PRINTED AT THE TIMES OFFICE, WIDEMARSH-STREET.
MDCCCLI.
This Lecture elicited so much approbation as to induce the Author to have a few copies printed, for the amusement and instruction of those who may feel an interest in the subject.
HISTORY AND MANAGEMENT
OF THE
HONEY BEE.
Dr. Bevan (the author of a well-known and admirable manual for apiarians) took as the theme of his paper the
HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE.
The learned gentleman began by saying,—Mr. President. Ladies, and Gentlemen—You have before you a very old man, but a very young lecturer; so young that this is the first time in my life that I ever was induced to address a public assembly. Nor might I have summoned courage enough to do so now, but for the very powerful appeal which was made to us all by our worthy President in his inaugural address, wherein, after the manner of the immortal Nelson, he admonished us that every member of this Society is expected to do his duty—that is to say, that individual attainments should be thrown into a common stock, from which each might draw, and to which each might contribute, with reciprocal benefit. In obedience to this admonition, and in furtherance of its laudable object, I now proceed to throw in my mite of information.—The subject to which I have the honor and the pleasure to bespeak your attention this evening is the history and management of that indefatigable Little insect the honey bee. But, it is a subject on which I hardly know how to address such an assembly, owing to the various degrees of information which must needs be distributed among you. Some of you I imagine to have a very limited acquaintance with bees, for the majority of those with whom I have conversed in other places respecting them have had their whole knowledge comprised in being simply aware that they can sting and gather honey. To such of my auditors, if any such there be, it would seem right that I should commence with the A B C of the subject, even at the risk of proving tiresome to those who are more extensively informed; and some there are here present, I have no doubt, who know as much about the matter as I do, perhaps more. From such I can only bespeak indulgence. Of all the various members of the insect race, there is none which so abounds with useful lessons, or is more fraught with wonder, than the honey bee From the earliest ages it is found to have occupied the thoughts and the pens of the philosopher, the poet, and the moralist; and whether we consider its instincts, or its contributions to our comfort and convenience, there is scarcely one that can compete with it. In testimony of the early notice which it attracted, we have the evidence of Holy Writ, from which it may fairly be inferred that honey must have been one of man's earliest luxuries; and considering the extent of Solomon's knowledge of natural history, I find it difficult to believe that the bee was not one of the creatures which he had in his mind when writing the 30th chapter of Proverbs, in which he says, "there are four things that are little upon the earth, but exceeding wise," viz., ants, conies, locusts, and spiders. Unaided by an acquaintance with the Hebrew language, I had hoped to ascertain from some competent Hebrew scholar that the word which was translated conies or rabbits might prove to be an error of some Jewish scribe, and that the word ought to have been translated bees—that, in fact, Solomon meant to designate four insects, not three insects and a rabbit; for the rabbit is not very little, nor a builder of houses in the rocks, neither is it, so far as I know, celebrated for any especial wisdom, whereas the bee not only answers to all these conditions, but has ever stood pre-eminent among insects. The notion which I had formed upon this subject was still farther strengthened by finding that the word which had been translated conies in the generally-received version of the Scriptures was not so rendered in every version of them. This, at any rate, betokened some degree of uncertainty upon the subject, even among the translators of Scripture. In this my difficulty I referred to two eminent Hebrew scholars for enlightenment. They at once decided that, if the word had been rendered bees, it would have been mis-translated. Still they could neither of them affirm conies to be the correct translation. Having thus unsuccessfully endeavoured to vindicate the wisdom of Solomon, I must leave the matter in the state of uncertainty in which I found it, still claiming, however, for my favourite insect that high position which it will, I am sure, be found richly to deserve, not only as a model of industry, sagacity, and loyalty, but as affording, under good management, an interesting and rational amusement to the man of leisure, as well as a source of profit to the bumble cottager, wherever located, for, so universally accommodating is the bee in its habits, that under the fostering care of man it has been found to flourish in every clime to which it has been introduced. Since the period to which I have just referred, viz., between three and four thousand years ago, the bee seems never to have ceased to occupy attention more or less, and through the observations of a succession of naturalists, which their pens have recorded, books enough have been written on apiarian matters to form a goodly library in themselves. I have adverted to the profit which may be derived from a judicious management of bees: I will relate to you an anecdote in illustration of it, which I could wish may be generally circulated among our rural population, not excepting even our rural clergy; for even in this land of Goshen I fear there are but too many of our working clergy to whom the anecdote may be well worthy of attention. A good old French bishop, in paying his annual visit to his clergy, was very much afflicted by the representations they made of their extreme poverty, which indeed the appearance of their houses and families corroborated. Whilst he was deploring the sad state of things which had reduced them to such a condition, he arrived at the house of a curate who, living amongst a poorer set of parishioners than any he had yet visited, would, he feared, be in a still more woful plight than the others. Contrary, however, to his expectations, he found appearances very much improved. Everything about the house wore the aspect of comfort and plenty. The good bishop was amazed. "How is this, my friend," said he, "you are the first pastor I have met with a cheerful face and a plentiful board! Have you any income independent of your cure?" "Yes, sir," said the curate, "I have; my family would starve on the pittance I receive from the poor people that I instruct. If you will walk with me into the garden, I will show you the stock that yields me such excellent interest." On going to the garden, he showed the bishop a long range of bee-hives. "There," said he, "is the bank from which I draw an annual dividend, and it is one that never stops payment." His harvest of honey enabled him to reduce materially his consumption of sugar, and also to send a considerable quantity to market; of the coarser portions he made a tolerable substitute for malt liquor, and the sale of his wax nearly paid his shoe-maker's bill! Ever since this memorable visit, when any of the clergy complained to the bishop of poverty, he would say to them "Keep bees! keep bees!" So say I.
I Shall now proceed to call your attention to the several members which form the bee community, and to some points in their wonderful economy. Every family of bees, when fully constituted, comprises a queen, several thousands of labourers, and several hundreds of drones. It is usual for naturalists, in giving an account of these insects, to commence with the Queen; but I, though a very loyal subject, shall give precedence to the labouring population, as constituting by far the most numerous portion of the family, and as being the most continuously and actively employed. These are the bees on which Dr. Watts so beautifully fixed the attention of childhood, as "the little busy bees." They are emphatically called the working bees, and most properly, for they are true workers, enjoying nearly the whole of their time in fine weather in the collection and storing of provisions: much of it is also devoted to the construction of the waxen cells in which their stores are deposited and the young bees reared To each of these offices it has been generally considered that certain bees are duly appointed, and that thus the business of the hive is, by a regular division of labour, judiciously carried on. Shakspere seems to have had a glimpse at this regular mode of proceeding in the bee-hive, for he speaks of bees being creatures that teach the art of order to a peopled kingdom, of their having officers of sorts, some of them as building roofs of gold, while others make boot upon the summer's velvet buds. The whole of his description is very beautiful, and, so far as I have quoted from him, I believe correct; the rest is mere poetical fancy. By some it has been conceived that there is an original difference in the bees, according to the duties they are destined to fulfil; but it appears more probable that all are born with equal capabilities, and that whatever difference may be observable in adult bees arises from causes connected with their occupations. To these it is that the poets and moralists have applied the terms, the busy bee, the industrious bee, the provident bee, the skilful bee; and most truly do they deserve every one of those titles.