The Life of the Bee 



insect. With ants, that can be made to 

 pass where one will, such experiments are 

 possible; but for the bee, whose wings 

 throw every avenue open, some other ex- 

 pedient must of necessity be contrived. 

 I imagined the following, which, though 

 it gave no definite result, might yet, 

 under more favourable conditions, and if 

 organised more carefully, give rise to defi- 

 nite and satisfactory conclusions. 



My study in the country is on the first 

 floor, above a somewhat lofty room ; suf- 

 ficiently high, therefore, to be out of the 

 ordinary range of the bees' flight, except 

 at times when the chestnuts and lime 

 trees are in bloom. And for more than 

 a week before I started this experiment 

 I had kept on my table an open comb of 

 honey, without the perfume having at- 

 tracted, or induced the visit of, a single 

 bee. Then I went to a glass hive that 

 was close to the house, took an Italian 

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