22 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[July, 



find, and as only a few days would suffice for 

 flesh of the lion to become devoured by dogs 

 and birds of prey, and the bones to become dry, 

 it is natural and reasonable to suppose the swarm 

 of bees established themselves in the cavity of 

 the lion's skull, which is amply large enough 

 for a swarm of bees." He adds, "If the.e is a 

 better explanation, please give it." 



While there are some credulous people who 

 are quite willing to believe that these bees, 

 contrary to their usual instincts, actually took 

 keep their abode in the decaying and putrid 

 flesh of the defunct lion, there are others, who, 

 knowing that bees will not even alight on a 

 dead carcass, find a difficulty in reconciling the 

 Scripture narrative with the well-known facts 

 of natural history in regard to the habits of 

 bees. Mr. Argo has no doubt indicated the 

 right way of removing this difficulty, though 

 we think he is wrong in supposing that the 

 bees " established themselves in the cavity of 

 the lion's skull." That would be too small a 

 hive for an average swarm of bees, as even Mr. 

 Argo must admit if he reflects carefully on the 

 point. There is no reason to think the lion 

 was one of unusual size. It is described as a 

 "young lion," but this does not imply thit the 

 creature was immature or half-grown, as the 

 original rather conveys the idea of a lion in his 

 youthful prime and vigor. It was then, an 

 average adult lion. Now how much of a cavity 

 would there be in the skull of such a lion? We 

 have looked up this this question in some natu- 

 ral-history books, in the hope of meeting with 

 actual measurements that might help us out, 

 but have not succeeded in finding thein. From 

 an engraving of a lion's skeleton, contained in 

 one of these books, we are convinced that the 

 skull-cavity is quite limited in capacity. The 

 head bones are very massive, to give that strength 

 of jaw lor which the lion is remarkable, while 

 the brain is small, and flattened out broad and 

 shallow, as in all creatures of the (;at tribe. 

 The cavity in question might huld one of Mr. 

 Hosmer's quart stocks, but certainly would not 

 accommodate a good, natural swarm. 



There is, we think, "a better explanation." 

 It is that the bees took up their abode in the 

 body of the dead lion. Insects are very abund- 

 ant in the East, and they will, in a very short 

 space of time, completely clear out all the soft 

 parts of any carcass, leaving the skeleton entire. 



covered by the skin. It is not necessary to 

 suppose that " dogs and birds of prey " ravaged 

 the lion's remains. In a place far enough from 

 towns and villages for a " young lion " to be 

 prowling about, it is not likely that dogs, at 

 any rate, would be numerous. We have only 

 to suppose the skin left comparatively whole, 

 and the flesh eaten and picked out by insects — 

 especially ants^ which are very numerous in 

 Oriental countries — and, the softer parts being 

 removed, the bones and skin deprived of their 

 moisture by the heat of the sun; and we have a 

 hive which few swarms of bees would refuse to 

 occuj^y. The skeleton would be covered with 

 a sort of dry parchment, and, the interior, clean, 

 sweet, roomy and convenient, would be a likely 

 place for a swarm of bees to enter and take 

 possession of, especially in a secluded spot, 

 among the grape-vines. 



This is the view taken by Kitto, who says, 

 "In the East, bees establish themselves in situa- 

 tions little thought of by us ; many wild swarms 

 being left to find homes for themselves, fix in 

 any hollow which seems to them suited to their 

 wants. Often in the clefts of the rock, whence 

 the mention of 'iKmey out of the rock,' (Deut. 

 39.18) ; often in trees, whence the mention of 

 the dropping of the honey-comb, — a singular 

 instance of which we have in the case of Jona- 

 than, who found honey dropping from the trees 

 to the ground, in his way through a forest." 

 (1 Sam. 14:25, 26.) 



Whether the bees were " identical with the 

 Egyptian of the present day " or not, is a point 

 it is not easy to settle. According to N. C. 

 Mitchell, a stock of Egyptians would have 

 given even Samson some trouble, if he under- 

 took to rob them of their stores. But the lapse 

 of three thousand years may have made some 

 change ia their disposition, and a variety of 

 bees quiet enough to let Samson rob them with 

 impunity, may now, as the result of crossings 

 and habitudes, have become of a more warlike 

 turn. 



A Pew Facts About Bees. 



BY THE EDITOR. 



Successful bee-management must of necessity 

 be based on correct knowledge of the instincts 

 and habits of bees. These have been thoroughly 

 studied by naturalists, and are fully expounded 

 in works on insect life, which are deeply inter- 



