iiU 



BtL« 



Fig. r. 



guides ourselves. Between bee-reason and man's reason a 

 space " wide as the poles asunder" may exist j but taking- 

 Dr. Bevan's definition, that reason is the power of making- 

 deductions from previous experience or observation^ and 

 thereb}^ adapting means to ends, whilst instinct is the power 

 to perform certain actions in a uniform manner, without 

 reference to either observation or experience, then it is cer- 

 tain that in every department of bee-economy we find 

 numerous examples of the former. The irregularity shown 

 above is a case in point. A stick was in the way of the 

 fourth comb from the left, so the bees deviated to the right 

 into the place of the sixth comb, then resumed their straight- 

 forward course. Next, working from the opposite end of 

 the fourth or interrupted comb, they advanced to the in- 

 terruption and stopped, and so the space there was duly 

 filled up. Then they filled up the unused part of the space 

 that belonged to the fifth comb, which had been so irre 

 g-ularly intruded upon, by a similar short line, and the 

 general arrangement of the hive was scarcely less perfect 

 than ordinary. The reader will observe how carefully the 

 bees have contrived to preserve the proper distance between 

 the combs, in order to permit the free passage of the worker 

 or nurse-bees to their labour in various parts of the hive ; 

 sufficient space is always left to enable two bees to pass 



