183 



26. — T3ees and Bee-Keeping. 

 By the Rev. Herbert R. Peel, M.A. 



[Read 10th April, 1879.] 



Before I presume to read a paper to the members of a learned 

 society, such as I have now the honour of addressing, upon matters 

 connected with Natural History, to which science their attention 

 and investigations are principally directed, I must disclaim any 

 pretensions to the title either of a naturalist, entomologist, or 

 botanist. My only qualifications for imparting information upon 

 bees and bee-keeping are two in number. The first is that I have 

 for some time past kept in a glass hive in my study at Abbot's 

 Hill, a colony of bees, of the variety known as the honey-bee, 

 whose nature and habits I spend a good deal of time in watching, 

 and have, therefore, facilities and opportunities of seeing for 

 myself what others may only be able to read of in books. The 

 second is that from being the Secretary of the British Bee- 

 keepers' Association, as well as of the Hertfordshire County Asso- 

 ciation, which is an offshoot from, and affiliated to, the parent 

 society, I am brought into frequent contact with that rapidly 

 increasing variety of the genus homo known as the British bee- 

 keeper, and so have an opportunity of watching and studying his 

 nature and habits, which is probably not within the reach of many 

 of my audience to-night. 



It is right, I think, to speak of bees before we speak of bee- 

 keeping. No one should attempt to keep any living creatures 

 either for pleasure or profit until he has made himself thoroughly 

 acquainted with their habits, and understands their wants and 

 requirements. A gentleman who had purchased a swarm of bees 

 from a well-known bee-master in London, late in the season, some 

 years ago, refused to pay for them on the ground that the bees 

 had deserted the hive in which they had been placed, and had 

 gone off he knew not where. "VYhen the case was investigated in 

 the Metropolitan County Court, it was proved that the bees had 

 dwindled down and perished for want of proper attention and 

 feeding. The defendant's defence was that he had no idea that 

 he ought to have attended to, or fed the bees, upon which the 

 learned judge stopped the case, and said that he must rule against 

 him, as it was evident to him that any one keeping bees should 

 have first learned how to take care of them, which the defendant 

 clearly had not done. 



"W^e will then, to-night, follow in the case of the bee the advice 

 which Solomon gives in the book of Proverbs respecting the ant. 

 We will consider her ways, that we may be more wise than the 

 defendant in the case just mentioned, and as I am not going to 

 speak to you about anything of which I have not some personal 

 experience, I must direct your attention mainly ■ to the Apis 

 mellijica or honey-bee. There are. many other kinds of bees to be 



