16 BEEKEEPING 



though it no doubt seemed rough to the 

 novice to have me pull out a frame of 

 brood and see the bees rolling over one 

 another getting out of the way. During 

 that entire season I was busy making pic- 

 tures of the bees in every possible posi- 

 tion and naturally handled them much 

 more than one would if he were keeping 

 bees only for the honey to be obtained 

 from them. During the whole season I 

 received but one sting — and that was a re- 

 sult of my own carelessness. 



The life-history of the bee is so full of 

 interest that books have been written 

 about it, delightful books too, some of 

 which are read by persons who never 

 kept bees and never expect to. Their 

 habits are different from any other ani- 

 mals we know, and the activities of the 

 queen read like a fairy tale out of the leg- 

 end-laden days when man talked with 

 the wee folk who danced on the lawns in 

 the moonlight. Imagine the queen, a liv- 

 ing creature capable of producing at will 



