The Honey-Makers

Half natural history, half literature: how the honey-bee actually works — tongue, wings, sting, swarm — and then three thousand years of what people have believed about her, from the Vedas to mead.

The Worker

3 pages in this part of The Honey-Makers.

The Worker

It is the worker-bee whose praises have been sounded from remotest times. It is her industry, her wisdom, and her virtues that have been…

The Worker: Bees

To-day bees sometimes store bee-bread in the sections. designed by the bee-keeper for pure honey, or they may even put brood in them, but…

The Worker: Propolis

Propolis is greenish-yellow, and glistening in appearance when first gathered, but soon changes to a dark brown. It has a strong balsamic…

Rights & ReuseThe complete text of The Honey-Makers (1899) is in the public domain in the United States — like all works published before 1928 — and is free to read, download, quote, teach from, and reuse. This digital edition (its transcription, restored images, and site design) is © 2026 PhotoOpAI, and any editorial commentary we add is clearly marked as ours; the underlying public-domain text carries no such restriction.