110 HISTORY OF 



fate of most voluptuaries, and fall a sacrifice to 

 the general resentment of society. 



The working bees in a body declare war against 

 them j and in two or three days' time the ground 

 all round the hive is covered with their dead bodies. 

 Nay, the working bees will even kill such drones 

 as are yet in the worm state in the cell, and eject 

 their bodies from the hive among the general car- 

 nage. 



When a hive sends out several swarms in the 

 year, the first is always the best, and the most 

 numerous. These having the whole summer be- 

 fore them, have the more time for making wax 

 and honey, and consequently their labours are the 

 most valuable to the proprietor. Although the 

 swarm chiefly consists of the youngest bees, yet it 

 is often found that bees of all ages compose the 

 multitude of emigrants, and it often happens 

 that bees of all ages are seen remaining behind. 

 The number of them is always more consider- 

 able than that of some populous cities, for some- 

 times upwards of forty thousand are found in a 

 single hive. So large a body may well be sup- 

 posed to work with great expedition ; and in fact, 

 in less than twenty-four hours they will make 

 combs above twenty inches long, and seven or 

 eight broad. Sometimes they will half fill their 

 hives with wax in less than five days. In the first 

 fifteen days, they are always found to make more 

 wax than they do afterwards during the rest of 

 the year. 



Such are the outlines of the natural history of 

 these animals, as usually found in our own coun- 



