14 THE BEE-MASTER OF WARRILOW 
on to help in the preservation of the beautiful old 
gardens, or in keeping alive customs which have 
been handed down from generation to generation, 
almost unaltered, for literally thousands of years. 
Here and there, in the remoter parts of the country, 
men can still be found who keep their bees much 
in the same way as bees were kept in the time of 
Columella or Virgil; and are content with as little 
profit. But these form a rapidly diminishing class. 
The advantages of modern methods are too over- 
whelmingly apparent. The old school must choose 
between the adoption of latter-day systems, or 
suffer the only alternative—that of total extinction 
at no very distant date. 
Luckily for English bee-keeping, there is a third 
class upon which the hopes of all who love the 
ancient ways and days, and yet recognise the 
absorbing interest and value of modern research in 
apiarian science, may legitimately rely. Born and 
bred amongst the hives, and steeped from their 
earliest years in the lore of their skeppist forefathers, 
these interesting folk seem, nevertheless, imbued 
to the core with the very spirit of progress. While 
retaining an unlimited affection for all the quaint 
old methods in bee-keeping, they maintain them- 
selves, umnostentatiously, but very thoroughly, 
abreast of the times. Nothing new is talked of in 
the world of bees that these people do not make 
trial of, and quietly adopt into their daily practice, 
if really serviceable; or as quietly discard, if the 
contrivance prove to have little else than novelty to 
recommend it. 
As a rule, they are reserved, silent men, difficult 
of approach; and yet, when once on terms of 
