. American bee journal. Bee culture; Bees. 764 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Nov. 27, 1902. well rival the palace of Madame Tartiue and her family, that is described in such appetiz- ing verse in La Mere L'Oie. One remembers the old adage— " A swarm in May Is worth a load of hay; A swarm in June Is worth a silver spoon; But the swarm of July Isn't worth a fly.'' My own belongs to the silver-spoon class, so I could not expect much, if, indeed, anything, in the way of surplus honey. No, not a drop of honey by way of tribute, or to pay for a silver spoon, was ever taken upstairs, but downstairs


. American bee journal. Bee culture; Bees. 764 THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. Nov. 27, 1902. well rival the palace of Madame Tartiue and her family, that is described in such appetiz- ing verse in La Mere L'Oie. One remembers the old adage— " A swarm in May Is worth a load of hay; A swarm in June Is worth a silver spoon; But the swarm of July Isn't worth a fly.'' My own belongs to the silver-spoon class, so I could not expect much, if, indeed, anything, in the way of surplus honey. No, not a drop of honey by way of tribute, or to pay for a silver spoon, was ever taken upstairs, but downstairs investigation shows that they have collected sufficient food for their winter pro- vision. Then, besides, my colony was occasionally visited by small bands of robber-bees. I do not know what Hippolyta was doing during the sieges, but I know that her Amazons fought bravely, and were victorious. I had an anti-robbing entrance made according to Cheshire's device, and it proved the most effectual of all my plans to aid the bees. Bold, indeed, must be that bandit bee or wax-moth which would thread that narrow and crooked passage! Alert, indeed, are the sentinels stationed at those corners to meet the daring foel Therefore, taking into consideration the disadvantages resulting from a late swarm, robbers, wet weather, and the cornucopia not overflowing, the owner of this colony has no cause to be dissatisfied if the bees failed to bring her a silver spoon ; and, if on account of empty supers, the commercial honey-king sits in the parlor without money, let us hope, at least, that the blessed queen-bee is in the kitchen eating bread and honey from out of numberless silver spoons brimful and run- ning over! One can build hives in the air as well as castles, so I have visions of hives and honey, of prime swarms and after-swarms, of flowers and of bees. But so have we all visions of summers to come, when the visible delights of flower and bee will make us say with Zonas the Sardian: &quo


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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, booksubjectbees, bookyear1861