Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1913-08-31

(BN v l.. 81
Do you remember tlne, Iohb
time ago, when you used TO Wdtch
the bumblebces in the early spring
! fighting over the pollen in the DIos-
SONS of the old buckeye tree2 The
buckeye tree blossoms among the
first vegetation of each succeeding
year and the bumblcbees, like their
small cousins, the honeybees are
always and eterually on the job.
Away wonder before the red clo-
yer came into bloom, the humble
| bees were up and doing. Some OF
them you had seen trying to get
some honey out of a rose bloom,
double rose bloom at that ana you
saw all of them give II up in disgust
| They fingered around the wild rose
| flower and finally quit that without
accomplishing anything worth while,
Then you saw them cOngrcgate
along with the humming birds about
! the old honeysucile vines out on the
! front fence, or twinlng around a
! crss-Cross nailed TO stake, ana
! there the success was better. They
| took shot at the bleeding heart too
and il was one Of the fhst flowers TO
attract their attention. Yet II really
| took the old buckeye tree and its
white blossoms to bring them buz-
zng and in great numbers. That
you might hear them buzz in angry
tones, you have often run up to that
| tree, kicked it vigorously and then
stood back to watch hundreds Of
them in dizzy and circuitous routes.
Dcmonical Thrust
No, sir, you were not afraid or be-
ing sung You knew that a humble
! bee wouldn't sting you when he is not
in the vicinity of his nest unless you
caught him in your hand and forcl-
bly, sought to restrain his natural
| Liberties. OF course, when you did
that, his doube-action thick-barrel-
ed plunger which he carries at his
southwest end, went down into the
flesh and carried with it all kinds of
paining demons. Probably you had
to help the bumblebee let loose, and
the chances are he left his stinger
behind If he had put enough power
into the thrust, because the sunger
of q bee has little barDs on it like the
barbs on a gig, barbs that let it slip
into the cuticle smoothly but allow
it to stick tightly once it is put
But you know how bumblebee
acts when you kick him out of his
nest You found that out back home
in the midsummer time when father
gave you the sythe along in July on
August and told you that the ole
fence row ought to be cleaned out
little Just to help appearances aIoni
the big road. Maybe it was down II
the orchard where the briars ha(
learned to grow without fear where
he sent you. Maybe 1t was dowl
along the branch that ran through
the cornficld where the vines and th'
briars and underbrush was fairl!
matted together where you were tolC
to toll and sweat. But 1t mattere(
not at which Job he put you, sooner
or later you were sure to run across
, nest Of bumblebees. Sometimes
YOU struck half dozen nests before
you had been along the old fence rov
, or the ditch or in the orchard hal
day.
So the Mules Trc1Sed.
Earlier in the season by severa
weeks you had experienced the keeI
delight OF running a mower over
bumblebees nest out in the bayfield,
When the sickle passed over 1t yol
didn't know II, and you didn't &c
next until the next time you cam
| around. Then the mules ran away
and away down deep In your hear
you were glad they did. II yol
didn't have any trouble at the NOV
ing, you had plenty of 1t raking will
, the old sulkey or the bull rake
There is nothing so cleverly devised
to make a bumblebee become irasci
BILE and lose his temper ana goo
breeding as q sulkey tooth or tw
. gouging him down in the nest an,
turning the nest upside down, tang
ling him up In wad of hay an
= otherwise ruffling his feathers an
his temper. The next thing to tn
sulkey is the bull rake, and load o
. clover dragged over nest Is boun
to jar something loose.
You remember distinctly that yo
could walk out into the bayfield, i