Honey. V2.1 



a bright glistening banner reflects the level r.ays of 

 the snn with dazzling sheen ; it is the gilding on tlie 

 swinging wayside sign transformed for the moment 

 from a wooden board rudelj' ornamented with a gilt 

 snn, all rays and rotund cheeks, into a veritable 

 oriflamme. 



There the men will assemble by-and-by, on the 

 forms about the trestle table, and share each other's 

 quarts in the fellowship of labor. Or perhaps the 

 work may be pressing, and .the wagons are loaded 

 till the white owl noiselessly flits along the hedgerow, 

 and the round moon rises over the hills. Then those 

 who have stayed to assist find their supper waiting 

 for them in the brewhouse, and do it ample justice. 



Once during the morning, while busy in the hay- 

 field, not so much with his hands as his eyes, watch- 

 ing that the ' wallows ' may be turned over properly, 

 and the ' wakes ' made at a just distance from each 

 other, that the wagon may pass easily between, the 

 farmer is sure to be summoned home with the news 

 of a swarm of bees. If the work be pressing, they 

 must be attended to by deput}^ ; if not, he hurries 

 home himself; for although in these days bee-keep- 

 ing is no longer what it used to be, yet the old-fash- 

 ioned folk take a deep interest in the bees still. They 

 tell you that ' a swarm in May is worth a load of \ia.y ; 

 a swarm in June is worth a silver spoon ; but a swarm 

 in July is not worth a fly ' — for it is then too late for 

 the young colony to store up a treasure of golden 

 honey before the flowers begin to fade at the approach 

 of autumn. 



It is noticeable that those who labor on their own 

 laud (as at Wick) keep up the ancient customs much 



