THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



24!) 



The Folk-Lore of Bees. 



This subject is far from being cxliaust- 

 •cd by the interesting paper wliieli appear- 

 <'cl iu the Gardeners' Chronirle for .lune 

 SO, and it seems -worth -svhik^ to suppli- 

 ment it by a few additional details, -whicii 

 I find entered from various sources in my 

 "folk-lore" note-book. It seems to me 

 that "J. F. IJ.," is a little too severe upon 

 superstitions, -which, altliough "foolisii 

 and ridiculous" from a strictly common- 

 sense point of view, are at any rate harm- 

 less in tliemsclvcs, and ■\vhich doubtless 

 have their bearing, even if we do not at 

 yu'esent see how, upon the former history 

 of the ethnology of Great Britain. IIow- 

 <.»ver, my object is rather to add fresli 

 matter than to criticize, so I will not 

 dwell further upon this point. 



A mediicval tradition regarding bees 

 may -worthily occupy a. foremost rank iu 

 our list, as it is still current in Cornwall, 

 nnd lias been elegantly versified by the 

 Kev. R. S. Hawker,vicar of Morwenstown. 

 TJiis tells us how a woman, finding that 

 Jier bees did not thrive, obtained a conse- 

 crated Host and placed it among them, 

 having been told that by this means they 

 would be rendered more fruitful ; and so 

 it proved. The bees thrived apace, and 

 -«']ieu the woman in due course went to 

 take the honey, she found in the hive "a 

 chai>el built by tlie bees, with an altar in 

 it, the -walls adorned by marvellous skill 

 of architecture, -\vith windows couvenient- 

 1\' set in their places; also a door and a 

 steeple with bells. And the Host being- 

 laid upon the altar, the bees making a 

 sweet noise, flew round about it." This 

 legend, in various forms and with difter- 

 cnt details, appears to have been very 

 popular, and is found in various religious 

 works as late as the seventeenth century. 



The notion that bees will not thrive if 

 ])urchased is prevalent not only in many 

 English counties, but also iu France, and 

 1 notice that the French bee superstitions 

 generally corresj)Oud very closely with 

 those of England. A hive of bees may, 

 however, be exclianged for another ob- 

 ject ; just as iu Cornwall they are trans- 

 ferred from one owner to another with the 

 tacit understanding that a bushel of corn 

 or in other jdaccs a small pig (which is 

 fair equilavent) is to be given in return, 

 ijoth French and English bees arc so jjos- 

 sessed with the spirit of honesty that they 

 will not thrive if stolen ; indeed, the 

 French bees "will find their -way back to 

 their lawful owner. So discriminating 

 are they, that should they come in the 

 ])ossession of a person of bad reputation, 

 they Avill desert their hives and seek a 

 .more -worthy master. 



The very aencr.d Euijlish custom of 



announcing a death to the bees, likewise 

 prevails in some parts of France. The 

 announcement of death iu many English 

 villages, and even in the classic, town of 

 O.xford, is, or was, made by tajtping three 

 times on the hives with the house-key, 

 saying at the same time, "Bees, bees, 

 bees, your master is dead, and you must 

 Avork for — " the future owner. Nor is 

 this all ; for the bees are also invited to 

 the funeral, at least in tlie Sheffield dis- 

 trict ; and it is considered that they will 

 die should this comidiment be omitted. 

 In Devonshire, too, a corres]>ondent of 

 Notes and Queries says: "I once knew 

 an apprentice boy sent back by the funer- 

 al cortege by the nurse, to tell the bees of 

 it, as it had l)eeu forgotten. They usual- 

 ly put some -vN'ine and honey for them be- 

 fore the lave on that day." Another 

 funeral bee custom, formerly very gener- 

 al in Devonshire, was that of turning 

 round the hives belonging to the deceased 

 at the moment when the corpse was taken 

 out of the house. It is a sign of death 

 not only when bees settle on " dead 

 wood," but also when they desert their 

 hives and die -, and in Cumberland if they 

 rise and do not stay during a critical ill- 

 ness, it is a certain indication of death. 



Bees have a great aversion to quarrel- 

 ing, especially between man and wife, 

 but in some parts of France are supposed 

 to attack those who swear, and on this 

 account children are warned not to use 

 " bad words " near a bee-hive. They also 

 understand what is said to them, and are 

 not slow to avenge any insults offered to 

 them. It is a medi.eval superstition that 

 bees would not live in Ireland ; and 

 another tradition of the same period tells 

 us that a sorcerer, if he should eat a 

 queen bee, Avould be impervious to any 

 torture which might be practiced upon 

 him. A humble bee in the house denotes 

 the approaching visit of a stranger. In 

 the east of England, if a red-tailed bee 

 enters the house, the stranger -will be a 

 man, if a -white-tailed a woman. The en- 

 trance of a humble bee into a cottage is 

 sometimes regarded as a sign of death. 

 The value of a ]\Iay swarm is referred to 

 by Tusser, who says : 



•■Take heed to thy bees that are ready to swariii. 



The loss thereof uow is a crown's worth of 

 harm." 



In Warwickshire the first swarm of 

 bees is simply called a swarm ; the 

 second one from the same hive is known 

 as a cast ; while the third is termed a 

 spindle. In Hampshire it is a common 

 saying that bees are idle or unfortunate at 

 their work whenever there are Avars. 

 Borlase says that "the Cornish to this 

 day invoke the spirit BroAvny A\'hen their 

 bees sAvarm, and think that their crying 



