14 



"UE AMERICAN BEE KEEPEB. 



January 



did not seem to mind it. They were 

 kept coufined with the grapes just 

 three weeks, and during this time they 

 were removed and the grapes carefully 

 examined, but it could not be dis- 

 covered that a single grape had been 

 injured. The natural inference is, 

 that if the bees could not be induced 

 to eat the grapes when kept in close 

 confinement with them, they are not 

 likely to do them much injury when 

 at liberty to seek the food they like 

 best. 



It is wellknown that certain wasps 

 will cut the skin of grapes, and i have 

 always held to the opinion that the 

 wasp was the culprit which opens the 

 door for the bees to enter. This 

 opinion has been confirmed the past 

 season, when two species of the genus 

 Polistes, or social wasps, were seen to 

 light on the grapes and with their 

 sharp jaws tear open the skin and suck 

 the juice, after which the honey bees 

 would usually finish the work. In 

 fact, it would be a very stupid bee 

 that would not avail itself of such an 

 opportunity. 



(From New York Sun.) 



BEES BRING BLISS. 



An Unusual Train of Events at a Country 

 Funeral in Maine. 

 During a funeral in the town of 

 Cutler two days ago two lovers who 

 had been ali enated from each other 

 for a month were brought together un- 

 der peculiar and painful circumstances^ 

 and before the services were ended a 

 complete reconcilation was effected. 

 The chief mediators in the affair were 

 honey bees — a whole swarni of them. 

 After short services at the house the 

 body was taken to the family tomb in 

 another part of the town. Willis 



Smith the rejected suitor, one of the 

 pallbearers, rode in a carriage ahead 

 of the hearse, and Miss Milly Loring, 

 the woman in the case, occupied a top 

 buggy driven by Mr. Clark, and 

 brought up the rear of the procession 

 araoung the neighbors and friends. 

 As soon as the tomb was unlocked and 

 the coffin taken to its resting place 

 great crowds of angry bees swarmed 

 out, stinging kindred, friends and 

 bearers, untill everybody howled with 

 pain. Mr. Clark, the man who was 

 escorting Mi^s Loring, jumped from 

 his carriage and fled for a stream of 

 water 20 rods away, whereupon his 

 horse got up a brisk runaway right 

 among the mourners. The animal 

 had made one circuit about the ceme- 

 tery and was bolting through the gate 

 for a two-mile home run, when it was 

 caught by Mr. Smith, who led it to a 

 place of safety, and did what he could 

 to alleviate the distress of Miss Loring. 

 Meantime the men of the party had 

 built a fire, which scorched the wings 

 of the bees and caused them to fall to 

 the ground. 



When Mr. Clark returned from the 

 stream he found Mr. Smith and Miss 

 Loring sitting side by side applying 

 wet clay to their bee stings. Both 

 were eating honey and talking as if 

 they had always been friends. Mr. 

 Clark took his horse and drove home 

 without asking any questions. 



HONEY BEES CAPTURE A SHIP. 



The bark Shirley, which has carried 

 millions of feet of lumber on the Pa- 

 cific coast, is now said to have aboard 

 a small cargo of honey. Her owners 

 recently decided to put her in the 

 Klondike service and L. B. Mitchell 

 was sent to Quartermaster Harbor 



