BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
The bee thus does the very thing which is needed to cause the seed of the flower to come to perfect tion. It is Nature's handmaid and most invaluable servant.
Just for one example of the marvellous way in which provision is made for this law of plant-life to be carried out, I may point you to the flower of the
Orechis, where the pistil is so situated that the only way in which the pollen can get to it is by its being carried on the bee's head.
The bee goes to the flower, and, while it is busy getting honey, it displaces by its head--the nectary being situated so that this takes place--a little thing which looks like a couple.of horns coming out of a little sticky crown, and so displaces it that the crown actually sticks to its head, as you see in the drawing on preceding page.
Crowned with this the bee flies away, looking like a bee with horns, but by the time it has got to another flower these little horns have so altered their position that, when the bee inserts its head into a fresh flower, these little horns,--which are really stamens with pollen attached,--go exactly to the very spot where the pistil is waiting for them; and thus the pollen is placed upon it, which could not be the case in any other way.
This, however, is only one example, and the whole subject is full of such marvels; but sufficient has been said for our present purpose, sufficient to show the usefulness of the bee, for, although the wind does much, and a vast number of other insects--moths, butterflies, and many more--join in the same work, no one kind does so much as our friends the bees.
But perhaps you will say, 'I wonder why it is that all this trouble is necessary. I wonder why it is that every flower is not complete in itself, and has not stamens and pistil ripe at the same time.' And this of course would seem the simplest plan; but, although I cannot explain it all, I may say that the arrangement, as it is, is one of the most wonderful, and one of the most striking displays possible of that wisdom which is seen in all Nature.
When, under certain circumstances, flowers fertilisethemselves, their colour and beauty become less and less marked, the plants themselves degenerate, become poor and weak, and the whole race is in danger of extinction. And thus, even in those cases where the whole of the flower is rip together, it is of the greatest importance that visits of bees and other insects should take place, for the pollen is thus carried about from flower to flower, and no one flower lives and dies, as it were, by itself. Every flower in some way helps and benefits its neighbour.
And now, further, from what has been said, we can see more clearly the important use, not only of bees, but of honey. It is, we know, very useful to ourselves, but we can understand now that it is much more useful to the flowers,--their very existence depending upon it, for, were it not for the honey, bees and other insects would not visit the flower, and it would remain unfertilised, and thus would never have any rip seed. The flower holds out the attraction of its sweets ; it invites the bee : 'Come, and I will give you my honey, and you, in return, shall bring me the pollen **I** want ; and then shall take of mine, and carry it to other flowers now in need of it.' And thus the great purpose of Nature is fulfilled.
The colour of the flower also does its part in the work, according to the law that everything in Nature has some object and reason of existence. You remember that I explained how we know that bees have some knowledge of colour, and so are attracted to the flowers by the colour, as well as by the honey. And, although many flowers, without any beauty of colour, give abundance of honey, it is a remarkable fact,whatever the explanation of it,--that in the case of all those trees and plants which do not require the visit of any insect, but only require the wind to scatter the pollen, the flowers are without colour, without scent, and without honey. They do not need the insect, and so do not hold out any such attraction or give any such invitation.
Some day you will be able to understand more of this marvellous and interesting subject, and will learn more and more the lesson of Divine truth which it teaches, but, even now, reviewing the mere outline of the subject which I have given, you cannot fail to be astonished at the great work done by the bees, and to see their vast usefulness, usefulness so great that it has been well said by one of the greatest authorities on the subject,'To them we owe the beauty of our gardens and the sweetness of our fields.'
'There are in these examples who discern
Proof that in bees a power ethereal dwells,
An inspiration of the soul divine.'
## Chapter Xli.
the importance of bee-keeping.
Bearing in mind what has been said in the last and other chapters of the great usefulness of bees,--the honey they collect, the wax they make, and the flowers they fertilise,--we can understand that it is of considerable importance that as many as possible should be kept everywhere.
