164 A COUNTRY READER. 



It is said that wax is a waste product, or 

 secretion, the waste of the honey, and it is 

 formed on the under side of the abdomen, where 

 it hardens into fishy-like looking scales. 



A bee has to consume an enormous amount of 

 honey to make wax ; it is said that it has to eat 

 13 to 20 Ibs. of honey to make 1 Ib. of wax. 



POLLEN. 



The bee gathers pollen from the stamen of 

 flowers by means of its front legs and the hairs of 

 its body. In order that it may lose no time when 

 on the wing, the pollen, that is all over its body, 

 is moved by means of its mouth into two hollow 

 places, in the hind legs, called pollen bags. When 

 it has a load of this bright yellow pollen as large 

 as it can carry, it flies off to the hive, and there 

 unloads into a cell, while another set of bees 

 pack it away carefully till the young, or larvae, 

 require it for food. 



Watch the bee when it first issues from its 

 hive, on a summer morning; intent on its day of 

 busy and continuous toil. If it begins its search 

 for honey on a sweet-pea, it will go on with a 

 sweet- pea. If with a dandelion, it will go on 

 with a dandelion. 



Then, if you can, watch it settle with the 

 utmost lightness and grace on a flower, and with 

 its feet force the petals apart, so that it can get 



