396 THE STORY-BOOK OF SCIENCE 



"It need not be said that the betes' pedagogic 

 methods are not the same as ours. Man, as much 

 mind as matter, if not more, turns his attention above 

 all to the generous impulses of the heart, the noble 

 aspirations of the soul. With bees education is 

 purely animal, and is governed by the dictates of the 

 belly. The kind of food makes either the queen or 

 the working bee. For the larvae that are to dis- 

 charge the functions of royalty the nurses prepare a 

 special pap, a royal dish of which only they know 

 the secret. Whoever eats of it is consecrated queen. 



"This strengthening nourishment brings about a 

 greater development than usual; for that reason, as 

 I told you, the larvae destined for royalty are lodged 

 in spacious cells. For these noble cradles wax is 

 used with prodigality. No more hexagonal, parsi- 

 monious forms, no thin partitions ; a large and sump- 

 tuously thick thimble. Economy is silent where 

 queens are concerned." 



"It is, then, without the actual queen's knowledge 

 that bees make other queens?" 



"Yes, my friend. The queen is excessively jeal- 

 ous, she cannot endure in the hive any bee whose 

 presence may bring the slightest diminution to her 

 royal prerogatives. Woe to the pretenders that 

 should get in her way! 'Ah! you come to supplant 

 me, to steal from me the love of my subjects !' Ah, 

 this! Ah, that! It would be something horrible, 

 my children. Read the history of mankind, and you 

 will see what disasters crowned heads, brought to 

 bay, can inflict upon nations. But the working-bees 

 are strong-minded, they know that nothing lasts in 



