15 



the committee, and that they should be re-elected, and 

 their number increased by the names of the Eev. Mr. 

 Hutchinson and the Eev. Mr. Mitchinson, offered some yery 

 interesting remarks upon the Ligurian honey bee. He 

 stated that having read of the advantages this bee possessed 

 for apiarian purposes over the common honey bee, he was 

 desirous of possessing one. A neighbour of his likevfise 

 wishing for one, he ordered of the importer two Ligurian 

 queens, these arrived packed in small boxes containing some 

 other bees. He found that one queen was dead, and the 

 other and her subjects appeared perfectly healthy. His 

 object was now to unite this queen with one of his hives ; 

 and as it might interest some of tbem he would detail the 

 plan he adopted. He first fumigated the hive to be operated 

 upon with common puff ball, and whilst the bees remained 

 stupified, which would be about twenty minutes, he looked 

 them over and removed the queen, and replaced the others 

 in the hive. Having then tapped the hive, which he did 

 to apprise the bees of the loss of their queen (for the bees 

 always cluster round the queen when any disturbance takes 

 place), he placed the new queen with some of her species in 

 an opening at the top of the hive. The bees gladly received 

 their new queen, and he watched with great interest the 

 result of the experiment. The next day he found the bees 

 bad killed all the Ligurians but the queen. As the spring 

 was backward, he had not much opportunity of witnessing 

 the appearance of the new bees, but lately be had been de- 

 lighted at beholding some young Ligurians emerge from 

 the hive, and therefore the experiment had completely suc- 

 ceeded. In answer to a question put by some gentleman 

 at the meeting, he stated that the Ligurian bees differed 

 from the common bee in being of smaller size and brighter 

 coloured, the two last abdominal rings being of a bright 

 or&Dge colour ; they were of more active habits than the 

 common bees, and were said to be less addicted to using 

 their sting. This experiment would likewise set at rest a 

 disputed point in the history of the bee, viz., its age. He 



