TEACHING BEES TO WRITE. 75 



the filled cells. No. 5 are real old-fashioned black bees — the bees 

 of my childhood — largely discarded now for the more gaudily- 

 nttired Italian. These, too, soon went to work on the design "19," 

 but, what is most singular, they worked out the curvilineal lines 

 of the 9 in preference to the stiaight line 1. Undoubtedly, the 

 main cause of apathy with Nos. 1, 2, and 3 was the failure in the 

 natural honey flow ; but why should they refuse to build comb 

 when there was an abundance of honey supplied them ? I will 

 tell you. Because they are not descendants from an industrious 

 {»,nd energetic family. Like produces like ; not only in colour, 

 form, and size, but in energy, disposition, and docility. In thes-e 

 respects there is as nuich difference amongst bees as is the case 

 with other animals. In form and features we can easily trace a 

 family likeness in the human race, and in the same race traits of 

 character and intelligence are as indelibly pourtrayed. Of course, 

 there are exceptions to the rule — or throwbacks, as cattle breeders 

 term it. And the same thing is met with in bee culture. 



Again, go into a large apiary at early dawn, and you will 

 see bees swarming into certain hives almost before sunrise heavily 

 laden with pollen and other stores, whilst in other hives the bees 

 are scarcely on the move. Yes, there are sluggardtbi amongst bees 

 as well as amongst men. 



Every bee-keeper in a large way — and, indeed amateurs if they 

 are men of observation — will tell you they have seen, more or less 

 frequently, strong colonies of bees that throw off weak swarms. 

 Some bees, whilst being handled and the comb examined, are as 

 restless as a flock of wild sparrows, others, again, appear to take 

 little or no notice of your interrupting their order of work. I 

 have lifted a comb of brood into the light and seen the queen go 

 on with her egg-laying duties as undisturbed as if the frame had 

 not been touched, and the workers at the same time attending 

 to their occupations. 



Now, why all this? Because I want you to lee the difference 

 there is in the working abilities and mental powers (may I use such 

 a term? I dont see why!) of bees. What caused the differ- 

 ence in the work accomplished by the bees with the ornamental 

 designs referred to? A ditrcrcnce in physical energy. For ener- 

 getic workers bred from queens whose progeny exhibit the 

 greate-;t amount of endurance and working powers. For foraging 

 also these will be on the alert in the early dawn. You can only 

 ascertain the health, the energy, the docility, etc., of a queen by 

 observing these things in the workers of that queen. Then breed 



