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GLEANIKGS IN BEE CULTURE 



March, 1922 



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Beek 



eeping as a 



Grace Allen 



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NEAELY ev- 

 every body 

 enjoys the 

 ancient tales of 

 Greek and Ro- 

 man mythology, 

 born in the dim 

 far-away child- 

 hood of the 

 world, when 



dreaming wondering folk tried to account 

 for the things around them, and tried to 

 shape into something comprehensible their^ 

 own groping and indistinct ideas of God's 

 eternal forces, each one of which they con- 

 sidered a separate god. There is something 

 majestic in their conception of Saturn 

 (Time), the first and oldest of the ruling 

 gods, as being the son of Coelus (Heaven) 

 and Terra (Earth). 



The story has it that Saturn overthrew 

 his father, and was allowed by his brothers 

 to be sole ruler of earth, on condition that 

 he rear no male. heirs. So one by one, as 

 they were born, he devoured them — as Time 

 still destroys what it produces. But Rhea, 

 his wife, succeeded in saving three of the 

 boy babies, Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto, giv- 

 ing their father Saturn large stones, which 

 he unsuspectingly devoured instead. Later, 

 Jupiter overthrew Saturn and became him- 

 self the supreme deity. 



"Where do the bees come into this story? 

 Right at the birth of Jupiter. For his moth- 

 er Rhea sought a cavern on the island of 

 Crete at the time of his birth; the nymphs 

 held him in their arms; one of them rocked 

 him in a golden cradle; the Cretan priests, 

 dancing around him, clashed arms and cym- 

 bals to prevent Saturn from hearing his 

 cries. And the wild bees, guided by these 

 clashing cymbals, hastened to the cave, to 

 deposit their honey on his lips! Amalthea, 

 the beautiful snow-white goat, put her two 

 young ones aside to give "heaven's infant 

 king" her milk. Thus milk and honey, so 

 loved by all Oriental poets as symbols of 

 peace and plenty, became the regular food 

 of the infant Jupiter. Perhaps it was this 

 habit, formed so early, that caused them 

 later to be introduced, refined into ambro- 

 sia, the extract of purest milk, and nectar, 

 the quintessence of honey, as the food of 

 the gods themselves. 



It was while Jupiter was still on the Cre- 

 tan island, fed by the wild bees and nur- 

 tured by the snow-white goat, that one day 

 in his play he accidentally broke off one 

 of Amalthea 's horns. At first it was made 

 into a primitive drinking cup, but later 

 Jupiter decreed that it should always be 

 full to overflowing with whatever its pos- 

 sessor should desire — and so came the horn 

 of plenty — the coriiti cnpiae. 



In recognition of their services and in 

 deep gratitude, Jupiter, after he became 

 king of all the gods, placed Amalthea and 

 her two young ones in the sky as a constel- 



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lation, and to the 

 bees he gave 

 such remarkable 

 gifts that even 

 to this day peo- 

 ple say of them, 

 "What marvel- 

 ous creatures 

 they are! I won- 

 der how they can 

 do all these tilings! " The story-tellers of old 

 answered that Jupiter gave the bees these 

 great gifts in return for their care of him 

 in Dicte's cave, when they came so prompt- 

 ly at the call of the clashing cymbals of the 

 dancing priests. 



That is one of the most ancient of those 

 old tales.. Here is another later one. But 

 no, let us lead up to this one the way Virgil 

 did. First he tells his readers how to re- 

 stock their beeyards, if by ill chance they 

 should lose all their bees at once. 



"But if thy whole swarm at a stroke should fail 

 With no stock left for breeding, let my song 

 Tell now a memorable art derived 

 From an Arcadian king, and show what way 

 When bulls are slaughtered oftentimes their blood 

 Out of corruption generates the bee. 

 From ancient lore I will the tale unfold." 



Remember it was nearly two thousand 

 years ago that Virgil wrote this, unfolding 

 his tale from what was even then ancient 

 lore. He assures his readers, too, in passing, 

 that in Eygpt "their opulent ease depends 

 upon this art." 



Then he outlines the details of this truly 

 marvelous system. First, he says, they 

 build a narrow sort of building, roof it with 

 tile and make the walls straight. 



"They cut four windows open to four winds. 

 But not square to the sun. Then from the herd 

 They take a steer, a two-year-old, whose horns 

 Just curl upon his brow." 



They kill this steer, most cruelly — may I 

 not spare you the details? 



". . . . The body then 

 Is laid in the enclosure; under it 

 They scatter boughs, the fragrant leaves of thyme 

 And cassia freshly pulled. This must be done 

 When first the Spring winds set the waters free. 

 Before the meadows blush with early flowers 

 Or ere the chattering swallow hangs her nest 

 Under the roof-tree beam. Soon waxing warm 

 The moisture rises in the softened bones, 

 And living creatures, wonderful to see, 

 Come forth, at first all footless, but erelong 

 With whir of wings the restless multitude 

 In swelling numbers on the liquid air 

 Bursts swift away." 



Then he traces his system back to its 

 origin, thus: 



"What god, Muses, labored to devise 

 This art for us, or how did human skill 

 Unto such novel venture find a way? 



The shepherd Aristaeus " 



And he is off, fairly launched on our 

 other old story. 



The shepherd Aristaeus was the 

 Apollo and the nymph Cyrene. He was 

 brought up by the Seasons, who fed him on 

 nectar and ambrosia, so making him immor- 

 tal. The nymphs taught him how to culti- 

 vate olives — and bees. But when he had 



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