The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1843-06-13
Miscellaneous.
' THE HoNEY-BEE AND BEE-BoOKs.


"The 'masses'' of every hive consist of two kinds
ofbess the workers and the drones The first
developed females, the second are the males. Over
these presides the mother Of the hive, the queen
bee The number OF workers in strong hive is
hove Is O0O and of drones about ten Of these.
This proportion, though seldom exact, is never very
much exceeded or fallen short Of A single family,
where swarming is prevented will sometimes amount,
according to DR. Bevan, TO $4,000 10000. In
Sheir wild state, if we may credit the quantity Of
Oney said to begfound, they must sometimes greatly
exceed this number.
oSweet is the hum of bees, ''says Lord Byron and
those who have listened to this music in its full luxu
ny, stretched upon sunny bed Of heather, where
the perfume Of the crushed thyme struggled with the
faint smell of the bracken, scarcely have failed to
watch the little busy musician
"wlh honey'd thigh,
That at her fowery work doth sing,,'
TOO well to require heightened description Of her:
how she fit from flower to flower with caprcious
fancy not exhaustng the sweets Of any one spot, but
on the principle of s'lve and let lve," taking some
thing for herself and yet leaving as much more for
the next conner, passing by the just-openng flowers,
and deigning to notice not out Of five that
curean and Eclectic; or still more like fastid
ous noble, the grand tour with all the world be-
fore him, hurrying in restless haste from place TO
place, Swimming the surface tasting the sweets
of society, carrying off some memento from every
spot he has lit upon, and yet leaving plenty to be
cleaned by the next traveller, dawndling in one place
he knows not why, whisking by another which would
have amply repaid his stay, and still pressing EDWARDS
as fin search Of something, he knows not what
though he too often fails to carry home the pro-
portion Of happiness that his compeer does of honey
"a bee among the flowers in spring, ''says Farley,
sis of the cheerullest objects that be looked
upon. Its life appears to be all enjoyment so happy
and so pleased.''
The Drone may be known by the noise he makes.
Hence his name. lie has been the butt of all who
have ever written about bees, and is indeed bye
word all the world over No one fail to hit off
his character. lie is the "lazy yawning drone" of
Shakespeare. s'The drone,' says Butler,is gross,
sngless bee, that spends his time in guttony and
Mlencss. For howsoever he brave it with his round
velvet cap his side gown, his full paunch and his
loud voice, yet he is but idle companion, living by
the sweat of others brows. lie worketh not at all
either at home or abroad and yet spendeth as much
as two laborers you shall never find his NAV without
n good drop Of the purest nectar. In the heat OF
the day he lies abroad alof, and about, and
that with no small noise, as though he was doing
great act; but is only for pleasure, and to get
him stomach, and then returns he presently to his
cheer.' This is bad portrait Of the bury husband
ofthe hive. He is proper Sir John Fastatf, gross
fat ANIMAL cowardy and given to deep potatlons. lie
cannot fail to be recognized by his broad body and
blunt tail and head, and the "bagpipe the nose"
lie is never seen settling flowers, except at the
beginning of August, when he may sometimes be
met upon the late blown rose, some double flower
that the workers rarely frequent, in melanchoy,m
sing state as if PRESIDENT of the miserable fate that
80 soon awaits him. The occasion for so large pro-
portion Of
.sThese lazy rathcrs Of the Industrious hive'
ia vet nm unsolved riddle One author fancied them
the ,vatercarriers of the commonwealth. Some have
supposed that the drones sit like hens, upon eggs; IN
which case the hair on their tails would seem to
serve the same purpose the featherbreeches which
Catherine of Russa had made for her ministers when
she caused them as punishment to hatch eggs in
arpe nest in the antechamber But this is fancy,
the earwig being the only insect, according to Kirby
and Spenne, that broods over its eggs Or Beven
denies that they are useful at least necessary IN
which is the commonly received for their great
numbers. Huber thought SO large quantity were re-
quired, that when the queen takes her hymeneal
fight she may be sure to meet with some IN the up
per regions of the air. Her embrace is said to be
fatal
Last in our description, but
"First of the throng, and foremost OF the whoie'
One stands contest the sovereign and the soul.
This is the queen-bee. Her power was ackno"'-
edged before her sex known, for Greeks La''HS
and Arabs always style her "the king" and II may
be thought an argument in favor of mouarchicai gov
eminent, that the ''tyrant-quelllng Athenlans' ana
republican Romans who almost banished the name
with the blood Of their kings forced to adm" 10
describe "the first magistrate" Of this natural Col"
monwealth. s'The queen," says our author'
fair and stately bee, differing from the vulgar DUN "
shape and color" And is amusing that the ii''S'