INTEREST ATTACHED TO THE STUDY OF THE BEE. 51 



dispersed by the penetrating rays of philosophy. The 

 treasures of nature are inexhaustible, and there is certainly 

 no department in her vast domain, in which curiosity and 

 amusement are more intimately blended, than in the study 

 of the bee. 



Let it not, however, be supposed that it is a study attended 

 with facility, or that the hopes of success are in proportion to 

 the time and talent that are expended upon it. In the majority 

 of experiments, disappointment follows so closely upon dis- 

 appointment, that even the most enthusiastic admirers of the 

 bee frequently become discouraged, and retire from any 

 farther research, with the conviction on their mind, that suc- 

 cess is not attainable, and that that which has baffled the 

 most celebrated naturalists of all countries and of all ages, 

 will continue to baffle them. In many of the disputed points 

 of natural history, analogical reasoning has been found to be 

 the surest guide to the discovery of truth, but in the physio- 

 logy of the bee analogy is of little or no use : the bee, in the 

 animal world, stands singly, in its characteristics, its relations, 

 and natural habits, nor can we call in the aid of science to 

 assist us in the elucidation of the mysteries in which its 

 natural history is enveloped. We stand in the present age, 

 but, as it were, in the vestibule of apiarian knowledge, and 

 Mr. Duncan never penned a passage more consistent with 

 truth, than when he says, " Some of the discoveries which 

 have been blazoned in publications both at home and abroad 

 will be found, on strict examination, to have no existence but 

 in the warm fancy or blind enthusiasm of the observer." 



What an extraordinary confession from an adherent of the 

 blind Huber ! ! 



