The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1893-09-13
BILL ARP.
William Talks About Bees.
atlanta Gonstit,tti0n.

atlanta Constitution.
There is one good thing about get
ting stung by bee. 1t makes you
forget all other troubles for little
while. I have had lots Of fun with
these bumblcbecs for the last few days
and it renewed my youth. Time was
when I thought it big thing to fight
"yellcr jackets and take my chances
with the other boys. The bravest boy
was the biggest fool and would stay at
the hole the longest and thresh all the
leaves off of his brush and get stung
before he surrendered. I am not that
brave now, and I fight with exceeding
caution, but I have killed over two
hundred in two days and fought fair
and square. My weapon is crum
pan and / take EN- coming and going,
but they crowd me sometimes and my
antics attracted attention among the
nabors, for they can see me in the
upstairs piazza, and one good lady in
quircd if Major Arp was subject to
fits. The bees come out whore the
weathcrboarding joins the floor and
my repeated assaults have made them
mad generally. Upto this time they
have stung every member of the fam
lily, even to the little grandchild who
lives with us, and I'm going to exter-
inmate them if it takes all summer.
We tried hot water, but it will not
| reach them. Just think of that poor
little child going round with one eye
closed and afraid she will lone the
other one; and Mrs. Arp's head all
| swelled up with two bumps that a
phrenologist couldn't diagnose. We
| can't sit in the downstairs piazza with
any security. It is a bigger thing
| right now than bimetallism Or free
| coinage or the tabernacle meeting. In
fact, it is relief from politics to fight
bees and study them in the books. l
| wish the editors would hold up awhile
and go to the woods and fight yeller
jackets or wasps or hornets and get
| stung few times. 1t would be q
relief to the country and I have heard
that such things are good for rheuma-
tism or any nervous affection and l
know that it takes the conceit out OF a
man for awhile.
My book says that the proper name
! is Hhumblebee. but there is no
humility about these at my house.
There are from 70 to 800 in a colony
| and so | know I have nearly whipped
the fight. They live only one summer
and never rebuild in The same place.
The books say there are three kinds
the masons and the carpenters and
the diggcrs, but what they are good
for I don t know unless it is to make
man more willing to quit this world
and prepare himself for another. If
there were no snakes and tarantulas
and singing things and deadly conta-
gions and demagoguges and thieves
and fuses we wouldent want another
world.
The little honey bee is a trump and
wonder from stem to stern. 1t is
good to ruminate about their wisdom
and skill and their government. just
think of one queen being the mother
Of 10000 and controlling them all
more absolutely than any human
mother controls her children. Just
think of 19,500 workers and only 800
drones in colony. These drones are
the gentlemen, and remind you Of our
gentlemen loafers and swells who set
about on the piazzas of the hotels and
watch the girls 60 by. But the drones
don't enjoy themselves but month
or two. The queen gets tired of them
and gives her orders and then the
massacre of St. Bartholomew begins.
In an hour time every one is slain
stung to death by the workers, and
their puffy, bloated carcasses dragged
out and tumbled on the ground.
There is no little thing in nature
more wonderful than the honeycomb
that these little workers make. It's
mathematical construction gives the
most space with the least enclosure,
the arched top and bottom Of every
cell, the exact and uniform thickness
of every division and the wisdom
shown in shaping the whole storehouse
to suit the shape of the hive is, indeed,
marvellous. Then there is the division
of the workers into brigadcs and regi-
ments and companies, some to gather
honey, some to make wax, some to
build the cells, some to stand guard,
some to wait on the queen and be her
escort as she moves around, and q
whole regiment to keep their wings
going like revolving fans and supply
fresh air in the hive. That fan bust
ness makes the humming that is heard
in the hive dey and night. It is the
Autter of the wings Of the tanners.
How in the world they do everything
in the dark is wonder to me. l was
talking to my friend, Mr.. Bussey,
about it on the train some time ago,
and he told me confdentially that he
was experimenting to see if he could
not cross honey bees with lightning
bugs and get up bee that could see
how to work at night or in the dark.
He has applied for o patent on the
idea, but whether he has succeeded OF
not in his experiment l have not heard.
He was very sanguine, and the only
trouble, he said, was about the cross
finding room in the tail for the fire.
works and the. sting too. But Mr..
Bussey is an engineer on the State
road and knows what he is about.
The sting of bee is said to be the
most perfect war weapon ever invent
ed II is cquisite in it's mechanism.
1t is a hollow tube, and yet the point
of the finest cambric needle is immense
when compared with it. Under the
microscope the sting is perfect in its
shape and smoothness, so much so
that the point is almost invisible,
whereas the point Of the needle under
the same glass rocks like great rough
crowbar with seams and ruts and
ridges all over it. This is the differ
ence between the works of God and
man. And yet the same Almighty
hand that made the little bee with his
wonderful instincts and attachments
made the univcrsc-the boundlcss,
limitloss universe where there arc stars
to be seen by the Lord Ross telescope,
whose light takes so, 900 years to reach