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a certain effect on the muscles ; while the President expressed his 

 opinion that problems were often worked out by the brain automatically 

 and without any mental exertion. 



January 13th. 



ORDINARY MEETING.— MR. C. P. SMITH ON " BEES." 



The bee was an insect consisting of a head, thorax, and abdomen, 

 united by cylinders which were at times so reduced as to make it 

 wonderful how the minute nervous cord passing through it was able to 

 control all the functions of the organs of sensation and motion. The 

 head was the most important section, and carried the antennae, the 

 compound eyes, the simple eyes, and the organs of the mouth. The 

 antennae, or feelers, were variously constructed, being sometimes 

 straight and at other times curved, or like a string of beads. In a 

 wild bee the integument of the antennae was of a hexagonal structure. 

 The antennae had been supposed to be organs of smell and also of 

 hearing, but this was by no means certain ; they were, however, in 

 constant motion, and were frequently protruded into a flower before the 

 insect entered, for the purpose, apparently, of ascertaining its fitness. 

 The fact of a special apparatus for the purpose of cleaning them 

 would also show that Nature had attached great importance to them. 

 On each side of the head were the large compound eyes which varied 

 in the various genera, and consisted of a number of small hexagonal 

 facets, each one having its own branch of the optic nerve. The use 

 of these compound eyes was supposed to be the examination of near 

 objects. On the crown of the head were the three stemata, or 

 simple eyes, which were supposed to be used for long vision 

 as when covered up by a black varnish Reaumur found that the bee 

 invariably flew straight up, and was lost. The organs of the mouth, 

 called trophi, were very variable in development in the diflFerent 

 genera, and, when complete, consist of a labrum, or upper lip, a 

 epipharynx, or gullet, which formed the mouth, the labrum, or lower 

 lip, and an organ called the tongue. Besides these single organs the 

 organs in pairs were the mandibles, the maxillae, maxillary palpi, the 

 labial palpi, and the paraglossae. The labrum was of a homy or 



