1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



421 



A CLERGYMAN AND HIS BEES. 



BY CLERICUS. 



[The following- article was written by a clergryrnin 

 who, as will be seen, is an enthusiast on bees. Knowing- 

 that he had derived real enjoyment and profit out of his 

 pets, we asked him to prepare a short article which we 

 could put in pamphlet form for distribution among pro- 

 fessional men who are seeking some outdoor hobby to 

 ride that will, between times, rest the tired brain, and 

 give a new lease of life. As we have many of this class 

 of people among our subscribers we finally concluded 

 to give it a place in these columns. Even to the veteran 

 bee-keepers the reading of it will bring back pleasant 

 memories of olden days when they had just begun 

 their studies among the A B C's— particularly the B's.] 



"A clergyman and his bees!" What a 

 combination ! and yet how perfectly natural! 

 for who would be better able to appreciate 

 the phenomena of bee life than one whose 

 life has accustomed itself to observation ? 



And then the diversion which their study 

 gives to one of sedentary habits can not but 

 be of great value physically for the many 

 hours spent in the fresh air and sunshine in 

 becoming acquainted with and studying the 

 habits of these little geometers of the fields. 



So great a man as Shakespeare boasted 

 of an acquaintance with these little folk, 

 and wrote concerning them the following 

 lines: 



So work the honey-bees- 

 Creatures that, by a rule in nature, teach 

 The art of order to a peopled kingdom. 

 They have a king and officers of sorts 

 Where some, like magistrates, correct at home; 

 Others, like merchants, venture trade abroad; 

 Others, like soldiers, armed in their stings. 

 Stake boot upon the summer's velvet buds; 

 Which pillage they with merry march bring home 

 To the tent royal of their emperor; 

 Who, busied in his majesty, surveys 

 The singing masons building roof of gold. 

 The civil citizens kneading up the honey. 

 The poor mechanic porters crowding in 

 Their heavy burdens at his narrow gate. 

 The sad-eyed justice with his surly hum 

 Delivering o'er to executioners, pale 

 The lazy yawning drone. 



And one can almost see the Bard of Strat- 

 ford some sunny morning watching the busy 

 bees before he wrote his vivid description in 

 which he falls into only one error, that of 

 supposing the mother queen-bee to be a 

 king. 



Jean Ingelow must have seen a busy bee 

 working among the hollyhocks and asters or 

 else she could never have written— 



O velvet bee! you're a dusty fellow. 

 You've powdered your legs with gold. 



So that it is no time wasted to spend an 

 hour among these little people who for cen- 

 turies have been the benefactors of man- 

 kind. 



On the ancient monuments of Egypt, in 

 the classic writings of Rome and Greece, 

 and in the holy Scriptures, we find many 

 references to the honey-bee. 



That the busy bee was noticed by man- 

 kind in the dim distant past is not surpris- 

 ing, for the ancients possessed no cane su- 

 gar. The only sweetening property they 

 had was honey. 



: - In those by -gone ages the busy bees were 

 kept simply for what they produced, as the 



ancients knew nothing concerning the mar- 

 velous life-history of these little insects. 



But to the writer there is in them an in- 

 terest far above material gain when their 

 wonderful life-story is told. In that little 

 white box before me is a teeming popula- 

 tion of from twenty to forty thousand in- 

 habitants, over which presides a queen, but 

 one of which is in the hive at a time. 



At the entrance of their house are sen- 

 tinels, relieved at stated times, whose duty 

 it is to watch for enemies and thus protect 

 their golden stores. 



Every thing within that house moves with 

 clock-like precision. Some are gathering 

 water, others propolis, others pollen, but 

 the larger number honey. 



The main population is made up of work- 

 er bees, which are imperfectly developed 

 females, and whose average life during the 

 working season is about five weeks. 



In the spring a large number of drone 

 (or male) bees are reared, their sole pur- 

 pose in life being for fertilizing the young 

 queens; and as they are simply consumers, 

 the workers drive them from their hives in 

 the fall and thus they perish. 



Bees are not naturally vindictive, but can be handled 

 without veil or gloves if we avoid irritating them. 