* Sir John Lubbock.
It has been said by some that if a great number of stocks are kept in any one place, the flowers in the neighbourhood will not furnish sufficient honey. But this is quite a mistake, except perhaps as regards a few very barren localities. Some of the greatest authorities assert that no district has ever yet been overstocked. Langstroth says, 'It is difficult to repress a smile when the owner of a few hives, in a district where as many hundreds might be made to prosper, gravely imputes his ill success to the fact that too many bees are kept in his vicinity. If in the spring a colony of bees is prosperous and healthy, it will gather abundant stores in a favourable season, even if hundreds, equally strong, are in its immediate vicinity, while if it is feeble it will be of little or no value, even if it is in "a land flowing with milk and honey," and there is not another stock within a dozen miles of it.'
In fact, almost any number of hives may be kept, and will give good return if managed well. At all events, in other countries, many more are kept than in England. In some places there are apiaries containing several hundred stocks, and even as many as two or three thousand.
In Russia, Germany, Austria, Greece, Cyprus, and many other countries, bee-keeping is practised most extensively--far more so than in England--and for a long time has been a national industry--a position which it has only very recently assumed with us. Langstroth mentions that 'in the province of Attica, in Greece, containing forty-five square miles and 20,000 inhabitants, 20,000 hives are kept, each yielding on an average thirty pounds of honey, and two pounds of wax.' And, again, that 'in 1857 the yield of honey and wax in the empire of Austria was estimated to be worth over seven millions of dollars.' And that 'a province of Holland, containing 1200 square miles, maintains an average of 2000 colonies per square mile.'
But it is in America that bee-keeping is now carried on most extensively. In that great country, where, owing to the difference of climate of the vast tracts of land through which some great river passes, the flowers of several districts bloom in succession, the plan has been tried, although not with much success, of placing many hives on a barge, which night by night is towed to fresh pastures, where the bees roam by day, and then, returning to the hives at evening, are carried on to fresh fields before the next morning. We read of even 400 or 500 hives, being so placed on a couple of barges, and towed by a steamer up the river from New Orleans. Not that this is altogether a new plan, for it was practised to some extent even in ancient Egypt ; and in France and elsewhere has been an old custom, showing, if not an example for ourselves in this country, yet, at all events, a proof of the enterprise of foreign bee-keepers.
In America, again, bee-farms are established on the largest scale, and are managed on the most scientific principles. A large apiary in California is said to have given sixty-seven tons of surplus honey in one year, and an apiary of 500 stocks is by no means an unusual thing.
And if such things are possible elsewhere, and there is honey sufficient for such large numbers, we may safely say that oftentimes there are hundreds of tons of honey in our fields,and orchards that are wasted. The apple and other fruit-trees in the spring, the bean and clover fields in the summer, and the lime-trees later on, to say nothing of hundreds of other kinds of flowers, are all full to overflowing of precious nectar, but there are not bees to gather it. And it is not as if these flowers could give up their supply only once, for nature is so bountiful that, as mentioned before, bees may come again and again, and find the little storehouse replenished. It is the voice of the flowers to the bee, 'Take away all my sweets, and yet come again, for some more will very soon be ready for you.'
What a pity it seems that there should be such waste of Nature's good gifts! It is waste also of that which might bring many a comfort to those who need. The cottager, who oftentimes has hard enough work to make ends meet, and can only do so by great care, might very well add something to his store by keeping a few hives. It would cost him but little time, or only such time as his wife or elder children could give. We may almost say that the money for his rent, or the money for his children's shoes, is lying there in the fields, every flower containing its little mite ready for him, if only he would keep the busy workers who are ready most willingly to gather it for him.
