BEES AND THE WEATHER 119 



likely, that this humidity assists in the develop- 

 ment of honey in the flowers and, at any rate, 

 it must enable them to absorb moisture each 

 night, not only by their roots, but leaves and 

 petals, and presumably this acts beneficially on 

 the secretive organs. 



There is no doubt whatever that it would be 

 a very fascinating study, which might be extended 

 over many years, to ascertain exactly what the 

 conditions were under which bees did best, and 

 from a practical point of view it would more than 

 pay to do so, especially if various strains and races 

 of bees were tested against each other, for there is 

 no doubt that some kinds work better than others 

 under adverse conditions. Most of those who 

 keep what are known as Italian bees, say that 

 they do not hurry home when clouds come up as 

 black bees do. 



Thundery weather has a bad effect on bees' 

 tempers. When the barometer is high and the 

 sky bright, they seem much more amiable, 

 but when electricity is overpresent in the air, 

 these insects seem to catch the prevailing depres- 

 sion and become very irascible. Bees that under 

 ordinary conditions will allow one to pull the 

 hive to pieces without resenting it, will, on such 

 occasions, frequently sally out and attack persons 

 a few feet away from the hives. 



The same thing happens at times when the 

 weather suddenly becomes cold. On such cold 



