The Life of the Bee 



is more usual, perhaps, and one that 

 will give some idea of the surprise habit- 

 ually in store for the bees: after having 

 lived for centuries past beneath the 

 straw dome of our village hives, they 

 are suddenly transplanted to a species 

 of mighty cupboard, or chest, three or 

 four times as large as the place of their 

 birth ; and installed in the midst of a con- 

 fused scaffolding of superposed frames, 

 some running parallel to the entrance and 

 some perpendicular ; the whole forming 

 a bewildering network that obscures the 

 surfaces of their dwelling. 



[42] 

 And yet, for all this, there exists not 

 a single instance of a swarm refusing its 

 duty, or allowing itself to be baffled or 

 discouraged by the strangeness of its sur- 

 roundings, except only in the case of the 

 new dwelling being absolutely uninhabi- 

 140 



