CHILDREN'S ESSAYS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10080, 28 June 1910, Page 6

CHILDREN'S ESSAYS.

RESULT OF THE COMPETITION,

The prize for the first week's essay, offered by the Town Hall Picture Proprietary, has been awarded to Patience Fiost, aged 12£ years, of South Road. Although the essay is somewhat short, the judges state that it shows observation. The essay is as follows: "BEES-THEIR HABITS AND USES." "Bees are very interesting insects if one takes an interest in them. There are many different kinda, all of which have their own work to do. The moat important of them is the hive or honey bee. Ihen there are the queens, dronep, and * working bees, the last being the smallest of ail. Their bodies are covered with fine, short, silky hairs, and are provided with stings. On their hind legs there i 3 a little basket in which they carry the nectar. There is only one queen bee in a hive; she is larger than the others, and lays all the eggs. The drones are very lazy; they are usually shut out of the hive because they do not do anything but eat the honey. They have no stings. In fine weather the working bees gather the honey; you will see them flitting from flower to flower, and humming as they go, but when it is wet and cold they stay in the hive 3 and make wax, which forms their cells, and is afterwards made into beeswax—a very useful thing to have in the house. I<i summer our lawn is nearly covered with bees, and the children have very of ten been stung, when they have had no boots or stockings op. The clover flower attracts them there mostly. As a rule bees do not live long after the first season, and if one humble bee happens to survive the others, she will make a nest for herself; sometimes in a dry bank, but very often in a heap of gravel. We can all taku a lesson from tlie busy little bees, as they are to be idle,"