Folk-lore about Bees. 185 



the honeycombs, or, as they are more commonly called, " work- 

 ings," the following rhyme exists : 



" Sieve upon herder,* 

 One upon the other ; 

 Holes upon both sides, 

 Not all the way, though, 

 What may it be? See if you know." 



The entrance for the bees into the hive is here, as in Cam- 

 bridgeshire and some other counties, named the " tee-hole," 

 evidently an onomatopoieia, from the buzzing or " teeing " noise, 

 as it is locally called, which the bees make. The piece of wood 

 placed under the " bee-pots," to give the bees more room, is 

 known as "the rear," still also, I believe, in use in America. 

 The old superstition, I may notice, is here more or less believed, 

 that the bees must be told if any death happens in a family, 

 or they will desert their hives. It is held, too, rather, perhaps, 

 as a tradition than a law, that if a swarm of bees flies away 

 the owner cannot claim them, unless, at the time, he has made 

 a noise with a kettle or tongs to give his neighbours notice. It 

 is on such occasions that the phrase " Low brown " may be 

 heard, meaning that the bees, or the " brownies," as they are 

 called, are to settle low. 



So also of the cattle, which are turned out in the Forest, we 

 find some curious expressions. A " shadow cow " is here what 

 would in other places be called "sheeted," or "saddle-backed," 

 that is, a cow whose body is a different colour to its hind and fore 

 parts. f A " huff" of cattle means a drove or herd, whilst the 



* A local name for a sieve, called, also, a " rudder ;" which last word is, 

 in different forms, used throughout the West of England. 



f For other words applied to cows of various colours, see Barnes's 

 Glossary of the Dorset Dialect, under the words " capple-cow," p. 323 ; 

 " hawked cow," p. 346 ; and " linded cow," p. 358. 



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