292 AN EAST COAST NATURALIST 



unwonted flavour to the honey accumulated. Huge 

 pieces of the comb were pulled out and thrown to 

 the assembled children of tender and maturer ages 

 below, for which a general scramble took place. 

 Some brought plates and dishes in which to carry 

 the comb away. I picked up a piece, and knocking 

 several bees off it, found some of it exceedingly 

 good, whilst a portion here and there was smoky- 

 flavoured. While sucking a bit of comb one man 

 received a sting on his finger, whilst another, 

 heedless of fresh consignments descending from 

 above, was struck on the back of his neck with a 

 huge piece of soft treacly comb that fairly poulticed 

 him. Two bucketsful of spoil in all was appropriated. 

 The most curious thing witnessed was, when the 

 chimney had been thrown down, how the survivors 

 and the home-coming bees wheeled round and round, 

 disconsolately and dumbfounded, in the air where 

 the chimney had been ! For two or three summers 

 previous these bees, which had discovered the 

 treasures spread upon the various sweet-stalls in the 

 market-place, made themselves a great nuisance by 

 smothering the sweets by the hundred all day long. 



The following paragraph appeared in the columns 

 of a local paper early in July 1897 : 



