io6 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. [Ch. ii. 



action of the sting affords a beautiful example of the 

 union of chemistry and mechanism : of chemistry, in 

 respect to the venom, which in so small a quantity can 

 produce such powerful effects ; of mechanism, as the 

 sting is not a simple but a compound instrument. The 

 machinery would have been comparatively useless had it 

 not been for the chemical process, by which, in the 

 insect's body, honey is converted into poison ; and, on 

 the other hand, the poison would have been ineffectual 

 without an instrument to wound and a syringe to inject 

 the fluid." As before stated the drone has no sting, 

 but, in place thereof, the organs of reproduction, on 

 which, as on the corresponding organs of the queen, 

 sufficient has been remarked above (pages 24 and 63). 



And now, in concluding this section, we would re- 

 mark the wonderful contrivance and finish which all the 

 works of the Great Master Artificer unfold. In the 

 works of man we see, perhaps, a piece of mechanism of 

 unquestioned beauty and excellence, yet there is a bolt 

 here or a screw there that might have been dispensed 

 with, and does not possess any definite use. But in the 

 works of Nature everything has a place ; we may not at 

 once comprehend the exact purpose of some intricate 

 parts, but that only implies that we have not made a 

 thorough investigation. The most minute hair serves its 

 required end. Some reflections of Dr. Evans, though 

 chiefly referring to the cells of bees, may not inappro- 

 priately fi nish this chapter : — 



