lEEITABILlTY OF BEES. 277 



bodj — at the result of their carelessness. Tlie per- 

 son keeping most bees in a neighborhood, must 

 expect to be account&,ble for all effects of their igno- 

 rance, mismanagement, or carelessness, and consequent 

 "bad luck;" when all the honey thus obtained, 

 probably carries with it more mischief than can be 

 eradicated in a twelvemonth, thereby giving the real 

 cause of complaint to the other party. 



CHAPTBE XYIII. 



IRRITABILITY OF BEES. 



Keeping bees good-natured, offers a pretty fair 

 subject for ridicule: it seems rather too absurd to 

 teach a lee anything ! Nevertheless, it is worth while 

 to think of it a little. Most of us know that by inju- 

 dicious training, horses, cattle, dogs, &c., may be ren- 

 dered extremely vicious. If there is no perceptilale 

 analogy between these and bees, experience proves 

 that they may be -made ten times more irritable than 

 they naturally would be. 



THBIR MEANS OP DEFENCE. 



Nature has armed them with means to defend their 

 stores, and provided them with combative'ness suf&- 

 cient to use them when necessary. This could not be 

 bettered. If they were powerless to repel an enemy, 

 there are a thousand lazy depredators, man not ex- 

 'cepted, who would prey upon the fruits of their in- 

 dustry, leaving them to starve. Had it been so ar- 



