The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1894-07-14
THE BUSY BEE.
4 rr.s story Of broken ArtlnciAi Honey.

True Story Of Broken Artificial Honey.
Comb.
Once upon time---not so very long
lgo--a gentleman who had a beautiful
garden thought thatit would be very
nice to have some bees; SO he bought
six or seven hives, end placed them in
the loveliest corner Of the garden, un-
der an old apple-tree. There was a
large bed of mignonette and q small
field of clover hard by.
The bees seemed to like their new
home very much, and went to work
gathering honey, and buzzing the while
in the cheeriest way.
Now this gentleman not only wanted
the honey that his bees would make,
but he wished to watch the habits of
the bees as we'll, and before giving you
the story, am going to tell you one
sad little truth and few facts about
bees. A working-bee lives only six
weeks after he begins his work in the
spring. But during that six weeks he
works early and late to gather the
honey-dew and store it away in the
hive for you and me, and for the young
bees to eat the following winter, when
they dare not stir out of the hive.
Now for the story.
The gentleman had heard that it was
common thing for bee-keepers to use
manufactured honey-comb in their
hives. 1t is made from beeswax, after
the honey is extracted, pressed into
large sheets, and fastened in frames
twelve inches square. and then hung
in the hives The bees make the cells
deeper, fill them with honey, and cap
them over with thin white wax, to keep
the honey in the cell and to keep it
clean and sweet. You see that the
bees can make little more honey If
they do not have to stop to make the
comb. Honey made in manufactured
comb is called extracted honey. 1t is
made for this purpose. Then the comb
is hung in the hive, and the bees all it
again. 50 the gentleman put this kind
of comb in three hives; but in the 9th.
er hives he left the bees to make the
good old-fashioned kind of honey in
the honey-comb,'' that is so sweet and
beautiful.
One morning the gentleman found
that the bees around one of his hives
were flying wildly in and out, making
an angry buzzing the while. He knew
at once that something was wrong. and
that the bees were talking about it.
The gentleman went to the hive and
took off the top and looked in, and
found that one Of the large sheets Of
the manufactured honey-comb was
broken across. and the honey dripping
down upon the floor of the hive. The
gentleman thought at once of q way to
help the bees. he pressed the broken
comb together, and back into its place
in the frame, and then took clean
white twine, and tied the comb into
the frame and hung it back in the hive.
Then he went a short distance, and
watched and listened to see what the
bees would do and say. The bees flew
into and out of the hive and soon grew
quiet, and commenced their cheerful
happy buzzing, without one note OF
anger.
The next morning the gentleman
went out again very early, and found
the bees quiet and happy; but he saw
Esomething that surprised him very
much. In front of one of the hives the
short grass was white with a fine >fuzz
or lint. He examined it closely and
found that it was fine white cotton
lint. He said to himself:
This is the hive that has the mend
ed honeycomb in it. will look in.
He took off the top of the hive again,
and what do you think he found2
The bees had mended the broken
comb with beeswax, and then those
bright little things had cut all that
twine into bits of fine lint, and CARRIED
it out of the hive, bit by bit, until there
was not the least thread of lint left on
the honeycomb or in the hive.-Alice
B. Engle, in ST. Nicholas.