Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1894-08-03
ThE BUSY BEE.
True Story OF Broken Artificial Honey
Comb.

True story or broken ArHucih hohoy
Comb.
Once upon time-not so very long
lgo-a gentleman who had beautiful
garden thought that it would be very
uice to have some bees; so he bought
six or seven hives, and placed them in
the loveliest corner of the garden, UNI
der an old apple-tree. There was a
large bed of mignonette and 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 chceriest 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, l 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 ont of the hive.
Now for the story,
The gentleman had heard that it was
a 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 il
clean and sweet. You see that the
bees can make a little more honey ii
they do not have to stop to make the
comb. Honey made in manufactured
comb is called extracted honey. 1t is
taken from the comb in machine
made for this purpose. Then the comb
is hung in the hive, and the bees fill il
again So the gentleman put this kind
of comb in three hives; hut in the 9th,
ar hives he left the bees to make the
good old-fashioncd 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. lie 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 way to
help the bees. He pressed the broken
comb together, and back into its place
in the frame, and then took clean
white Irvine, 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
ices 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 qniet and happy; but he saw
something that surprised him very
much In front of one of the hives the
, short grass was white with fine fuzz
I 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
: ID honeycomb in it. l will look in"
He TOOK off the top of the hive again,
, and what do you think he foundP
The bees had mended the broken
: comb with beeswax, and then those
' bright little things had cut all that
Irvine into bits of fine lint, and carried
it out of the hive, bit 10y bit, until there
l was not the least thread of lint left on
g the honeycomb or in the hive.-Alice
B. Engle, in st, Nicholas,