5 



On Sept. 20, 1864, about 9 A.M., a mild delightful autumn morning, 

 while walking in the field, I passed by a previously observed nest' of 

 humble bees. This in the working season had been a powerful colony. 

 At this time I was particularly attracted by a number of the bees flying 

 about the hole, or remaining poised in the air a short distance from 

 the hole as if in the act of fanning the opening. A little observation 

 convinced me that these were all male or drone bees ; I then ventured 

 nearer and tore the nest out of the ground. Several large female or 

 queen bees came out of the nest and crawled or fluttered slowly along 

 over the ground. Now the males, which I previously saw flying 

 around and fanning at the hole, eagerly darted upon these females. 

 Four males darted at the first female that came out of the nest piling 

 upon each other over the back of the female, wrestling and struggling 

 with might and main for the prize. One more philosophical than the 

 rest, observing the crowd upon her back, alighted on her side and 

 twisted around beneath embraced her belly to belly, and thus formed 

 in the midst of the excited struggling crowd the sweet nuptial em- 

 brace. I saw several such piles of two, three, or more males on one 

 female. 



The faftining at the hole which I observed by the males, was either 

 anxious watching for the exit of the female, or their insect method of 

 wooing, enticing them to come out, not being willing to deprive 

 them of their virginity unwillingly within their habitation. 



The neuters were all gone, no honey in the nest, which was full of 

 worms. The bees remaining manifested none of that combative dis- 

 position which we always observe in midsummer. 



I have seen many nests of the humble bee at all times during the 

 whole summer, and never, however hot the day, have I seen them 

 fanning at the hole during the breeding seasons, 1 am, therefore, 

 convinced that Mr. Angus was wrong in his opinion that the fanning 

 was for the purpose of introducing air into the nest. If this could be 

 the object, then in the hottest days of midsummer it would be really 

 if ever, needed, but then I have never seen it, on the contrary it is 

 only in autumn that I have seen this interesting phenomena, the ob- 

 ject, of which I am well satisfied, was in all cases "which I have ob- 

 served, the same as I verified by opening the nest as above set forth. 



Mr. A. HYATT described the geological structure of the region of the 

 Adirondacks and its border of fossiliferous rocks, and exhibited some 

 specimens gathered during the past summer from those fossiliferous 

 strata, and in other parts of New York State. 



The central region of the Adirondacks is bordered on all sides, 

 except where a narrow neck of primitive rock connects with the 

 primitive rocks of Canada, by fossiliferous strata containing numer- 

 ous remains. This shows that at one time this mountainous region 

 was a peninsula almost wholly surrounded by water and the fossils 

 enable us to repeople the sea with the strange plants and shells which 

 then inhabited its beaches. No fishes enlivened the shallow sea, but 

 the bottom was carpeted by succulent, thick stemmed seaweeds, and 

 where stretches of bare ground intervened, crabs not unlike our horse- 

 shoe were strewed over the solid beds of lamp shells, now repre- 

 sented on our coast by only two species. The climate was mild and 

 there is every reason to believe that the whole surface of the penin- 

 sula was devoid of vegetation, an arid, barren waste, like all the other 



