and its Economic Management. 29 



older bee in removing the filmy skin from its body, 'and after 

 two or three days it goes out for a cleansing flight at the 

 warmest part-of the day, at the time many others are having 

 an airing and taking stock of their surroundings. 



Our little friend gets stronger daily, and, soon after the 

 seventh day we find her coming home with a lump of pollen 

 on each back leg, in what are called the pollen-baskets, being 

 hollow parts in the legs, with strong hair so overhanging that 

 the load cannot fall. She enters the hive, travels up the comb 

 to near the margin of the brood nest, and after finding a con- 

 venient cell, in which quite likely pollen has already been 

 deposited, she pushes off her load with the middle legs, which 

 Cheshire has shown have a peculiar instrument adapted to the 

 purpose, and which is passed down the hollow behind the 

 pollen, and thus it is forced off into the cell. The bee will 

 then turn round and entering the cell, presses the pellets 

 down into a thin layer, where probably many, such are already 

 placed, varying in colour according to the nature of the plant 

 they may have been gathered from. It is well-known that' 

 the bee nearly always confines itself to one kind" of flower 

 when out foraging, hence its load of honey is of one kind only 

 and the pollen is of one colour ; the bee-keeper may therefore 

 frequently tell what his bees are working upon by carefully 

 noting the colour being brought in. Thus mustard gives 

 yellow poUen ; white clove, brown ; red clover, dark brown ; 

 sanfoin, brown ; willow, yellow ; furze, dark orange ; dande- 

 lion, bright orange ; apple blossom, light yellow ; poppy, 

 black ; blackberry, greenish white ; while the various garden 

 flowers give every conceivable shade. 



It is but seldom a bee gathers a large load of both pollen 

 and honey on one and the same journey. A pollen gatherer 

 will have little honey,^ while those carrying thejnost honey 

 will seldom stay for a particle of pollen, more than^ what may 

 be brushed into honey as collected. The pellets are brought 

 in most freely up till 11 a.m. while everything is moist from 

 the dew of night; or at any. time, immediately after a shower. 



