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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



We well-knew that in several locali- 

 ties (notably in the Eastern States) 

 losses had been sustained in bees, and 

 that the weather had been severe, but 

 in general the winter was not rigor- 

 ous, the spring was mild, and conse- 

 quently the losses of bees were light, 

 when the whole country was encom- 

 passed. 



The suggestions of Brother Doolit- 

 tle about the unreasonableness of ex- 

 pecting queens in the North to be 

 shipped in May, is just to the point, 

 and timely as well ! 



Advertisers should always state the 

 probable time, after which orders 

 could be tilled. Nothing can be made 

 by being unjust or unreasonable in 

 our thoughts, feelings, or business 

 transactions.— Ed. 1 



Tie Natal History Of Bees, 



A correspondent has sent us a copy 

 of the Literary Magazine published in 

 England in October, 1807— just SO 

 years ago. It contains an editorial 

 article with the above heading, which 

 we copy entire as requested by our 

 correspondent, knowing that it will 

 be read with interest, and show to the 

 apiarists of to-day that much more 

 was known a century ago about bees 

 than many now are willing to admit. 

 Here is the article entire : 



The skill and dexterity of the 

 honey-bees, displayed in the construc- 

 tion of their combs or nests, have at 

 all times called forth the admiration 

 of mankind. They are composed of 

 cells regularly applied to each other's 

 sides. These cells are uniform hexa- 



fons or six-sided figures. In a hee- 

 ive, every part is arranged with such 

 symmetry, and so finely finished, that, 

 it limited to the same materials, the 

 most expert workman would find 

 himself unqualified to construct a 

 similar habitation, or rather a similar 

 city. 



In the formation of their combs, 

 bees seem to resolve a problem which 

 would be not a little puzzling to some 

 geometers, namely, a quantity of 

 wax being given, to make of it equal 

 and similar cells of a determined 

 capacity, but of the largest size in 

 proportion to the matter employed, 

 and disposed in such a manner as to 

 occupy in the hive the least possible 

 space. Every part of this problem is 

 completely executed by the bees. ±iy 

 applying hexagonal cells to each 

 other's sides, no void spaces are left 

 between them ; and, though the same 

 end might be accomplished by other 

 figures, yet they would necessarily re- 

 quire a greater quantity of wax. 

 Besides, hexagonal cells are better 

 fitted to receive the cylindrical bodies 

 of these insects. A comb consists of 

 two strata cells applied to each other's 

 ends. This arrangement both saves 



room in the hive, and gives a double 

 entry into the cells of which the comb 

 is composed. As a further saving of 

 wax, and preventing void spaces, the 

 bases of the cells in one stratum of a 

 comb serve for bases to the opposite 

 stratum. 



In a word, the more minutely the 

 construction of these cells are ex- 

 amined, the more will the admiration 

 of the observer be excited. The walls 

 of the cells are so extremely thin, that 

 their mouths would be in dauarer of 

 suffering by the frequent entering 

 and issuing of the bees. To prevent 

 this disaster, they make a kind of 

 ring around the margin of each cell, 

 and this ring is three or four times 

 thicker than the walls. 



It is diflicult to perceive, even with 

 the assistance of glass hives, the man- 

 ner in which bees operate when con- 

 structing their cells. They are so 

 eager to afford mutual assistance, 

 and, for this purpose, so many of them 

 crowd together, and are perpetually 

 succeeding each other, that their in- 

 dividual operations can seldom be 

 distinctly observed. It has, however, 

 been plainly discovered, that their 

 two teeth are the only instruments 

 they employ in modeling aad polish- 

 ing the wax. With a little patience 

 and attention, we perceive cells just 

 begun ; we likewise remark the quick- 

 ness with which a bee moves its teeth 

 against a small portion of the cell. 

 This portion the animal, by repeated 

 strokes on each side, smooths, ren- 

 ders compact, and reduces to a proper 

 thinness of consistence. 



