The Life of the Bee 



ever the cause, it often will also happen 

 that the bee whom fortune has favoured 

 will return to the honey accompanied by 

 two or three friends. I am aware that 

 Sir John Lubbock, in the appendix to 

 his book on " Ants, Bees, and Wasps," 

 records the results of his investigations 

 in long and minute tables ; and from 

 these we are led to infer that it is a matter 

 of rarest occurrence for a single bee to 

 follow the one who has made the dis- 

 covery. The learned naturalist does not 

 name the race of bees which he selected 

 for his experiments, or tell us whether 

 the conditions were especially unfavour- 

 able. As for myself I only can say that 

 my own tables, compiled with great care, 

 — and every possible precaution having 

 been taken that the bees should not be 

 directly attracted by the odour of the 

 honey, — establish that on an average on* 

 bee will bring others four times out of ten 

 165 



