ANALYTICAL EVIDENCE. 305 



that their weight was f of an ounce. I then placed the 

 bees in another box, provided with empty combs, and fed 

 them with the same honey as before. In the first few 

 days they lost daily rather more than 1 oz. in weight, and 

 afterwards half an ounce daily, which was owing to the 

 circumstance, that from the digestion of so much honey, 

 their intestinal canal was loaded with excrements ; for 

 1,170 bees, in autumn, when they have been but a short 

 time confined to the hive, weigh 4 oz. ; consequently 2,765 

 bees should weigh 9oz. But they actually weighed 10 oz., 

 and therefore had within them 1 oz. of excrement, for 

 their honey bladders were empty. During the night the 

 weight of the box did not diminish at all, because the small 

 quantity of honey the bees had deposited in the cells, 

 having already the proper consistence, could not lose 

 weight by evaporation, and because the bees could not 

 then get rid of their excrements. For this reason, the loss 

 of weight occurred always during the day. 



If, then, the bees, in seven days, required 3^ oz. of 

 honey to support and nourish their bodies, they must 

 have consumed ISJoz. of honey in forming f of an ounce 

 of wax; and consequently, to form lib. of wax, 20 lbs. of 

 honey are required. This is the reason why the strongest 

 swarms in the best honey seasons, when other hives, that 

 have no occasion to build, often gain in one day 3 or 4 lbs. 

 in weight, hardly become heavier, although their activity 

 is boundless. All that they gain is expended in making 

 w^ax. This is a hint for those who keep bees, to limit the 

 building of comb. Cnauf has already recommended this, 

 although he was not acquainted with the true relations of 

 the subject. From 1 oz. of wax, bees can build cells 

 enough to contain 1 lb. of honey. 



100 laminae of wax weigh 0*024 gramme (rather more 

 than i of a grain), consequently, 1 kilogramme (= 15,360 



X 



