The Life of the Bee 



swarm of the previous year ; and is natu- 

 rally reluctant to venture far into space, 

 having indeed almost forgotten the use 

 of her wings. 



The bee-keeper waits till the mass be 

 completely gathered together ; then, hav- 

 ing covered his head with a large straw 

 hat (for the most inoffensive bee will con- 

 ceive itself caught in a trap if entangled 

 in hair, and will infallibly use its sting), 

 but, if he be experienced, wearing neither 

 mask nor veil ; having taken the precau- 

 tion only of plunging his arms in cold 

 water up to the elbow, he proceeds to 

 gather the swarm by vigorously shaking 

 the bough from which the bees depend 

 over an inverted hive. Into this hive the 

 cluster will fall as heavily as an over-ripe 

 fruit. Or, if the branch be too stout, he 

 can plunge a spoon into the mass ; and 

 deposit where he will the living spoonfuls, 

 as though he were ladling out corn. He 

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