32 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE 



to give facts however wonderful, just as they are; confi- 

 dent that in due time they will be universally received ; 

 and hoping that the many wonders in the economy of the 

 honey-bee, will not only excite a wider interest in its cul- 

 ture, but lead those who observe them to adore the 

 wisdom of Him who gave them such admirable instincts. 

 The fertility of the queen-bee has been entirely under- 

 estimated by most writers. During the height of the 

 breeding season, she will often under favorable circum- 

 stances, lay from two to three thousand eggs a day ! In 

 my observing-hives, I have seen her lay at the rate of six 

 eggs a minute. The fecundity of the female of the white 

 ant is, however, much greater than this, being at the rate 

 of sixty eggs a minute ; but her eggs are simply extruded 

 from her body, and carried by the workers into suitable 

 nurseries, while the queen-bee herself deposits her eggs in 

 their appropriate cells. 



It has been noticed that the queen-bee usually com- 

 mences laying very early in the season, and always long 

 before there are any males in the hive. How then, are 

 her eggs impregnated ? Francis Huber j of Geneva, by a 

 long course of the most indefatigable observations, threw 

 much light upon this subject. Before stating his discov- 

 eries, I must pay my humble tribute of gratitude and ad- 

 miration to this wonderful man. It is mortifying to every 

 naturalist, and I might add, to every honest man acquaint- 

 ed with the facts, to hear such an Apiarian, as Huber, 

 abused by the veriest novices and impostors ; while others 

 who are indebted to his labors for nearly all that is of value 

 in their works, 



"Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer, 

 And without sneering, teach the rest to sneer." 



Huber in early manhood lost the use of his eyes. His 

 opponents imagine that to state this fact, is to discredit all 



