The Life of the Bee 
somewhat familiar with bees. The notes 
and experiments I have made during my 
twenty years of bee-keeping I shall reserve 
for a more technical work, for their interest 
is necessarily of a special and limited nature, 
and I am anxious not to overburden this 
essay. I wish to speak of the bees very 
simply, as one speaks of a subject one knows 
and loves to those who know it not. I do 
not intend to adorn the truth, or merit the 
just reproach Réaumur addressed to his pre. 
Wecessors in the study of our honey-flies, 
whom he accused of substituting for the mar- 
vellous reality marvels that were imaginary 
and merely plausible. The fact that the 
hive contains so much that is wonderful 
does not warrant our seeking to add to its 
wonders. Besides, I myself have now for a 
long time ceased to look for anything more 
beautiful in this world, or more interesting, 
than the truth; or at least than the effort 
one is able to make towards the truth. I 
shall state nothing therefore that I have 
not verified myself, or that is not so fully 
accepted in the text-books as to render 
further verification superfluous. My facts 
4 
