240 SUMMER. 



their existence, it is bad economy. It will be found 

 that the largest amount of our surplus honey is ob- 

 tained from our prolific stocks. Therefore it is all-im- 

 portant that every swarm and stock has a queen to 

 repair this constant loss. 



A DISPUTED QUESTION. 



We now approach another disputed point in natural 

 history, relative to the queen leaving at any time ex- 

 cept when leading out a swarm. Most writers say that 

 the young queen leaves the hive, and meets her para-' 

 mour, the drone, on the wiag. Others deny this posi- 

 tively, having watched a whole summer without seeing 

 her highness leave. Consequently they have arrived 

 at the very plausible and apparently consistent con- 

 clusion, that nature never intended it to be so, since 

 it must happen at a time when the existence of the 

 whole -family depends entirely on the life of the queen. 

 The stock at such times contains no eggs or larvae^ 

 from which to rear another, if she should be lost. 

 " The chances at such times of being devoured by 

 birdSj blown away by the winds, and other casualties, 

 are too many, and it is not probable the Creator 

 would have so arranged it." But facts are stubborn 

 things; they will not yield one jot to favor the most 

 "finely-spun hypothesis;" they are most provokingly 

 obstinate,- many times. When man, without the 

 necessary observation, takes a survey through ani' 

 mated nature, and finds with scarcely an exception 

 that male and female .are about equal in number, he 

 is ready, and often does conclude that one bee among 



