4 XI.] BEE-KEEPING IN LONDON. 325 



Bright o'er his breast the glittering legions led, 

 Or with a living garland bound his head. 

 His dextrous hand, with firm, yet hurtless hold, 

 Could seize the chief, known by her scales of gold, 

 Amidst the wondering train prune her thin wing. 

 Or o'er her folds the silken fetter fling. " 



To recur to our subject. After the days of Wildman 

 our own establishment in Holborn became widely known 

 for beehives and honey. Although we never attempted 

 to start a London apiary at all approaching in extent 

 that of our predecessor, we have occasionally kept bees 

 on the house-top, both in Holborn and Regent Street. 

 At each of those situations we have noticed that the bees 

 bring pollen as well as honey into their hives. One 

 summer there was brought under our notice an illustration 

 of the acuteness of the scent of bees and of their diligent 

 search for food, proving, too, that if sweets can be ob- 

 tained, even from unusual sources, the bees will find 

 them out. A poor woman, who, at the corner of an ad- 

 jacent street, vends " brandy balls, " " toffee, " " rock, " 

 and other saccharine compounds — all well known to most 

 juveniles — used to receive frequent visits from our bees. 

 Their visits to the old dame's domain were at first rather 

 interesting, and if the few pioneers who had the sagacity 

 to find such a store had kept the secret only to them- 

 selves, their company would not have been objected to. 

 Such selfish policy does not, however, accord with the 

 social instinct of bees, and these soon informed their 

 ■companions of the good fortune provided for them in an 



