33 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. 



to give facts, however wonderful, just as they are ; confi- 

 dent that in due time they will be universally received ; 

 and hoping that the many wonders in the economy of the 

 honey-bee will not only excite a wider interest in its cul- 

 ture, but lead those who observe them to adore the 

 wisdom of Him who gave them such admirable instincts. 



The fertility of the queen-bee has been entirely under- 

 estimated by most writers. During the height of the 

 breeding season, she will often, under favorable circum- 

 stances, lay from two to three thousand eggs a day ! In 

 my observing-hives, I have seen her lay at the rate of.six 

 eggs a minute. The fecundity of the female of the white 

 ant is, however, much greater than this, being at the rate 

 of sixty eggs a minute ; but her eggs are simply extruded 

 from her body, and carried .by the workers into suitable 

 nurseries, while the queen-bee herself deposits her eggs in 

 theu- appropriate cells. 



It has been noticed that the queen-bee usually com- 

 ftiences laying very early in the season, and always long 

 before there are any males in the hive. How then, are 

 her eggs impregnated ? Francis Huber, of Geneva, by a 

 long course of the most indefatigable observations, threw 

 much light upon this subject. Before stating his discov- 

 eries, I must pay my humble tribute of gratitude and ad- 

 miration to this wonderful man. It is mortifying to every 

 naturalist, and I might add, to every holiest man acquaint- 

 ed with the facts, to hear such an Apiarian, as Huber, 

 abused by the veriest novices and impostors ; while others, 

 who are indebted to his labors for nearly all that is of 

 value in their works, 



" Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer', 

 And, without sneering, teach the rest to sneer.'' 

 Huber in early manhood lost the use of his eyes. His 

 opponents imagine that to state this fxct is to discredit aE 