And, besides all this, it is doubtless true that, if more bees were kept, there would be yet greater crops of good fruit in many an orchard and garden. We see an orchard white with lovely blossoms, but a vast number of these fall to the ground, and never developeinto fruit for want of the visit of a bee. The wind does much, and many other insects help, but of all workers amongst the flowers, the bee, we know, is first and foremost and most useful. And so much is this the case that when fruit-farming is undertaken and large orchards are planted, some people very wisely establish at the same time large apiaries, not so much for the honey the bees produce, as for the good they do amongst the fruit trees. On every ground then we bid welcome to the bee.'
## Welcome to the bee.
* **C**ome, honey bee, with thy busy hum, To the.fragrant tufts of the wild thyme come, And sip the sweet dew from the cowslip's head, From the lily's bell and the violet's bed, **C**ome, honey bee, There is spread for the A rich repast in wood and field : And a thousand flowers, Within our bowers, To thee their sweetest essence yield.
**C**ome, honey bee, to our woodlands come ; There's a lesson for us in thy busy hum ; Thou hast treasure in store in the hawthorn's wreath, In the golden broom, and the purple heath ; And flowers less fair That scent the air Like pleasant friends, drop balm for thee, And thou winnest spoil By thy daily toil Thou patient and thrifty and diligent bee. We may learn from the bee the wise man's lore, **"** The hand of the diligent gathered store :" She.plies in her calling from.morn to night,
Nor tires in her labour nor flags in her flight :
From numberless blossoms of every hue,
She gathers the nectar and sips the dew.
Then homeward she speeds
O'er the fragrant meads,
And she hums, as she goes, her thankful lay :
Let our thanks, too, rise,
For our daily supplies,
As homeward and heavenward we haste on our way.'
_Bee Journal,_ 1877.
## Chapter XLII.
superstitutions with regard to bees.
Throughout this book I have endeavoured to point out from time to time that for everything in the natural history of bees, their structure and their habits, there is good and sufficient cause. We thought, for instance, of the tongue and the sting, and of their legs and wings, of the young they rear, and the combs they build, and each bee doing its own appointed work; and we saw wise purpose in everything.
In this chapter I will speak not of the bee's wisdom but of man's foolishness. I will tell you of one or two curious things, sometimes said to be true, by those who are ignorant and superstitious, but for which there is but little foundation of either truth or reason.
'Bad luck,' as it is called, in bee-keeping, is connected by superstition with many things which can by no possibility have anything to do with failure. Very likely, in years gone by, people, as they do now, lost their bees through bad management, and then,remembering something that had happened at the same time, began to think, without any reason whatever, that the two things were connected together. And when perhaps, by a curious coincidence, the same two things happened again at the same time, the idea began to take root, and so grew, as superstitions will grow, until at last people became quite persuaded that if such or such a thing happened it would certainly bring misfortune to the bees.
With some foolish or ignorant people it is considered very unlucky to walk under a ladder. Of course it may be dangerous, but 'unlucky' has no meaning. With others there is a superstitious belief that if thirteen persons sit down to dinner together one will die before the year is out. Many foolishly think it is unlucky to spill salt at table; others that it is unlucky and portends a death if a dog howls at night near a house. Sailors think it unlucky to set sail on a Friday.
And then with bees. There is a common superstition that it is most unlucky to sell them except for _gold_. Hence in many parts the usual price of a swarm is half-a-sovereign, to be paid in gold. Again, some people think it unlucky to begin bee-keeping by buying the bees of their first stock. If they are bought they will do no good; the stock must be a present, or a swarm must come of its own accord. I remember that when I. began bee-keeping many years ago I was told that I should be lucky because my first stock was a present from a friend.
Another curious idea prevalent in some parts of the country, as told by Harris, is that if bees, when they swarm, alight on dry or dead wood--a dead bough or a post, they will never prosper. He also quotes an old author, who says, 'The Cornish to this day invoke the spirit " Browny " when their bees swarm, and think their crying " Browny! Browny!" will prevent their returning to their former hive, and make them pitch, and form a new colony.'
