They will sometimes, in their
eagerness, come about the boiling place and be overwhelmed by the steam
and the smoke. But bees appear to be more eager for bread in the
spring than for honey; their supply of this article, perhaps, does not
keep as well as their stores of the latter, hence fresh bread, in the
shape of new pollen, is diligently sought for. My bees get their first
supplies from the catkins of the willows. How quickly they find them
out. If but one catkin opens anywhere within range, a bee is on hand
that very hour to rifle it, and it is a most pleasing experience to
stand near the hive some mild April day and see them come pouring in
with their little baskets packed with this first fruitage of the
spring. They will have new bread now; they have been to mill in good
earnest; see their dusty coats, and the golden grist they bring home
with them.
When a bee brings pollen into the hive, he advances to the cell in
which it is to be deposited and kicks it off as one might his overalls
or rubber boots, making one foot help the other; then he walks off
without ever looking behind him; another bee, one of the indoor hands,
comes along and rams it down with his head and packs it into the cell
as the dairymaid packs butter into a firkin.
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