The life of the bee / translated by Alfred Sutro.

  • Q49747
Date:
1908
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The life of the bee / translated by Alfred Sutro. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    34/376
    their reserves of honey, into which they eagerly dip in order to possess within them- selves the wherewithal to start a new city, immediately and no matter where, should the ancient one be destroyed or they be compelled to forsake it. 7 The first impression of the novice before whom an observation-hive1 is opened will be one of some disappointment. He had been told that this little glass case contained an unparalleled activity, an infinite number of wise laws, and a startling amalgam of mystery, experience, genius, calculation, science, of various industries, of certitude and prescience, of intelligent habits and curious feelings and virtues. All that he sees is a confused mass of little reddish 1 By observation-hive is meant a hive of glass, fur- nished with black curtains or shutters. The best kind have only one comb, thus permitting both faces to be studied. These hives can be placed in a drawing-room, library, &c., without inconvenience or danger. The bees that inhabit the one I have in my study in Paris are able, even in the stony desert of that great city, to find the wherewithal to nourish themselves and to prosper.