Closely allied with these superstitions as to swarming, is the old and very prevalent custom of making a clatter called 'tanging,'--if possible with a key upon a tin pan,--while the swarm is in the air, for the purpose, it is said, of causing it to alight near at hand, and not to fly away.
This 'tanging'is a very ancient custom. Even Virgil,--and he takes the idea from earlier writers, --mentions it as very advisable. Sweet -smelling savours are to be scattered on the ground, and then,
egin{tabular}{l} 'Make talking noise and beat the Phrygian drum ; \ They of themselves, attracted by the scent, \ Will settle, and in fashion of their own \ Take full possession of their infant realm.' \ Virgil (by Kennedy). \ \end{tabular}
And it has probably been more or less a custom ever since, and even now is practised in many parts of our country, although for its professed object it is perfectly useless.
In this case, however, the old custom may have survived owing to the noise being taken as loud notice, given by the owner of the swarm to all his neighbours that his bees had swarmed, and thus as a claim of his right to follow them and to secure them wherever they might settle. It is said that 'by one of the laws of Alfred the Great \(\cdot\)all bee-keepers were bound to ring a \(\cdot\)bell when their bees were swarming, to give notice to their neighbours of the fact.*
But by far the most curious superstition is that which supposes some mysterious sympathy between the bees and their owner when any death occurs in the family, and which makes it necessary to inform the bees of the event, and to make them share in the mourning. A writer in the _Bee Journal_ says, 'A person told me a few days ago that her grandfather, who lived in Oxfordshire, had seventeen bee-hives, and when he died the bees were not informed of it, and the consequence was every one of the bees died.'
The usual practice is to'tell' the bees of the death at midnight by tapping the hives and saying So-and-so is dead,' and afterwards to pin a piece of grape on each hive.
And this old superstitious custom still lingers in all parts of the country. Only the other day (1885) I saw hives in Norfolk thus in mourning; but it is of course a custom that will gradually die out as people more and more learn the true principles of bee-keeping, and the true reasons of success or failure. The Rev. George Raynor, the well-known bee-keeper, has given me the following story :--'An old "lady " in this parish, whose husband died a short time ago, was about " to put her bees into mourning," when I dissuaded her, showing her how foolish was the idea that the bees could understand anything about the death. During the following winter the bees died. I was never forgiven, although I offered more bees to the manes of the departed husband. I was greeted with, " It's all very good o' you, sir, but they ain't like t'other poor dears as is dead and gone!"'
## Chapter Xliii.
bee-keepers' associations and shows.
Following up what I said in the last chapter, we may consider it as a general truth, that what is called want of luck is really want of management, and most certainly can have no connexion with any of the several causes assigned by superstition. There is an old saying that 'a bad workman complains of his tools,' and it is often so with the bee-keeper. He blames anything rather than himself. Bad weather may, of course, bring unavoidable misfortune, but even this can in great measure be averted by good management.
And now in these days there is less excuse than ever for any one to talk of ill-luck, for if a person really wishes to succeed, and is willing to learn, and ready to take trouble, there are abundant means at his disposal for learning all that is necessary. There are not only books and guides and periodicals in abundance, but, most probably, there will be a beekeepers' association in his county or district; and, if he joins it, he will by his membership obtain many benefits and much information.
These associations established in almost every county in affiliation with the British Bee-keepers' Association, do a great deal to advance intelligent bee-keeping. They not only promote unity of purpose and a kindly feeling amongst bee-keepers, but in various ways give much instruction. They organize shows, and give prizes for honey and hives. They provide lecturers for meetings, and then, as their principal and most useful work, employ men of experience called 'experts,' who go round the country, and visit members at their homes, examining their hives and giving good practical advice.
When you are a bee-keeper you will doubtless join such an association, and then, when your bees are prospering, you will look forward to its annual show with great interest. It may be you will be able to send some honey for exhibition. Let us hope you will.
The show of hives and honey will possibly be in connexion with the flower show of the neighbourhood, so that there will be a large gathering of people from the county round--those interested in flowers as well as those interested in bees.
