506 BEES AND FKTJITS AND FLOWEKS. 



they held a meeting, to petition the State Legislature, 

 for a law preventing any one from owning more than ten 

 hives of bees. 



This serious charge called our attention to the matter, and 

 we decided to make a thorough investigation, in our own 

 vineyard. But although many bees were seen banqueting on 

 grapes, not one was doing any mischief to the sound fruit. 

 Grapes which were bruised on the vines, or lying on the 

 ground, and the moist stems, from which grapes had 

 recently been plucked, were covered with bees ; while other 

 bees were observed to alight upon bunches, which, when 

 found by careful inspection to be sound, they left with evi- 

 dent disappointment. 



Wasps and hornets, which secrete no wax, being fur- 

 nished with strong, saw-like jaws, for cutting the woody 

 fibre with which they build their combs, can easily pene- 

 trate the skin of the toughest fruits. While the bees, there- 

 fore, appeared to be comparatively innocent, multitudes of 

 these depredators were seen helping themselves to the best 

 of the grapes. Occasionally, a bee would presume to alight 

 on a bunch where one of these pests was operating for his 

 own benefit, when the latter would turn and " show fight," 

 much after the fashion of a snarling dog, molested by an- 

 other of his species, while daintily discussing his own pri- 

 vate bone. 



During grape picking, the barrels in which our grapes 

 were hauled to the wine cellar, were covered with a cloud of 

 bees feeding on the damaged clusters, and they followed 

 the wagon to the cellar. After removing the barrels to a 

 place of safety, we left one buncJi of sound grapes, on the 

 wagon, puncturing one of the grapes with a pin. This 

 bunch, being the only one remaining exposed, was at once 

 covered with such a swarm of bees that it was entirely hid- 

 den from sight. It was three o'clock in the afternoon. At 

 sunset the bees were all gone, except three, who were too 



