206 Language Through Nature 



good earnest ; see their dusty coats, and the golden 

 grist they bring home with them. 



When a bee brings pollen into the hive he 

 advances to the cell in which it is to be deposited 

 and kicks it off as one might his overalls or 

 rubber boots, making one foot help the other; then 

 he walks off without ever looking behind him ; 

 another bee, one of the indoor hands, comes along 

 and rams it down with his head and packs it into 

 the cell as the dairymaid packs butter into a firkin. 

 # # # # 



The first honey is perhaps obtained from the 

 flowers of the red maple and the golden willow. 

 The latter sends forth a wild, delicious perfume. 

 The sugar maple blooms a little later, and from its 

 silken tassels a rich nectar is gathered. * * The 

 apple-blossom is very important to the bees. A 

 single swarm has been known to gain twenty 



pounds in weight during its continuance. Bees 







love the ripened fruit, too, and in August and Sep- 

 tember will suck themselves tipsy upon varieties 

 like the sops-of-wine. 



From "Locusts and Wild Honey'' by John Burroughs. 



Tell in your own words what Mr. Burroughs 

 says in this selection about bees. 



