SOURCES OF HONEY. 97 
The bee keeper sometimes finds his bees idle, when the 
flowers are in bloom in profusion, the sun shining brightly, 
and to the superficial observer, everything indicating 
honey in abundance. And yet the bees are dormant, 
and scarcely one flying about the hives, notwithstanding 
the hives and boxes are full of them. The truth of the 
matter is, there is no honey in the flowers, although they 
are in full bloom. The air is dry and clear. Suddenly 
there is a change, the atmosphere becomes moist and 
charged with electricity, with occasionally light showers. 
Immediately all is activity about the hives. The great- 
est show of industry is manifested; scores of workers, 
and in some cases a hundred, coming into each hive 
every minute, loaded with honey, many of them so 
heavily weighted that they fall to the ground before they 
reach the hive, where they rest a moment, and then try 
again, usually succeeding in entering with their load. I 
have seen a change, as here described, brought about in 
a half-hour’s time in the middle of the day, viz: The 
bees pass from an idle, almost an entirely dormant state, 
to the greatest activity and industry. And all because 
a change in the atmosphere had caused the flowers to 
secrete honey. ‘The question arises—How did the bees 
know at that particular hour there was a change, and 
that the flowers, which a few minutes before were desti- 
tute of honey, were now bountifully supplied? I answer, 
the bee was aware of the change almost the moment it 
took place. ‘The bee is very sensitive to all atmospheric 
changes. A case in point will show this: The bees are 