The occasion of such a show is both an interesting and pleasant holiday. It will be held, probably, near the market town, and you will perhaps go by train; and as you draw near, at every station you will see signs of holiday and preparation. Children with their exhibits of wild or other flowers will join the train, dressed in their best, and with anticipation of success beaming in their faces. Gardeners, too, will be there with their precious flowers, eagerly discussing their merits.
And then others will enter the train, bringing their exhibits of honey--the supers their bees have filled, and which for long have been the objects of much anxiety. Carefully and neatly packed they will be eyed once more, and again, by the exhibitor, and the story will be told to fellow-travellers of the wonders the bees have performed, and how the honey they have made can hardly fail to win a prize.
And thus at last the show-ground is reached--a spacious field or the shaded recesses of a gentleman's park, brightened with flags and banners. Here all is bustle and preparation amidst the several tents,--one for cut flowers and hardy plants ; one for ferns and hothouse plants ; one, perhaps, for roses, the queen of flowers ; one for cottagers' exhibits, and then, last, but not least, one for the exhibits of hives and honey. Carts and vans have brought heavy loads, which are now being transferred to the appointed tents. And here you give up to the Secretary or Manager your own valued contribution,--well-filled sections, or large supers, or bottles of clear run honey, to be arranged in due course, each in its own class, there to be inspected by the appointed judges.
And now you must wait ; and anxious the time of this waiting, while the judges make their awards. The time, however, comes at last, and the tent is thrown open. Exhibitors and visitors press in. And great your pleasure, as you enter with the throng, if you find 'First Prize' or 'Second Prize' on your exhibit! It is reward for your care. But if no prize is yours--and all cannot win--let us hope you will bear the disappointment bravely, ready to approve the judges' decision, and making the determination that you will not be beaten another year, but will yet succeed by perseverance and greater care.
'Tis a lesson you should heed,
Try, try, try again.
If at first you don't succeed,
Then your courage should appear ;
For if you will persevere,
You will conquer, never fear :
Once or twice though you may fail,
If at last you would prevail,
If we strive 'tis no disgrace
Though we may not win the race ;
What should we do in that case?
If you find your task is hard,
Time will bring you your reward :
All that other people do :
Why, with patience, should not you?
Only keep this rule in view--
Try, try, try again.'
And now, as you walk around the show, keep your eyes and ears open to gain all possible information. You will meet with many of greater experience than yourself--the best bee-keepers of the county, and you will always find them ready to give you kind words and advice. Bee-keepers, like their bees, try to help one another, and to work for one common end.
And then, having thoroughly examined all the exhibition tent contains, you will visit the 'bee-tent' where, safe from attack behind the gauze net, many will be gathered to witness some expert engaged in driving bees, and transferring them from a skep. You will hear him also explain some of the wonders of the hive, and the best way of practical management. Observe and listen carefully, and you will pick up many a hint to be brought into practice afterwards.
And thus, amidst beautiful flowers making the air sweet, and amidst bees, and honey, and pleasant friends, and cheerful faces, and in listening to the band, you will spend a happy day, and, when evening comes, will return once more to your home and hives, all the better for having mixed with others, and gathered experience, and all the more, I think, loving your bees because understanding them better.
And this interest will not flag in future years. On the contrary, I think, as years pass away, you will be all the more attached and devoted to bee-keeping. There will be ever a growing interest, not simply for profit sake, but because you will ever find more and more to learn, fresh wonders from time to time, wonders of bee life, wonders of bee instinct, wonders amidst the honey-giving flowers, each one more clearly unfolding the wisdom and goodness of the great Creator, who desires that we should enjoy to the full the rich and countless gifts of Nature so freely bestowed upon us all.
Printed by Strangeways & Sons, Tower Street, Upper St. Martin's Lane.
Weils Gardner, Darton, & Co.'s
**Catalogue of 300ks.**