6 THE APIARY. 



indeed a vast number ; but when there is taken into con- 

 sideration the great number required -for swarms, the 

 constant lessening- of their strength by death in various 

 ways, and the many casualties attending them in their 

 distant travels in search of the luscious store, it does not 

 seem that the case is over-stated. 



In a Glass Unicomb Hive, — which we shall hereinafter 

 describe, — all the movements of the queen-bee may be 

 traced ; she may be seen thrusting her head into a cell 

 to discover whether it be occupied with an &^^ or honey, 

 and if empty, she turns round in a dignified manner and 

 inserts her long body — so long, that she is able to deposit 

 the Q^^ at the bottom of the cell ; she then passes on to 

 another, and so continues industriously multiplying her 

 laborious subjects. It not unfrequently happens when 

 the queen is prolific, and if it be an early season, that 

 many eggs are wasted for want of unoccupied cells ; for 

 in that case the queen leaves them exposed at the 

 bottom of the hive, when they are greedily devoured by 

 the bees. 



■ The queen-bee, unlike the great majority of her 

 subjects, is a stayer at home; generally speaking, she 

 only quits the hive twice in her life. . The first occasion 

 is on the all-important day of her marriage, which 

 always takes place at a great height in the air, and 

 generally on the second or third day of her princess-life ; 

 she never afterwards leaves the hive, except to lead off 

 an emigrating swarm. Evans, with proper loyalty, has 



