1)7 



It is certain bees foresee rain, though. we know not 

 bow. Hence no bee is ever caught Jin a sudden show- 

 er, unless it be far distant from the hive, or any way 

 hurt or sickly. 



Thus much may be seen on the outside of the hive. 

 But when we look' within how is the wonder in- 

 creased ; to see so many thousands all so busily at work 

 and with such admirable regularity? Nor is there 

 Jess wonder in observing the clusters of them, when 

 they take some rest. Their method then is, to get 

 to^etner and hang one to another in vast numbers. 

 When tlir.se clusters are large, they are only shapeless 

 heaps, when smaller (hey are a sort of festoon or 

 gailancl, each end being fastened to the branch, and 

 the middle dropping from it. The mariner in whkh, 

 they hang is this. Each with one or both of his 

 fore legs lays hold of one or both of the hinder legs 

 of the bee tuat is next above it. 



Through a glass hive we see, that as the combs are 

 carrit d down from the top to the bottom of the hive, 

 each is placed parallel to the Cornier, but not touching 

 it, there being a space between for the bees to walk. 

 These are the public streets, and by means of these 

 they can make use of every cell. There are likewi* 

 alleys cut from street to street,- through the substance 

 of the several combs. 



All the ceils are used in common. Sjme of them 

 contain only honey, and a-re covered with a lid of 

 wax. These are never touched by any bee. But 

 other cells are open, and a bee is oifen seen' so lodged 

 in one of these, that only his hinder part appears. 

 The meaning hereof is, each of these open cxlls con- 

 " tains at the bottom a bee-worm. Certain bees daily 

 .visi* these, plunging their heads into the several cells, 

 one after another. 



The fruit! uiness of the female is the less strange, 

 when we consider the number of the males. lu 

 any hive there are, at the season, several hundreds : 

 in some two or three thousand. The.se are the joint 

 fathers of the numerous offspring, aud when they have 



vol.. ii. F 



