106 HONEY, POLLEN, AND PROPOLIS. 



yellow or light, or it may be red or brown ; but you 

 will not find these colours mixed. It will be all of 

 one colour, coming from one kind of flower. You 

 will hear, later on, why this is, and that it is one 

 of those wise provisions of the Ruler of all, which 

 gives us what is beautiful and profitable in our 

 fields and gardens. At present, however, I only 

 want you to remember the fact. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



IIORE ABOUT HONEY, POLLEN, AND PROPOLIS. 



And now, what is honey ? Is it something made, or 

 only gathered? You know that it comes from the 

 sweet liquid sometimes called ' nectar,' which is pro- 

 duced, or, as it is termed, secreted, with considerable 

 rapidity by the flowers, especially when the weather 

 is warm and sunny — so much so, that a bee may in 

 such weather go very frequently in a day to the same 

 flower, and take all away, and yet, when it comes 

 back, find more ready for it. 



If, however, it v/ere possible, and we ourselves 

 were to collect all this same sweet liquid, it would 

 hardly be what we call honey, and it would soon 

 become acid. But when collected by the bee, it 

 undergoes some slight change in the honey-bag, 

 and then, when it is put into the cells, the bees are 

 very careful not to seal it up at once. They leave 



