r>££. 
321 
took two pieces of comb, which contained neither 
eggs nor maggots, and shut them up with- a cer- 
tain number of workers, and carried the box into 
a stove: next evening, one of the pieces of comb 
contained several eggs, and the beginning of a 
royal cell, that was empty. 
“ Besides the short observations contained in 
the notes, I beg leave to observe, that I have my 
doubts respecting the whole of these experiments, 
from several circumstances which occurred in mine. 
The three following facts appear much against 
their probability: first, a summer’s evening in this 
country is commonly too cold for so small a parcel 
of bees to be lively, so as to set about new opera- 
tions; they get so benumbed, that they hardly re- 
cover in the day; and I should suspect that where 
these experiments were made (and indeed some are 
said to have been tried in this country), it is also too 
cold: secondly, if the weather should happen to 
be so warm as to prevent this effect, then they 
are so restless, that they commonly destroy them- 
selves, or wear themselves out; at least, after a 
few days confinement we find them mostly dead: 
and thirdly, the account given of the formation of 
a royal cell, without mentioning the above in- 
convenience, which is natural to the experiment, 
makes me suspect the whole to be fabricated. To 
obviate the first objection, which I found from 
experiment to prevent any success that otherwise 
might arise, I put my parcel of bees, with their 
comb, in wdiich were eggs, as also maggots, and 
21 
V. VI. P, II. 
