. 80 BEEEDING. 



drones will be reared, eausing a useless expenditure 

 of honey, &c. 



OTHER THEORIES. 



Theories differing n^jaterially from the foregoing, 

 are advanced by nearly all writers. One says, " In 

 spring the queen lays about 2,000 eggs of males, re- 

 sumes it again in August, but during the rest of the 

 intervals she exclusively lays worker eggs.' The 

 queen, must be at least eleven rnqnths old before she 

 begins to lay .the eggs of males." Mr. Townly makes 

 the same assertion. Dr. Bevan says, "the great lay- 

 ing of drone eggs usually commences about the end 

 of April." Another author repeats about the same, 

 and appears to have investigated farther, as "he has 

 found out that the eggs for the two kinds of bees are 

 germinated separately, and the queen knows when 

 each kind is ready, as well as the workers, &c. Now, 

 I beg leave to differ a little from these authors. Either 

 there exists no difference in the eggs germinated, and 

 any, or all will produce drones or workers, just as 

 they happen to be deposited and fed; or else the 

 periods of laying drone eggs are much more frequent 

 than any writer with which I am acquainted has been 

 willing to allow. 



S0BJECT NOT UNDERSTOOD. 



I am not anxious to establish a new theory, but to 

 get at facts. If we pretend to understand natural his- 

 tory, it is important that we have it correct; and if we 

 do not understand it, say so, and leav« it open for 

 further investigation. It is my opinion that we knov> 



