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segments, two whitish flaps, of a soft membra- 

 naceous texture, in which the wax is placed. 



There is another substance made by the bees, 

 and called ptopeU* it is collected from poplar, 

 birch, fir, and gummy trees like the taccamahaca. 

 Bees have been observed to open the buds with 

 their mandibles, so as to draw from them a 

 thread of viscid matter ; and then, with one of 

 their second pair of legs, they take it from the 

 mouth, and place it in the baskets on their hind 

 legs. It is used in stopping every chink of the 

 hive, by which cold, or wet, or insects, can enter; 

 it gives a finish to the combs, and the sticks 

 which support these combs are covered with it 

 as well as the interior surface of the hive. 



In collecting the pollen from plants, it has 

 been observed that bees never mix the farina of 

 different flowers ; each is made use of in sepa- 

 rate little pellets, and it is said that skilful bota- 

 nists have been able to distinguish by the farina 

 what flowers the bee had visited, 



My aunt told me that she had read of a lady who 

 had so constantly attended to her bees, and was 

 so beloved by them, that they seemed to delight 

 in flying round her and listening to her voice ; 

 they had no sting for their kind mistress, and 

 when, after a storm, she gathered them up, 

 wiped, and tried to revive them by the warmth 

 of her hand, they gently buzzed their gratitude 

 as they recovered. When she visited the hive, 



