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Show "The Golden Throng." By Edwin Way Teale A book review This book is about bees. It is extremely well written, writ-ten, avoiding technical words, simple, plain, and so nicely penned as to be fascinating reading. It is superbly illustrated; he is a photographer of skill, showing difficult close-ups as well as the common com-mon shots at furtther distance. And he tells you how many times he was stung, as he got near the irascible irasci-ble insects in manipulating his camera. He has an artistic way of bringing in his imagery, and dramatizes the highlights in the bee's career in such a manner as to make it pointed. Certainly the book is not dull. He begins with the bee in Ancient Egypt, telling one that its glyph is cut on the obelisks, and that the price of honey was 40c a quart about 3,000 B. C. Then he comes to Roman times, with the works of Virgil mentioning the honey producer, and many homely helps given to the husbandman in the care of the bee. In medieval times, one of the most prominent prom-inent sources for sweets was honey. And of course mead, made from honey, that drink of the heroes of Norseland and their kind, a quaff of which would tangle the feet and loosen the tongue of even a gar-gyle gar-gyle on a church front. Yes, one can get a "honey" of a jag from honey. The bees know no ration limitations lim-itations or curbs, and we bootleggers can mix up a tubful without reveners on our trail. I have a batch fermenting now. Whoop-eee!!!! The author makes the yearly round with the bees, starting in the freshening spring time, the fields beginning be-ginning to green, and the warmth driving away the winter lethargy and drowsiness. .Then with the appearance ap-pearance of the honey flow, activity, frenzy of work, the constant trips, trips, trips to the flowers, each return bringing to the-hive its load of nectar to be put in cells, the b'asketfuls of pollen scraped off he thighs, and the busy scene in the hive as cells are made, grubs put in with food, and each reared to the change of life which follows the grub form, coming com-ing forth as new-born bees. The bees work so incessantly that frequently in five weeks, wings are frayed, exhaustion follows, and the poor pitiful worker fails to lift its last load, and drops dead in the open. Then he takes up the mystery of the queen bee, she is made what she is by difference in feeding; her raising, her instant hatred when first born to kill all rivals; her nuptial flight in a few days. Then her whole life spent as a mere egg-laying machine, ceaseless rounds over cells, dropping in the egg. The swarm. . . . The spirit of the hive. . . . The law which all know and obey. . . . The preparation for winter. . . .the cooling fan blasts form tiny wings tc lessen summer s heat. . . The same blast in winter to ward off numbing, icy cold, exercise raising temperature, that increased temperature wafted tc all. It is fascinating. The big lazy drones, with enormous eyes, being fed by the workers, a privileged class up to the time a stab ends their life. For the need which only they can perform, the lazy crew is tolerated. When that is done, and fall closes in, nemesis comes on darting wings, and they are driven out, stung to a quick ,death, and if within the hive, their corpses brushed over the threshold. He gives an excellent chapter on how bees convey con-vey information, say of honey which should be got at once and by some form of communication, others oth-ers are apprised of the fact, and off they go in a joyous joy-ous search for that treasure trove. It is mystifying, but they dot it. . . No lungs ... Air showed out to the farthest tips of wing or body. . . The marvelous antennae. an-tennae. . . But we must stand in pause and thini it over. The bee is a cunning contrivance. It is a very readable book, fast-flowing, no drudgery drudg-ery to follow, and highly informative. Of course, the volume, "The life of the Bee" by Maeterlinck is or th philosophic tone, higher in plane, but still ar exposition well recieved and naving a great reputation. repu-tation. The two books may be read, one following the other, and each expanding some little point ir the other. Kidding is a thing the bee neverdoes. So I dont'' (fully) believe the following story: Ebenezer Brown of Abraham, kent bees; a terrible drought came or and withered all the alfalfa on the Big Flat. Eb's bees went out and foraged on greaswood and came back and laid vaseline! 'T dinna ken if it quite can be I tell the tale as 'twas told to me." |