Guide to Knowledge.