Avi] AND SYMBOLS. 23 



And indeed, as soon as a young queen-bee is about to lay her 

 eggs, she is anxious to destroy all the royal pup which still 

 exist in the hive. When she has become a mother, she attacks 

 one after the other the cells which still contain females. She 

 may be seen to throw herself with fury upon the first cell she 

 comes to. She tears an opening in it large enough for her to 

 introduce her sting. "When she has stung the female which it 

 contains, she withdraws to attack another. Man is not much 

 behind these jealous insects. Among certain tribes of Ethiopians 

 the first care of the newly crowned chief is to put in prison all 

 his brothers, so as to prevent wars by pretenders to the throne. 

 And even among more civilised nations the records are 

 numerous of the mean and petty tricks and cruelties adopted 

 by kings and queens for disposing of any possible rivals. In 

 favour of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen Bee it must 

 be said that when she has fairly got rid of all dread of rivalry, 

 she does set to her own legitimate work for the benefit of the 

 bee community with indefatigable zeal. It is to be regretted 

 that equal commendation cannot be given to the human autocrat, 

 whose laziness and roguery usually increase when security is 

 assured. i. 



A Retribution on Avarice. 



In the Island of Ternate, belonging to the Dutch, a place that 

 had been long celebrated for its beauty and healthfulness, the 

 clove trees grew in such plenty that they in some measure 

 lessened their own value : for this reason the Dutch resolved to 

 cut down the forests, and thus to raise the price of the com- 

 modity, but they had soon reason to repent of their avarice ; 

 for such a change ensued by cutting down the trees that the 

 whole island, from its being healthy and delightful, having lost 

 its charming shades, became extremely sickly, and has actually 

 continued so to this day. A. 



The Utilisation of Avidity. 



The cormorant (Phalacrocorax carlo") has an insatiable 

 appetite. The havoc it commits in rivers where it successfully 

 dives for fish is very great. The Chinese and Japanese utilise 



