“Tell it to the Bees”
'‘Telling tlio bees,” when a death of marriage takes place in a family, is or was an English practice in vogue from Northumberland to the Isle of Wight'’ (says a London correspondent). It was also followed in the Eastern U.S.A., as Whittier’s pathetic lines on the subject make clear. A death in the family should always be notified to the bees, and in a whisper in order to lessen thu shock. Elso the bees will resent the slight cast on them as members of the household, and, if not properly advised, either desert the hives or die. In Shropshire even the rooks used to be informed as well; and in Oxfordshire, after a piece of black crape had been tied on the hives, they were tapped three times' with the house-key, and the inmates were told. “Bees, bees, bees, your master is dead, and now you must work for —the next owner.” On a marriage the bees expect the hives to be decorated with a wedding favour.
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Bibliographic details
Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 190, 13 August 1936, Page 10
Word Count
172“Tell it to the Bees” Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 190, 13 August 1936, Page 10
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