NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 43 



religion alike teach us to receive, with becoming rever- 

 ence, all undoubted facts, whether in the natural or spirit- 

 ual world; assured that however mysterious they may 

 appear to us, they are beautifully consistent in the sight ot 

 Him whose " understanding is infinite." ' 



Ah 1 the leading facts in the breeding of bees ought to 

 be as familiar to the Apiarian, as the same class of facts in 

 the rearing of his domestic animals.* A few crude and 

 half-digested notions, however satisfactory to the old-fash- 

 ioned bee-keeper, will no longer meet the wants of those 

 who desire to conduct be-culture on an extended and 

 profitable system. 



The extraordinary fertility of the queen-bee has already 

 been noticed. The process of laying has been well 

 described by the Rev. "W. Dunbar, a Scotch Apiarian. 



" When the queen is about to x lay, she puts her head 

 into a cell, and remains in that position for a second or 

 twt>, to ascertain its fitness for the deposit she is about to 

 make. She then withdraws her head, and curving her 

 body downwards,! inserts the lower part of it into the 

 cell : in a few seconds she turns half round upon herself 

 and withdraws, leaving an egg behind her. When she 

 lays a considerable number, she does it equally on each 

 side of the comb, those on the one side being as exactly 

 opposite to those on the other as the relative position of 

 the cells will admit. The effect of this is to produce the 

 utmost possible concentration and economy of heat for 

 developing the various changes of the brood !" 



Here, as at every step hi the economy of the bee, we 



* " If it were possible," said an able German Apiarian, in 1846, '.' to ascertain the 

 reproductive process of bees with as much certainty as that of our domestic ani- 

 mals, bee-culture might unquestionably be pursued with positive assurance of 

 profit; and would assume a high rank among the various branches cf rural 

 economy." 



t She is thus sure to deposit the egg in the selected cell. 



