THE MYoTERlES OF DRONE-PRODUCTION. 61 



CHAPTER IX. 

 THE MYSTERIES OF DRONE-PRODUCTION. 



AssocT.\TED with the word drone are the terms lazy, idle, and indo- 

 lent, a ne'er-do-well, one who sponges on society, a human parasite. 

 Sometimes it is used to indicate a low, dull, heavy, monotonous 

 sound. In either case the character of the drone or male bee 

 has given birth to the meaning of the word as now used. 



In the latter case the sense attached to the word is very aip- 

 propriate. In the spring time, those who live neax bee-keepers, 

 even if they have no ear for music, cannot fail to be attracted 

 by the low, heavy sound in the air that is so frequently heard 

 about midday when the sun is shining brightly. As it regards 

 the sound emitted by the male bee, the use of the word in that 

 sense is quite justifiable. But as it regards the traits of the male 

 bee being classed with society's drones, there is nothing whatever 

 to justify the assumption, and there is nothihig analogous or 

 parallel between the drone bee and the idle and indolent of the 

 human family. 



The idea of bracketing everything lazy and idle with the male 

 bee sprang from a want of knowledge in the early history of 

 social bees. 



Why should the male bee be so maligned ? Why should he 

 be a Cain amongst his brethren, everyone trying to slay him? 

 Why should he be an Ishmael bee that every man'si hand is 

 against ? Amongst other domesticated animals the males are re- 

 garded as of the first importance. Their owners are as proud, 

 and in some cases even prouder of the pedigree of their choice 

 sires than they are of their own genealogical records. Sires always 

 fetch a much higher figure in the market than dams. It is the 

 same in the feathered race. A rooster is worth no more for the 

 table, weight for weight, than a hen. In the yard he is not 

 nearly so valuable. A hen will lay without him, and tho eggs 

 are equally good, if not more so, for table purposes. It is the 

 same with other high-claas domestic animals. If a man wishes 

 to obtain a name for himself as a breeder of high-class animals, 

 he spares no expense to obtain high-class sires. The dams arc 

 looked upon as secondary. Why? The sii-e i? one with many, 



