THE FOUNDATION OF THE CITY 93 



Was this mere chance, or had she followed instructions 

 received ? The experiment was insufficient, but circum- 

 stances prevented me from carrying it further. I released 

 the " baited " bees, and my study soon was besieged by the 

 buzzing crowd to whom they had taught the way to the 

 treasure. 



49 

 We need not concern ourselves further with this incom- 

 plete attempt of mine, for many other curious traits compel 

 us to recognise the existence among the bees of spiritual 

 communications that go beyond a mere "yes" or "no," 

 and that are manifest in cases where mere example or gesture 

 would not be sufficient. Of such, for instance, are the re- 

 markable harmony of their work in the hive, the extraordinary 

 division of labour, the regularity with which one worker 

 will take the place of another, &c. I often have marked 

 bees that went foraging in the morning, and found that, in 

 the afternoon, unless flowers were specially abundant, they 

 would be engaged in heating and fanning the brood-cells, 

 or perhaps would form part of the mysterious, motionless 

 curtain in whose midst the waxmakers and sculptors would 

 be at work. Similarly I have noticed that workers whom 

 I have seen gathering pollen for the whole of one day, 

 will bring no pollen back on the morrow, but will concern 

 themselves exclusively with the search for nectar ; and vice 

 versa. 



