54 THE GLORY OF THE GARDEN 



and the larvae ; the ladies of honour who wait on the 

 queen, and never allow her out of their sight; the 

 house-bees who air, refresh, or heat the hive by- 

 fanning their wings, and hasten the evaporation 

 of the honey that may be too highly charged with 

 water; the architects, masons, and wax- workers who 

 form the chain, and construct the combs; the 

 foragers who sally forth to the flowers in search of 

 the nectar that turns into honey, of the pollen that 

 feeds the nymphs and larvae, the propolis that welds 

 and strengthens the buildings of the city, or the 

 water and salt required by the youth of the 

 nation. 



" The orders have gone forth to the chemists, who 

 ensure the preservation of the honey by letting a 

 drop of formic acid fall in from the end of their 

 sting; to the capsule-makers, who seal down the 

 cells when the treasure is ripe; to the sweepers, 

 who maintain public places and streets most irre- 

 proachably clean; to the bearers, whose duty it is to 

 remove the corpses; and to the amazons of the guard, 

 who keep watch on the threshold by day and by 

 night, question comers and goers, recognise the 

 novices who return from their very first flight, 

 scare away vagabonds, marauders, and loiterers, 

 expel all intruders, attack redoubtable foes in a 

 body, and, if need be, barricade the entrance." 



Such is the continual, daily work, methodical and 

 organised, going on in each and every hive, and then 

 human beings think that they are the only living 

 creatures who know the meaning of work ! 



To quote once more from Bliss Carman in " A 

 More Ancient Mariner," from whom came the 

 verses at the beginning of this chapter: 



