1855. 



NEW ENGLAND FAKMER. 



517 



the alarm is repeated, each one drops all other em- 

 ployment, whether he is consti'ucting a cell, or fill- 

 ing it with honey, or in whatever work he may be 

 employed, and sets himself at once to secm-e as 

 much honey as his honey bag will contain. Each 

 one secures a share of the pure limpid nectar. 

 Each sucks in his drop of honey, that at least so 

 much may lie secured from plunder. It is surpris- 

 ing with what rajjidity a bee will fill himself with 

 honey, when alarmed. He draws it in, in a continu- 

 ed stream till he can hold no more, and then quiet- 

 ly awaits the result of the alarm. Having secured 

 as much of his treasure as he can, the instinct of his 

 nature is satisfied. He has done all he can. And 

 now comes the secret by the knowledge of which 

 the ojjerator can handle and manage them as he 

 chooses. JVhen a bcc is full of honey he never 

 stings, unless pinched or otherwise injured. The 

 operator has only to induce them to fill their bags 

 with honey, and they at once become harmless. 

 This is a uniform law of their natures, as certain 

 and reliable as any other law of nature. The know- 

 ledge of this law, and a little expertness in manag- 

 ing the alarm in such a way as to induce each bee to 

 seize his portion of the common treasure, is the only 

 magic possessed by the bee charmers, wliich enables 

 them to astonish by their boldness the uninitiated 

 lookers on. The drones have no stings, of course 

 they may be handled with impunity. Tliey may be 

 distinguished by their larger size. The diflerent 

 keys upon which bees pitch their note indicate their 

 condition. '\^''hen they are full of honey their note 

 is on a lower key, and has a quite uniform hum 

 drum tone. When they are empty, their note is 

 sharp and angry. When a swarm have filled them- 

 selves it may happen that one or more may be fomid, 

 that have not secured any portion of the treasure. 

 Perhaps they have just returned to the hive, and 

 have had no opportunity to fill themselves. These 

 will fly about in great agitation uttering a sharp 

 piercing note. If you are not careful you may get 

 stung by them. Theii' angrj' note is readily distin- 

 guished from the note of the rest of the swarm, and 

 the operator puts himself at once on his guard. A 

 few days since, I had the pleasure of seeing Mr. 

 Langstroth, on the grounds of Mr. Brown, Editor 

 of the JVew England Farmer, take a large old hive, 

 full of bees, and remove it from its stand, and turn 

 it bottom upwards, and call out the swarm into an 

 empty box — take them up by handfuls, and handle 

 them with the same freedom, as he would so many 

 peas. He broke open several bees and shewed the 

 full honey bag. He struck down one that was 

 uttering a spiteful note and threatened to sting him, 

 and shewed that his bag was empty. Not having 

 secured any portion of the common stock, he was 

 obeying the next instinct of his nature, and endea- 

 voring with his own unaided weapon, to drive ott" 

 the invader. Mr. L. has constructed a very inge- 

 nious hive, in which the oj)crations of the bees, and 

 the progress of their work, may be readily watched 

 from day to day. In this hive, the comb is con- 

 structed in jjlates about an inch thick, entirely dis- 

 tinct from each other. Any one of these j)lates may 

 be taken r ,„, the bees shaken or brushed from 

 the comb. The comb is then detached from the 

 frame that contains it. The frame is replaced, and 

 the bees immediately set themselves to work to 

 reconstruct another comb in jilace of that which 

 has been taken away. The whole arrangement is 

 very complete, and shows a thorough knowledge of 



the nature and habits of bees, a knowledge which 

 has cost him years of close and careful oljservation. 

 We commend this hive to those who raise honey, 

 and who would always have it within their reach, 

 and especially to those who hke to study the habits 

 and economy of the curious and " busy bee." — 

 Country Journal. 



Far the Netc England Farmer. 



THE FARMER. 



Does the farmer tlig the iliit ? 



Aje, aj-e ; 

 Docs he wear a coarse shirt ? 



Aye, aye ; 

 And if his cheeli is brown 

 AVith tile kisses of the sun, 

 Is he less a gentleman ? 



Nay, nay. 



Does the farmer plow and sow ? 



Aye, aye ; 

 Does he wield the spade and hoe ? 



Aye, aye ; 

 And if his hand is hard, 

 And his feet be roughly shod, 

 Shall we give him less regard ? 



Nay, nay. 



Does the farmer work for all ? 



Aye, aye ; 

 Labors he for gi'eat and small ? 



Aye, aye ; 

 If from out the farmer's store 

 Comes the bread for rich and poor, 

 Should we honor him the more ? 



Yea, yea. 



Give the farmer then his due ; 



Aye, aye ; 

 Though he serves, he's master too, 



Aye, aye ; 

 And may Heaven its blessings shed 

 Down upon the farmer's head, 

 'Till we cease our cry for bread, 



Aye, aye. 

 Somerset, Mass., Sept. 19, 1855. JIyra Myrtle. 



For tin' Ki'w Eii^^land Farmer. 



LEXINGTON FARMERS' CLUB. 



On the afternoon of the 24th inst., the citizens of 

 Lexington, under the ausjiices of the Lexington 

 Farmers' Club, got up an exhiI)ition that was highly 

 creditable to that good old farming town. We 

 have seen larger exhibitions of fruit and vegetables, 

 l)ut we nej'er saw a better one. The sanijjles of 

 ajjples were equal to the best, and prove that the 

 citizens of this town take a deej) interest in tliis de- 

 partment. Tlie market-gardeners brought forward 

 some of their best samples of vegetables, and the 

 specimens of needle-work ])rovcd that the fair la- 

 dies of Lexington take an interest in the j)ursuits of 

 their fathers and Ijrotliers and husbands. After wit- 

 nessing the exhil)ition, we formed a procession, and 

 marched into the old meeting-house, and listened 

 to an address from N. V. Ikuiks. At 7 o'clock, we 

 sat down to supjjcr at the Lexington House. The 

 supper was not only good, l>ut elegant, and every- 

 thing went ofi' in fine style under tlie I'residency of 

 Mr. Copeland. After satisfying the wants of the 

 appetite, the assembly was addressed by ]Mr. IJanks, 

 Professor Nash, Dr. lleynolds, of Concord, llev. 

 Mr. Pojje, of Somerville, Key. Mr. Stai)les, of Lex- 

 ington, and Gen. Samuel Chandler, President of the 



