THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL AND GAZETTE. 



185 



wore nnmlicred. That blow was tlie sig-nal for 

 the next axe, and its stroke for tlie next; till 

 cut after cut brought it to the leader's second 

 blow; and thus was completed the circle of rude 

 harmony, while the lonely cliffs of tlie further 

 shores and the grim forests on this, Avere repeat- 

 ing to one another the endless and regular notes 

 oflhe six death-dealing axes. And never be- 

 fore had the music of s!x axes so rung out to 

 enliven the grand solitudes ! — and a smaller 

 number was not worthy to bid such a tree 

 fall ! 



Long was it, however, before the tree gave 

 even the slightest symptoms of alarm. What 

 had it cared for tlie notcliiug of a Imndred 

 blows ! Yet chip after chip had leaped from 

 the wounded body — each a block of solid wood 

 — and the Ivceu iron teetli were beginning to 

 gnaw upon the vitals. Alas ! oh noble tree, 

 you tremble ! All ! it is not the deep and ac- 

 customed thunder of the Heavens that shakes 

 you now !— no mighty quaking of the Earth ! 

 That is a strange sluvering; it is the chill 

 shivering of death ! But what T.oes death mean 

 where existence was deemed immortal ? Why 

 are those topmost branches, away off towards 

 tlie blue Heavens, so agitated. Tree ! tree J— 

 no wind stirs them so ! — tliey incline towards 

 the earth. Away hunters, away ! away ! 

 Hark ! the mighty heart is breaking ! And 

 now onward and downward rushes yon broad 

 expanse of top, with the cataract roar of eddy- 

 ing whirlwinds; and the far-reaching arms have 

 caught the strong and stately trees; and all are 

 hurrying, and leaping, and whirling to the 

 earth, in tempest and fury! Their fall 

 is heard not ! In the overwhelming thunder 

 of that quivering trunk, and the tliousand 

 crushings of those giant limbs, and the deep 

 groan of the earth, are lost all other noises, as 

 tlie light crack of our rifles amid the sudden 

 bursting of the electric cloud ! There lies tlie 

 growtli of ages ! Once more the sun pours the 

 tide of all his rays over an acre of virgin soil, 

 barelj' discovered bj^ him for centuries 



Well might Gleuville feel rewarded and 

 honored when for liini such a tree lay prostrate 

 at his feet ! And yet in all this was fulfilled the 

 saying — the sublime and the ridiculous are se- 

 parated bjr narrow limits; for could anything be 

 grander than such a tree and such an over- 

 throw V C'ould anything be meaner than the 

 purpose for whicli it fell V viz : To get a gallon 

 of honey to sweeten a k"g <>f wMslcey. — The New 



PUKCHASE. 



Thk queen-bee has no regular guard, eitlier 

 wlien she traverses the combs, or when she is 

 stationary. In either case, as we have fre- 

 quently observed, the working bees that hap- 

 pen to be near her, for the most part, turn their 

 head toward lier after the manner of courtiers 

 in the presence of royalty, and wherever she 

 moves, clear the way to allow her to pass, or 

 rather get hastily out of her way, forming a 

 circle around, but never accompanying her. 

 Occasionally during her progress, they fawn 

 upon and caress lier, touching her softly with 

 their anteunse. Bevak. 



For the Amprican Bee Journal and Gazette. 



Unammosity of Bees, as Effected by Ex- 

 perimental Science. 



Mr. Editor : 



In all ages of the world it has been the lot of 

 invevtive genius to be either hooted at bj'' pub- 

 lic ignorance, malice, or old established pre- 

 judices, or to remain buried to the world, un- 

 requited and unsung. When Arclumedes in- 

 vented his Eurclia^ a machine with which he 

 could move the world, he only asked of King 

 Hiero the small favor to grant him a I)o)< Pou 

 Sto, or, in other words, a place where he might 

 "_p?;i it up;'" but the King laughed outright, 

 and Avould not comply with the request. 



Vv^hen Doctor Jenner, the inventor of small- 

 pox^ vaccinated thefin^t cow in England, he was 

 prosecuted for misdemeanor; and just so, after 

 spending precious money, time, and labor, in 

 perfecting a machine for extracting the volatile 

 oil of Funny Greek, parties interested in the 

 wholesale manufacture oi' the article for charm- 

 ing bees, inform me that I have rendered my- 

 self liable to prosecution for infringing upon 

 their patent. Ungrateful world ! how nig- 

 gardly dost thou reward thy g'reatest benefac- 

 tors ! 



As, however, this "Bee Charm'' is such an 

 excellent thing, with which bee-lveepers are not 

 yet generally acquainted, and as I do not wish 

 to fall asleep upon Prof. Flander's bed of roses, 

 I must submissively state that to this powerful 

 " Bee Charm" I attribute the greater portion of 

 my success with bees. Although I dare not now 

 legitimately manufacture the article mj'sclf, T 

 cannot well afford to be without it. 



In attestation of its unearthlj^ power, permit 

 me to state the following : 



Tliere lives on Coon Island an old bee-keep- 

 ing woman, who, duiing my earlier experimen- 

 tal manipulations of the hive, liad much to siy 

 in derision of my apistical labors. She would 

 tell wonderful stories about my ignorance. I 

 was, in her eyes, a humbug, physicking and 

 ruining my bees. My bee-hives slie called rab- 

 bit-liutches, and me she called bee-quack. 



Now it happened that oue day during the 

 swarming season, when my bees were all arti- 

 ficially swarmed, and everything worked to per- 

 fection in my yard, this woman, during an hour 

 ofrecreation,when I Avas engaged in ni}' garden, 

 came, about 4 o'clock P. M., all out of breath, 

 and perspiring like a post-horse, rushing into 

 my presence, beseeching me to come right awaj'- 

 with her to see her bees. Says she : " They 

 swarmed tliree times, but wouldn't stay into 

 the gum; they flied a way to the woods, an' 

 th'others are in such a plight, a-building combs 

 before and behind, but not in the middle; I've 

 not been a-swallering a bite, but throAving up 

 since ten o'clock, but they wouldn't mind the 

 dirt at all, at all, for shere hurriment, an' so I 

 cum along for you to help me fix 'em up." I 

 endeavored to console her by stating that I 

 would do anything in my poAver to assist her, 

 Avere it not tliat I Avas otherAvisc engaged just 

 noAV; but she Avould not be conilbrted. 



"Well, madam," said 1, "if in the future you 



