44 HOME OF THE HONEY BEE. 



It is not, however, honey alone that the bees store 

 away. In many cells we shall find the substance 

 called ' pollen,' which is the food of the infant bees, 

 and without which they cannot thrive. We find it, 

 especially, in the early part of the year when many 

 young bees are daily coming into the world, but, 

 more or less, at all times. 



It is sometimes called ' bee-bread,' and appears in 

 the cells as a sticky, and rather hard, substance, and is 

 made, — as you will hear in a future chapter, — from the 

 little yellow pellets which you must often have noticed 

 sticking to the hind-legs of bees, and which, when they 

 bring home, they mix with a little honey, and, if not 

 wanted at once, put away into the cells for future use. 



Lastly, in the hive we shall find what is called 

 ' propolis,' — a very thick sticky substance, which, after 

 a while, gets hard like cement. We shall not, however, 

 find much of this ; and we shall not find it stored 

 away in any of the cells, but only put into cracks and 

 crevices in order to make all tight and secure, and to 

 shut out cold and draughts. 



Thus in the hive we find a palace for the queen, 

 a nursery for the young ones, a store-room for food, 

 and a comfortable home for all. 



As we take such a general view of the interior and 

 its contents, one of the many things which will strike 

 us very much, will be the wonderful way in which 

 the combs are all made to fit into the space which the 

 bees have at their disposal, and how they are con- 

 trived so that no room is lost. If one comb is a little 

 twisted, the next one to it is made with just the same 

 twist ; and if there is a little vacant corner anywhere. 



