Judge — September 1, 1888 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes naive or reckless behavior toward beehives. Two well-dressed gentlemen in formal attire observe beehives labeled "BEEHIVES" and "FARM WORKSHOP" behind a fence. One figure appears to be reaching toward or disturbing the hives while the other gestures in alarm. The caption warns that these "beehives...may be loaded"—a double meaning suggesting the hives are full of aggressive bees ready to attack. The "foolish boys" are the men depicted, mocked for their ignorance or carelessness in provoking something dangerous. This likely functions as political allegory, with the beehives representing an irritable group or institution (possibly labor movements or a volatile political faction) that foolish politicians risk angering through provocation. The humor depends on the era's readers understanding what contemporary "beehive" the cartoonist referenced.