THE HONEY-BEE. 95 



containing eggs or worms, which suited their pur- 

 pose ; and by the afternoon, there were visible the 

 rudiments of four more royal cells, all in quarters of 

 the comb where before were nothing but eggs and 

 common larvse, of one or two days old. Two of these 

 royal cells advanced more rapidly than the rest, pro- 

 bably from the larvae being of an age the fittest for 

 the purpose ; four came on more slowly, and three 

 made no progress after the third day. On the seventh 

 day, the two first were sealed, two more were nearly 

 so, but neither these last nor any of the rest advanced 

 farther, as if the bees, satisfied that they had secured 

 at least one queen, judged it unnecessary to carry 

 forward the others to maturity. On the morning of 

 the fourteenth day, from the removal of the old queen, 

 a young one emerged from her cell, strong and active, 

 and exactly resembling those produced in the natural 

 way. While watching her motions, I saw her hasten 

 to the other royal cell, and attempt to tear it open, 

 doubtless with the intention of killing its inmate ; 

 but the workers pulled her violently back, and con- 

 tinued to do so as often as she renewed the assault. 

 At every repulse she assumed a sulky attitude, and 

 emitted the shrill monotonous peep, peep, peep, so 

 well known to Bee-masters, while the unhatched 

 queen emitted the same kind of sound, but in a 

 hoarser tone, the consequence of her confined situa- 

 tion ; and this, by the way, accounts for the two 

 different sounds which are generally heard from a 

 hive on the eve of throwing a second swarm. The 

 shrill sound proceeds from the reigning queen, and 



