40 



THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



February 



ed fruits, grape skins, apple pumice, 

 or even apple parings, but, above all 

 things, if you want it to make fast, be 

 sure it has plenty of air at the right 

 temperature. We have now in our 

 house cellar, three or four barrels of 

 wine and honey'vinegar that has been 

 a year in making because it was not 

 kept warm enough. 

 Hancock Co. 111. 



(From Gleanings). 



ANCIENT LEGENDS REGARDING 

 BEES. 



Ability of Bees to Distinguish Between 



Genuine and Artificial Flowers ; 



An Interestin " Article. 



BY T. S. FORD. 



In the Sunday School Quarterly sent 

 out by the M. E. Church South, and 

 in Peloubet's notes on the Internation- 

 al Sunday School Lessons for 1896, 

 an example is quoted to illustrate the 

 wisdom of Solomon , as follows: "When 

 the queen of Sheba placed two wreaths 

 before the monarch and asked him to 

 tell which was real and which was ar- 

 tificial, he opened a window, and a 

 bee alighting upon the natural wreath 

 told him what he wished to know." 

 Peloubet quotes this story from Geikie 

 and Farrar, and Stanley's History of 

 the Jewish Church. It is supposed 

 that these authors got the story from 

 some rabbinical compilation and it 

 really shows how easy it is to get 

 away from the open book of nature. 

 A Greek historian would never have 

 invented such a story, and if he had 

 found it he would have rejected it at 

 once. The truth is, if Solomon was 

 the close observer that he must have 

 been he would never have permitted 

 an appeal from the verdict of his own 

 senses to those of an insect. 



The writer was sitting one day last 

 summer by an open window. A hand 

 painted fire screen of enameled cloth 

 hid the fire place and upon it was 

 painted in water colors, upon a dark 

 background, some water lilies, rather 

 clumsily executed, and some passion 

 flowers (May pops) which were quite 

 life like. The whole vine was shown 

 with flowers and fruit hanging. An 

 enormous bumble bee came buzzing in 

 at the window and made straight for 

 the painted flower, and clung to it, 

 extending his tongue in a frantic en- 

 deavor to get at the supposed nectar. 

 He persisted in his efforts for at least 

 twenty seconds — long enough to call 

 the attention of other members of the 

 family to the scene. Finally he gave 

 it up aud flew straight out of the win- 

 dow, apparently without ever realiz- 

 ing how he had been cheated. 



In a contest between two ancient 

 Greek painters, as related in Rolliu's 

 Ancient History, grapes were painted 

 so naturally that the birds came and 

 pecked at them; and another great 

 artist painted a mare so artfully as to 

 cause a horse, when led up to it, to 

 whinner. Now the senses of a bird or 

 animal, reinforced as they are with a 

 higher degree of intelligence, were 

 thus cheated. 



In the crest of the king-bird or bee- 

 martin are hidden, under a dark ex- 

 terior, a cluster of scarlet feathers 

 which show beautifully when the crest 

 is erected. The current belief among 

 our common people is that this sem- 

 blance of a scarlet flower on the top of 

 a bee-bird's head attracts the unwary 

 bee to the jaws of the hungry bird, 

 and I have myself seen bees swerve 

 from their line of flight and circle 

 round the sitting bird until snapped up. 



