70 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. 



being taken from them, and the bees supplied with honey 

 and water, new combs were again constructed. Seven 

 times in succession their combs were removed, and were 

 in each instance replaced, the bees being all the time pre- 

 vented from ranging the fields to supply themselves with 

 bee-bread. By subsequent experiments, he proved that 

 sugar-syrup answered the same end with honey. Giving 

 an imprisoned swarm an abundance of fruit and bee-bread, 

 he found that they subsisted on the fruit, but refused to 

 touch the pollen ; and that no combs were constructed, 

 nor any wax-scales formed in their pouches. 



Notwithstanding Huber's extreme caution and unwearied 

 patience in conducting these experiments, he did not dis- 

 cover the whole truth on this important subject. Though 

 he demonstrated that bees can construct comb from honey 

 or sugar, without the aid of bee-bread, and that they can- 

 not make it from bee-bread, without honey or sugar, he 

 did not prove that when permanently deprived of bee- 

 bread they can continue to work in wax, or if they can, 

 that the pollen does not aid in its elaboration. 



Some bee-bread is always found in the stomach of wax- 

 producing workers, and they never build comb so rapidly 

 as when they have free access to this article. It must, 

 therefore, either furnish some of the elements of wax, or 

 in some way assist the bee in producing it. Further 

 investigations are necessary, before we can arrive at per- 

 fectly accurate results. Confident assertions are easily 

 made, requiring only a little breath, or a few drops of ink ; 

 and those who like them best have often the profoundest 

 contempt for observation and experiment. To establish 

 any controverted truth on the solid foundation of demon- 

 strated facts, usually requires severe and protracted labor. 



Honey and sugar contain by weight about eight pounds 

 of oxygen to one of carbon and hydrogen. When con- 



