Hornets. 201 
the ha-ha gives them a clear exit and entrance. This 
is thought a great advantage—not to have any hedge 
or bush in front of the hives—because the bees, 
heavily laden with honey or pollen,. encounter no 
obstruction in coming home. They are believed to 
work more energetically when this is the case, and 
they certainly do seem to exhibit signs of annoyance, 
as if out of temper, if they get entangled in a bush. 
Indeed, if you chance to be pursued by an angry 
cloud of bees whose ire you have aroused, the only 
safe place is a hedge or bush, into which make haste 
to thrust yourself, when the boughs and leaves will 
baffle them. If the hive be moved to a different 
place, the bees that chance at the time to be out in 
the fields collecting honey, upon their return, finding 
their home gone, are evidently at a loss. They fly 
round, hovering about over the spot for a long time 
before they discover the fresh position of the hive. 
The great hornet, with its tinge of reddish orange, 
comes through the garden sometimes with a heavy 
buzz, distinguishable in a moment from the sound of 
any other insect. All country folk believe the 
hornet’s sting to be the most poisonous and painful 
of any, and will relate instances of persons losing the 
use of their arms for a few days in consequence of the 
violent inflammation. Sometimes the hornet selects 
for its nest an aperture in an old shed near the farm- 
house. I have seen their nests quite close to houses; 
but, unless wantonly disturbed, there is not the 
