202 Bees and Bee- Keeping. 



their great hairy heads into the beautiful goblet that 

 nature has provided for them, formed in such plants, 

 thrusting each other aside, or climbing over each other's 

 shoulders, till the flowers bend beneath their weight. 

 After a time they become so stupid that it is vain to 

 pull them by the skirts and advise them to go home, 

 instead of wasting their time in tippling. They are, 

 however, so good-natured in their cups, and show no 

 resentment at being disturbed ; on the contrary, they 

 cling to their wine goblet, and crawl back to it as fast 

 as they are pulled away, unless, indeed, they fairly lose 

 their legs and tumble down, in which case they lie 

 sprawling on the ground, quite unable to get up again." 

 This was held to be quite in contrast with the tem- 

 perate habits of hive bees by Mr. Wailes, who wrote 

 in the Entomological Magazine (i. 525) that hive-bees, 

 after their visits to his passion-flowers, hurried back to 

 their hive as soon as they had imbibed their supply of 

 nectar. This is not quite our own experience, either 

 in respect to the passion-flower or to the sunflower, 

 both of which, at certain times, contain in their nectar 

 some element which acts as a narcotic, or, at all events, 

 soporific ; for we have found both kinds of bees dull, 

 stupid, and more than half asleep on these flowers 

 after sundown, apparently unable to better themselves 

 and go home, emulating only too faithfully the unfor- 

 tunate human beings who will lay themselves asleep 

 by a beer-house door till they are trundled off by a 

 policeman. We have lifted them off the flowers of 

 both plants repeatedly, and held them in our hands 

 and put them on the flowers again, the insect having 

 no more energy than just to cling to the bed of the 

 sweet poison, and certainly not likely to go home that 

 night, but rather to stay there till they fell off, chilled 



