The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-10-02 00:00:00

Hazeleigh Rectory, September 24. GEORGE RLYNoR,

Sir,—Your correspondent of this morning attributes mis-
chievous propensities to bees, which ore quite exceptionaL
_Bees will seldom attack fruit. I have had eight hives in my
garden this season, and a good crop of peaches and plenty
of other fruit, and the bees have never touched them.
The fact is, it is a bad season, and the " Vicar's " bees are
starving. He ought to feed them.—Your obedient servant,
September 24. A BEEKEEPER.

Sir,—May I be allowed to echo the complaint of your
correspondent "C. R." as to the fondness of bees for wall
fruit? I may say without exaggeration that my crop of
peaches and nectarines has been entirely spoilt by the
ravages of the bees kept by neighbouring cottagers, and I
should be glad if their friends and admirers could suggest
some remedy. I find them proof against the bottles which
attract the more slow-witted wasps and lies. —I am, Sir,
your obedient servant, A SUPFEREZ.
September 27.

Sir,—lt is known to many that for fifteen years I kept bees
in my garden at 6, Lordship-terrace, Stoke Newington, the
hives being literally shut in on three sides by houses; and
in the course of that time I never heard a complaint of
any one having been hurt, or alarmed, or threatened. It
is not generally known that bees should always, if
possible, be placed where they will perpetually see
human beings busy, and to some extent in their
way as they sail to and fro about their business.
My bee-shed at Lordship-terrace was within 20 feet of
a much frequented path, and I used the path without
fear, except on those days of pleasant excitement when
the honey was taken, and then, of course, the path
was stopped against all except those who had work to do in
the apiary. That in such a built-in district bee-keeping was
not altogether a folly was several times proved by the ex-
hibition of the produce, which was of the finest quality,
being quickly made during June and July, and taken with-
out the use of smoke, or fungus, or any other chymical
agency. The last box of honey I submitted to public inspec-
tion was for some months in the possession of Messrs. Neigh-
bour, of 'Repent-street, who considered it remarkably pure
and well-finished.

The bee, like the man, is a creature of habit. ..When
thoroughly accustomed to human society, the industrious
insect plods on in the most peaceable and law-abiding
manner, but residence in a wilderness developes a jealous
spirit, and hence, while a town bee may be interrupted with
impunity, a country bee is apt to sting when seriously in-
terfered with, and especially if checked in the prosecution
of daily duty. During the fifteen years my bees saw much
of society they were remarkably docile and manageable, and
I could catch them on the wing, retain them in my hands,
and after some seconds liberate them, to see them dart like
an arrow to the mouth of the hive, and I was never stung
by the prisoners. But when, on going further afield, I
planted my bee-shed in a lonely spot and the bees saw only
open meadows, they soon became so far savage that I could
no longer frolic with them safely. As regards the neighbour-
ship of bees, therefore, there is no proper objection to be
found, and the lonely bees, though unsociable, are neither
dangerous to man nor injurious to his property. People
who go fussing among bees may be punished for their folly ;
but a bee intending to sting usually gives ample warning,
and there is always a reason for the procedure ; it is never
done in mere wantonness. Bees are not partial to fruits,
and if by sheer starvation they are driven to them, they are
likely to suffer from dysentery. If they attack fruits, there-
fore, it is a sign that they want feeding. It is at least probable
that your correspondent who complains of the fruit-eating
propensities of bees has seen wasps and flies in myriads
among his fruit, and has confounded them with the innocent
honey bee. The is a fly now abroad which nine persons in
every ten will pronounce a honey bee. As soon as the ivy
comes into bloom it will completely cover the plant to obtain
the honey trom its unattractive flowers. It is, however, very
far removed from the bee in structure, as will be easily dis-
covered by any one who will look it up in "Kirby and
Spence" under its generic name of syrphus. This is not the
only fly which in appearance mocks the bee, and in behaviour
brings disgrace upon the most respectable of insects.

_
After all is said and done a certain number of people will
cherish a fear of bees, as a certain number cultivate a dread
of cattle, a hatred of frogs, and a spirit of vengeance against
spiders. We must educate them in the exercise of reason-
able confidence, and one way, at least, to accomplish that
end will be to keep bees in the midst of houses, to afford
hourly proof that insects are amenable to the influences of
civilization.—l am, Sir, yours respectfully,
Stoke Newington. SHIRLEY lIIBBERD.

Sir,—llaving lately had probably the Most extensive cor-
respondence of any man in England on apiarian matters, I
am bound to admit the frequency of the complaints against
bees this autumn on account both of their attack on
fruit, and more especially their intrusion into shops.
The Rev. George Raynor, in his able letter in The Times
of Monday, fully vindicates his little favourites, and I
concur entirely in his views. Our most enthusiastic bee-
keepers generally possess gardens, and they are good judges
of what the bees' propensities for mischief are. The hive
bee's jaws are not formed for cutting tough substances
like the skins of pears and peaches, and I do not think an
instance of a primary attack on fruit can be proved against
this insect. I at once admit that when the fruit has from
wet or over ripeness burst, then the bee will suck what
sweetness it can from the open wound, although at
no time is fruit a favourite food of the bee. The inhabitants
of a famine-struck city will devour with eagerness food which
at other times they will not touch; they also will venture into
places to obtain it that at normal times they would avoid; so
with). the bees. All over the kingdom they are in a state of
starvation ; such a season never was known before; not a tithe
of the beekeepers ever dream of feeding bees in summer and
early autumn, and, consequently, nine-tenths of the colonies
are now perishing from neglect. Driven to desperation
the poor bees may well be excused if in their agony they
take what nourishment they can get from fruit, or with
feeble wings seek the grocer's shop in the country town
where the scent of the sups attracts them. In a small
suburban garden 1 have about a dozen strong stocks of bees;
they are well supplied with food enough to last till the
flowers in May appear. My neighbours have had fruit on
their walls, but no single complaint of my bees have I heard.
Pray forgive the bees their little peculation, for it is to save
them from the agony of starvation. JOHN HUNTER.
Eaton Rise, Ealing.

Sir.—As Mr. Raynor questions the accuracy of some of ray
statements, will you allow me to say that the bees began to
attack my peaches before they were ripe, at the junction of
the stalk with the fruit, causing large numbers to fall from
the trees.
------ • • • -

Upon ripening they proceeded in the "most systematic
way" as ''S. C." says to tap the softest part by rapid applications
of their tongues, and having broken the skin, would very
soon bury themselves in the flesh. I have watched their
operations for many days at all hours, and have seen from 10
to 20 bees on one peach, and hundreds on a single tree at one
time; they are, I believe of the Ligurian breed.
Your correspondent desires me to "lay aside my selfish
fears." Now, I am willing to submit to the loss of hail my
wall fruit, if by so doing I can secure the remainder, and
that, I think, is offering more than a fair contribution to-
wards the production of honey and the pleasures of bee-
keepers.
I did not complain of a single sting, but it is none the less
true that I was stung a fortnight since rather severely while
watching the ravages of these interesting insects.
I was properly brought up, taught my nursery rhymes,
including "low cloth the little busy bee," and am, there-
fore, naturally inclined to regard with favour these pets of
the Rector and Vicar; but the evil lies in their excessive
cultivation, and is another proof of the saying that one may
have too much of a good thing.—l am, Sir, your obedient
servant, C. R.
September 27.