BEES. 



17 



each other as they are pursuing- then' avocations in the hive. 

 Here again (Fig*. 8) is another case of interruption. The 



Fig. 8. 



bees apparently found themselves compelled to give such a 

 winding* course to the first comb, that they could not do 

 better than exactly imitate its shape for all the others ; and 

 how beautiful is the result ! Ingenious persons, no doubt, 

 undertake to explain these and a thousand other anomahes 

 in accordance with the theory of instinct ; but it is strange 

 that they do not perceive that the effect of their reasoning- 

 is to show that instinct can do all that reason does, and 

 therefore one or the other, as a distinct quality, must be 

 unnecessary. The above cases refer to the first erection of 

 the bees' home. Let us give an illustration of their power 

 of dealing with accidents in the hive. Dr. Bevan tells us, 

 " A very striking illustration of the reasoning power of bees 

 occurred to my friend Mr. Walond. Inspecting his bee- 

 boxes at the end of October, 1817, he perceived that a 

 centre comb, burdened with honey, had separated from its 

 attachments, and was leaning against another comb, so as to 

 prevent the passage of the bees between them. This acci- 

 dent excited great activity in the colony, but its nature 

 could not be ascertained at the time." At the end of a 

 week, the weather being cold and the bees clustered to- 



c 



