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 
