The Busy Bee 127 



One cannot study either the ant-hill or the 

 beehive for long and keep his conceit and 

 self-confidence, as the particular capstone of 

 creation, and the impersonation of all wisdom. 



Who taught the bees the art of govern- 

 ment, which they possess to such a marked 

 degree? Who gave them their moral code, 

 and their nice distinction between the fit and 

 the unfit? Who told them that the heart of 

 the rose and the lily were sweet, and that the 

 sweet could be gathered upon that subtle 

 tongue? Who taught them to predigest this 

 food and to prepare it so nicely for man? 

 How and where did they learn that half of the 

 year was biting cold and that the flowers were 

 all asleep for many months? Who told them 

 that they must provide for this lapse hi the 

 bounty of nature? 



What governs the instinct of swarming? 

 Which are the master minds who lead the way 

 to the new bee tree? Where in that small 

 brain is located the sense of direction, that 

 will lead the little wanderers as straight home 

 as a shaft of light would travel? Why do not 



