Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1879-10-25
HABITS OF BUMBLE BEES.
Their singers Never out of Repair
satisfaction Guaranteed i'm Every

Their singers Never ont of Repair
satisfaction Guaranteed i'm Every
/ 1. Case.
From the Detroit Free Press.
Children, did you ever stop to consider
the immense power possessed by bum
ble-bee? An insect weighing no more
than the eighth of an ounce is capable
of "raising"a man Weighing 22O pounds
from a bench i'm the public park, and
then have lots of lifting material left.
Just stop and think of It'll The stinger
of bee is not near as large as the finest
needle, but such is the force behind it
that it can be driven through heavy
pants cloth. backed by merinO
drawers, and into the flesh about
sixteen feet. If a man could yield
crOw-bar in comparison he could drive it
through seven saw mills and whisky
distillery at one blow. Nature could not
give the bee teeth and claws without
spelling his beauty, and, in c0mpensa-
ton, she gave him this singer as wea-
pom of attack and defense. Ii the bee
had no weapon, ants, beetles and bugs
could cuff him around as much as they
pleased, but, as it is, he is boss of the
walk, and won't take word from any
IlOf them.
| The bumble-bee is not naturally of "a
quarrelsome disposition, but heccan't be
sat down on over half an hour without
| feeling as if some one was doing him a
great wrong. If left to himself he will
crawl up your coat sleeve, look around,
and crawl down and go about his bust
mess, but if welcomed by blow between
the eyes he is going to be revenged if it
breaks leg. He invariably closes his
eyes when he stings, and you have only
to look bee square in the face to dis
cover when he is fOOling around, and
when he means fourteen per cent pei
annum.
The hay field is favorite resort of the
bumble-bee, but you can find him almost
anywhere else if you try hard. Having
no pair of long hind legs, he cannot
build his nest in marsh like a frog
and, having no beak in which to carry
straws, he cannot nest in a tree like a
bird. He, therefore, takes to the grass
and under the roots of an old stump, OF
amidst pile of old rails, he rears his
gentle young and gives them printed in
structiOns as to the difference between
singing six-inch st0vepipe and runaway
boys. The knowledge of old bee is won
derful. They know where the schOO
house is. They know when school is out
They can sail miles away from home
get in their work on a farmers son weed
ing out corn, and return home without
missing fence corner or in need of al
afternoon nap. AS rule they are early
risers. BarefOOted boys driving up the
cows at daylight will find the humble
bee out of bed and quite ready to begin the
labors of the day. Along about sun
down he quits work, counts noses to SEE
if the family are all in and then slows
himself away for night Of calm and
peaceful repOse.
The legs of bumble-bee are very crook
ed. This seems too bad at first sight, bu1
/ you will soon discover that nature was
level headed. His legs were thus shaped
to enable him to hang to the brim of {
boys straw hat. We're his legs straight
hecOuld not walk fence rail in higl
wind, nor could he turn around aftel
reaching the top of a mullen stock
The stripes on the bee look like vast,
of material, but such is not the case
They furnish an extra covering over hi
ribs to keep the frosty air off, and the,
.. serve to stiffen his spinal column in hi
! flights through the air.
A bumble-bee can fly at the rate o
twenty miles an hour, if he wants to
but there is no cause for him to fly an
! faster than a boy can run. He some
times lives to be three years old. and i
sometimes stricken down before he ha
travelled at all. His life is precariou
one. He may run deacon out of a ha
field to- day, and be the big bee of tn
nest, and to- morrow country schOO
ma'am may knock his head off with he
umbrella. Nothing in natural histOr
weighs more for his size than the BET
and nothing in science works easie
without cOg-wheels or rubber roller
T than his stinger. 1t is always read.
never out of repair, and satisfaction It
, the bee) is guaranteed in every case.