108 HISTORY OF 



is from ten in the morning to three in the after- 

 noon, when the sun shines bright, and invites 

 them to seek their fortunes. They flutter for a 

 while in the air, like flakes of snow, and some- 

 times undertake a distant journey, but more fre- 

 quently are contented with some neighbouring 

 asylum the branch of a tree, a chimney top, or 

 some other exposed situation. It is, indeed, re- 

 markable, that all those animals, of whatever kind, 

 that have long been under the protection of man, 

 seem to lose a part of their natural sagacity in pro- 

 viding for themselves. The rabbit, wljen domes- 

 ticated, forgets to dig holes, the hen to build a 

 nest, and the bee to seek a shelter that shall pro- 

 tect it from the inclemencies of winter. In those 

 countries where the bees are wild, and unprotect- 

 ed by man, they are always sure to build their 

 waxen cells in the hollow of a tree ; but with us, 

 they seem improvident in their choice, and the 

 first green branch that stops their flight, seems to 

 be thought sufficient for their abode through the 

 winter. However, it does not appear that the 

 queen chooses the place where they are to alight, 

 for many of the stragglers, who seem to be pleas- 

 ed with a particular branch, go and settle upon 

 it ; others are seen to succeed ; and at last the 

 queen herself, when she finds a sufficient number 

 there before her, goes to make it the place of her 

 head-quarters. When the queen is settled, the 

 rest of the swarm soon follow, and in about a 

 quarter of an hour the whole body seem to be at 

 ease. It sometimes is found, that there are two 

 or three queens to a swarm, and the colony is 



