The Honey Bee.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 4, Issue 58, 13 March 1851, Page 4

The Honey Bee.

Whilst anxiously gleaning the books at our disposal, in search of matter for amusement and instruction, we met with an exceedingly interesting little volume called "The Family Economist." The lirst article which arrested our attention was a treatise on the Honey liee in six papers j and as those papers not only explain the easy and simple management of the indefatigable little creature, hut afford instructions how it may he rendered iiisirunn'iital to the wealth and comfort of men, we have determined to transfer them, in succession, to these pages, merelj venturing upon a few omissions and alterations, such as may bo requisite to the class of readers to whom they arc now about in lie presented. This remarkable insect has attracted the attention and aiimiration of maiiidnd in all aijes. Its produce is mentioned as one of the chief attractions of the land of promise to the wandering I>r»clites. The country to which they journeyed was to be " A land flowing with milk and honey." The heathen poets and historians make frequent reference lo this wonderful insect. It was held by them in groat veneration. Virgil, one of the ablest among them, asserted that a bee was a ray of the divinity. Plutarch, that it was the magazine of virtues. Their views of the natural history of the liee wcr« in many instances sufficiently absurd. Some imagined that they were bred from the purest juice of flowers; others, that they sprung from the putrid flesh of animals. They were also supposed lo he endowed with the knowledge of many sciences. Hut a more correct knowledge o( the natural history of bees was reserved (or modern times. Swammerdam, a Dutch physician, and Maraldi and Iteaiimur, eminent French |.litlosophcrs, about a hundred and fifty years since, by their observations and dissections, threw much light on the habits and secret movements of these little insects. Hut one of the principal writers on the I3ce is Francis lluber, an eminent naturalist who was born at Geneva in 1750, and died at Lausanne in ISlil. This enthusiastic naturalist lias written a. considerable volume upon the Honey liee. And although recent writers rnve shown the incorrectness of some of his theories, the work itself is the foundation of our more uxicnded acquaintance with the interesting little creature. Hut connected with the Natural History of the liee, is its great value in the domestic economy of the farnu'r and cottager. When properly conducted, the culture of these insects becomes a source of considerable pecuniary profit. The successful management of bees requires hut a moderate degree of attention and care. The expense is Irifling, consisting of the first outlay in proeuiing a swarm, and providing suitable accommodation in the shape of hives or boxes. The return is very considerable, and may he regarded as clear gain. In the course of these brief articles, on (lie management of the liee, we shall show ihat from £lO to A'ls a year may be realized by the culture of bees on a moderate scale —a sum by no means despicable, but which may he made the source of much comfort and independence, of social and general amelioration.