250 Old Bays on the Farm 



into the old swimmin' hole. That's the speed with 

 which I disrobed in that wheat-field and there 

 were none of those bees that were in my trousers 

 when I flung them off that ever returned to the 

 home hive again. I killed them all — no quarter. 

 Wanton murder, you say, well, maybe so, but 

 please remember too, the provocation. 



BEE-HISTOBY 



It is said that to handle bees successfully one 

 must know something of the life history and make- 

 up of the different hives. I recall that some one 

 once asked an old lady why she did not read 

 history and she replied that she believed in letting 

 bygones be bygones. That's the attitude I hold 

 now toward bee-history. I'll eat honey but a team 

 of strong oxen couldn't haul me in the direction 

 of a hive of bees in the swarming season. 



Here's a brief bee-history of those who may 

 want it! 



In each colony there is a queen, several hun- 

 dred drones, and between forty and fifty thousand 

 worker bees. The queen lives from two to four 

 years, leaves the hives only on her mating flight 

 and when she takes out a swarm. During the rest 

 of her lifetime she attends to the replenishing of 

 the colony with the necessary workers and drones. 

 In season she lays eggs, often as many as 2,000 

 or 3,000 a day. The drones live from five to six 

 months, they do no work and are useful only for 



