14 BEGINNER'S BEE BOOK 



find that honey is a very economical food to 

 serve as frequently as her family can enjoy it. 

 The Busy Bees. — The activities of the 

 bees are sufficient in themselves to attract many 

 people, even though there was no profit to be 

 made from the production of honey. On bright 

 days when one most enjoys being in the open 

 air, the bees are tremendously active. There 

 will be a great bustle and hurry about the hive 

 that makes one feel like sitting in the grass and 

 watching them for hours at a time. There is 

 something of mystery, also, in the little com- 

 munity where many thousand active little crea- 

 tures live together in perfect harmony, all bent 

 on the one aim of piling up as much honey as 

 possible while the nectar is abundant in the 

 fields. When the workers are no longer of use 

 to the community they receive no considera- 

 tion from their busy sisters, but are permitted 

 to drag themselves off to die alone. If they 

 are slow about leaving the hive they are often 



