Fawceti : Sturgeon at North Shields. 



RINGING BEES. 



EDWARD PEACOCK, F.S.A., 

 Kirton-in-Li7idsey. 



The custom of 'ringing- bees' — that is, of beating- kettles and 

 pans at the time of swarming to induce them not to fly far 

 away — is, I beUeve, common throughout Britain. It is generally 

 regarded as mere folk-lore ; I certainly have always considered 

 it as such, though when I kept bees, which I did for many 

 years, I was anxious to have the ceremony duly performed, 

 for the same good and sufficient reasons as moved Mr. Jonathan 

 Oldbuck to resent the weekly account with his baker being 

 rendered in a book instead of by a tally ('The Antiquary,' 

 Chap. XV.). Now I have changed my opinion, and come to 

 the conclusion that our forefathers, in this as in so many 

 other matters, were wiser than we, whose minds are so often 

 clouded by pseudo-science. That bees are attracted by such 

 sounds is, I think, proved by the following incident : — 



It is here the custom at Christmas-time for the ringers of 

 the Parish Church to go round to the houses in the neigh- 

 bourhood ringing hand-bells. On the day after Christmas they 

 visited the village of Northorpe, near Kirton-in-Lindsey. At 

 one of the farmhouses there they stationed themselves near 

 some hives of bees. We need hardly say the bees were 

 quiescent — not one was to be seen — but the men had only 

 rung a very short time when they ' puthered out ' in great 

 numbers, alighting on the music books and the money-box. 

 The ringers were afraid of being 'tanged,' and, as one oi 

 them told me, promptly ' sheddled off' to a safer spot. 

 I gather, however, from what they said that the insects were 

 not angry, but had aroused themselves from their winter's 

 rest to enjo}' the concert. If a similar fact has been observed 

 elsewhere, it would be well to have it recorded. 



It is fair to add that I communicated the above facts to 

 a lady who lives in Hampshire. She and a friend clanged 

 a couple of bells close to the hives in the garden, but she tells 

 me that not a single bee made its appearance. 



FISHES. 



Sturgeon at North Shields. — On Tuesday, 4th Februarx-, 



a Sturgeon {Acipensor sturio), 8}4 feet in length and 154 lbs. in 



weight, was landed at the Corporation Fish Quay, North Shields, 



by the steam trawler Rose. — J. W. Fawcett, Satley, D arlington . 



Naturalist, 



