314 LECTURE VII. 



secure the life of the defenceless young, 

 and to supply it with nourishment suited 

 to its tender age, when it is incapable of 

 supporting itself. 



In his paper on bees, he appears much 

 interested in observing, that their eggs are 

 deposited in separate cells, before which 

 there is a kind of platform ; that the labour- 

 ing bees bring regular supplies of bee bread^ 

 at stated times for the young maggots ; 

 that when these begin to spin and assume 

 their pupa state, the labourers close the 

 mouth of their cells, and cease to bring 

 them food ; that they return exactly at the 

 time when the maggot has undergone its 

 metamorphosis and become a perfect bee ; 

 that they now unclose his cell and bring 

 him honey, the sweet food which is to be 

 his future support, and which he is after- 

 wards to collect and lay by with such inces- 

 sant toil during the summer season, to 

 serve as a common store for himself and 

 the community, when the inclement win- 

 ter has cut off those sources from which it 

 has been obtained ; and that, on the very 



