112 HISTORY OF 



to advantage, and yield the possessor a secure, 

 though perhaps a moderate income. 



Having mentioned the industry of these ad- 

 mirable insects, it will be proper to say some- 

 thing of the effects of their labour of that wax 

 and honey which are turned by man to such 

 various uses. Bees gather two kinds of wax, one 

 coarse and the other fine. The coarser sort is 

 bitter, and with this, which is called propolis, 

 they stop up all the holes and crevices of their 

 hives. It is of a more resinous nature than the 

 fine wax, and is consequently better qualified to 

 resist the moisture of the season, and preserve 

 the works warm and dry within. The fine wax 

 is as necessary to the animal's preservation as the 

 honey itself. With this they make their lodgings, 

 with this they cover the cells of their young, 

 and in this they lay up their magazines of honey. 

 This is made, as has been already observed, from 

 the dust of flowers, which is carefully kneaded 

 by the little insect, then swallowed, and having 

 undergone a kind of digestion, is formed into the 

 cells which answer such a variety of purposes. 

 To collect this, the animal rolls itself in the 

 flower it would rob, and thus takes up the vege- 

 table dust with the hair of its body. Then care- 

 fully brushing it into a lump with its fore-paws, 

 it thrusts the composition into two cavities be- 

 hind the thighs, which are made like spoons to 

 receive the wax, and the hair that lines them 

 serves to keep it from falling. 



As of wax, there are also two kinds of honey, 

 the white and the yellow. The white is taken 



