AND THE LOWEE ANIMALS. 247 



The phenomena resulting from cross-breeds sup- 

 port Zierzon's views still more. 



In Germany, where bees are cultivated with as 

 much care as our farmyard fowls and beasts, it was 

 attempted to acclimatize foreign species remarkable 

 for different qualities, and to cross-breed them with 

 the local races, in order to improve them. One of the 

 finest among the former is the Ligurian tee, which 

 has been described by Aristotle and sung of by Yirgil. 

 Now, the hybrids resulting from its connection with 

 the German races possessed the characters of both 

 parents ; but these traces of cross-breeding were con- 

 fined to the workers and female or queen bees. The 

 males always exhibited the parental characters in their 

 purity. The male parent, having nothing to do with 

 their formation, could not effect any modification of 

 these characters. 



Such are briefly the results of Zierzon's and Ber- 

 lepsch's observations. Although nearly conclusive in 

 themselves, it was necessary that they should be 

 tested by scientific men ; and to this task of con- 

 firmation Siebold and Leuckart addressed themselves. 

 They examined dead specimens of both virgin and 

 matron queens ; they investigated the reproductive 

 organs and the contained ova ; and after a series of 

 careful researches, they both proclaimed the truth of 

 the facts put forward, and the accuracy of the propo- 

 sitions and opinions of the modest clergyman of 

 Carlsmark. 



Neither of them confined himself to mere verifica- 

 tion. Siebold examined the silkworm from the same 

 point of view, and re-discovered the phenomena in- 

 dicated by Malpighi, Herold, and Filippi, and then, 



