92 THE HISTORY OF BEES. 
to,every, cell... The attentive reader will, no doubt, put 
a yemark hereon ; 2town bull, and yet nothing of engen- 
dering or copulating wth any female whatever, Queen 
or common Bee; and I Jeaye him to put what cenfure 
he thinks proper upon the Doctor, who treats his Queen 
as bad or worfe, publickly proclaiming her a common / 
proftitute ; a bafe, notorious, impudent ftrumpet ; the moft 
‘hateful and abominable whore, with gallants by hundreds, 
Thus has he unawares highly injured her honour, at- 
tacked her in the moft tender and affecting part ; robbed 
her of the moft precious pofleffion next to her life ; ruin- 
ed her character ; and ftripped her of one of the bright- 
eft jewels in all her crown; indifcretly expofed his Queen 
to publick contempt and fcorn, and fhewn her no mer- 
cy. For if this be admitted as a truth, what is become 
of her fo much boafted, admired chaftity, wherein fhe 
appears fuch an eminent pattern to the human fpecies. 
I think therefore, upon the whole, it cannot be at all un- 
yeafonable to conclude, that fuch numbers of Drones 
mutt be produced for fome other purpofe, and have fome 
other office or employment afligned them ; being no-way 
neceflary for the work of generation. ; 
But to enter into the merits of the caufe, and bring 
the debate to an iffue, I add as follows : it is matter of 
fact, and known to all who have any acquaintance with 
thefe infegts, that they not only begin to breed early in 
ihe fpring, (fometimes in the middle of Fanuary, or elfe 
in February, 8c.) but alfo proceed therein feveral entire 
gponths; and confiderable numbers, or many broods are 
continually compleated, before one of thefe fuppofed 
males are to be fen among them. Thele 
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