While some of the bees are length- 

 ening their hexagonal tubes, others 

 are laying the foundation of new 

 ones. In certain circumstances, when 

 extremely hurried, they do not com- 

 plete their new cells, but leave them 

 imperfect till they have begun a num- 

 ber sufficient for their present ex- 

 igencies. When a bee puts its head a 

 little way into a cell, we easily per- 

 ceive it scraping the walls with the 

 points of its teeth, in order to detach 

 such useless and irregular fragments 

 as may have been left in the work. 

 Of such fragments the bee forms a 

 ball about the size of a pin-head, 

 comes out of the cell, and carries this 

 wax to another part of the work 

 where it is needed. It no sooner 

 leaves the cell than it is succeeded by 

 another bee which performs the same 

 olhce, and in this manner the work is 

 successfully carried on till the cell is 

 completely polished. 



The cells of bees are designed for 

 different purposes. Some of them are 

 employed for the accumulation and 

 preservation of honey. In others the 

 female deposits her eggs, and from 

 these eggs worms are hatched, which 

 remain in the cells until their final 

 transformation into flies. The drones 

 or males are larger than the common 

 or working bees ; and the queen, or 

 mother of the colony, is much larger 

 than either. A cell destined for the 

 lodgment of a male or female worm 

 must, therefore.be considerably larger 

 than the cells of the smaller working 

 bees. 



The number of cells destined for 

 the reception of the working bees far 



exceeds those in which the males are 

 lodged. The honey-cells are always 

 made deeper and more capacious than 

 the others. When the honey collected 

 is so abundant that the vessels can- 

 not contain it, the bees lengthen, and 

 of course deepen the honey-cells. 



Their mode of working, and the dis- 

 position and division of their labor, 

 when put into an empty hive, do 

 much honor to the sagacity of bees. ^ 

 They immediately begin to lay the 

 foundations of their combs, which 

 they execute with surprising quick- 

 ness and alacrity. Soon after they 

 begin to construct one comb, they 

 divided into two or three companies, 

 each of which, in different parts of 

 the hive, is occupied with the same 

 operations. By this division of labor, 

 a greater number of bees have an 

 opportunity of being employed at the 

 same time, and, consequently, the 

 common work is sooner finished. The 

 combs are generally arranged in a 

 direction parallel to each other. An 

 interval or street between the combs 

 is always left, that the bees may have 

 a free passage, and an easy communi- 

 cation with the different combs in the 

 hive. These streets are just wide 

 enough to allow two bees to pass one 

 another. Beside these parallel streets, 

 to shorten their journey when work- 

 ing, they have several round cross- 

 passages, which are always covered. 



Hitherto we have chiefly taken 

 notice of the manner in which bees 

 construct and polish their cells with- 

 out treating of the materials they 

 employ. We have not marked the 

 difference between the crude matter 

 collected from flowers and the true 

 wax. Everybody knows that bees 

 carry into their hives, by means of 

 their hind thighs, great quantities of 

 the farina or dust of flowers. After 

 many experiments made by Reaumur, 

 with a view to discover whether this 

 dust contained real wax, he was 

 obliged to acknowledge that he could 

 never find that wax formed any part 

 its composition. He at length dis- 

 covered that wax was not a substance 

 produced by the mixture of farina 

 with any glutinous substance, nor by 

 trituration,nor any mechanical opera- 

 tion. By long and attentive observa- 

 tion, he found that the bees acturally 

 eat the farina which they so industri- 

 ously collect ; and that this farina, by . j 

 an animal process, is converted into ■'■ 

 wax. This digestive process, which « 

 is necessary to the formation of wax, 

 is carried on in the second stomach, 

 and perhaps in the intestines of bees. 

 After knowing the place where this 

 operation is performed, chymists will 

 probably allow that it is equally difli- 

 cult to make real wax with the farina 

 of flowers, as to make chyle with ani- 

 mal or vegetable substances, a work 

 which is daily executed by our own 

 stomach and intestines, and by those 

 of other animals. 



Reaumur likewise discovered that 

 all the cells in a hive were not des- 

 tined for the reception of honey, and 

 for depositing the eggs of the female, 

 hut that some of them were employed 

 as receptacles for the farina of 

 flowers, a species of food that bees 

 find necessai or the formation of ■ 



