EXPERIMENT OF HUBER. 145 



grub inhabiting a certain dwelling in a certain position, will 

 produce certain effects upon it." These certainties, however, 

 are in our estimation most decided uncertainties. We not only- 

 dispute, but we unequivocally deny the existence of any in- 

 stinct in the bee relative to a particular kind of food, and in 

 part to the administration of any food at all. It is, however, 

 not a little remarkable, that Kirby himself characterizes the 

 whole system as extraordinary and extravagant, and he says, 

 " if you be not satisfied with the arguments and probabilities, 

 recourse must be had to experiment :" we have taken the 

 advice of Mr. Kirby ; we have had recourse to experiment, 

 and in no one single instance have the alleged certainties 

 been verified. 



The editor of the "Naturalist's Library," speaking of this 

 alleged power of the common bee to generate a queen, says, 

 " The knowledge of this singularity in the natural history 

 of this insect is confined almost exclusively to apiarians, 

 and even rejected by some of them. It has, however, been 

 confirmed by so many experiments instituted by different 

 individuals, that no unprejudiced mind can withhold its 

 assent from the truth." We regret that Mr. Duncan has 

 withheld from us the actual experiments of those individuals, 

 which are so confirmatory of the truth of that singular 

 power being vested in the common bee ; for we are ourselves 

 not aware of a single experiment which does not leave the 

 subject in its original doubt and uncertainty; and on the 

 other hand, as an equipoise, he should not have withheld 

 from us the experiments and opinions of those scientific 

 men, who totally deny the existence of that power, and who 

 have disproved it by the most convincing arguments. It is 

 true, he has given us the following experiment of Huber, 

 which he considers as all conclusive ; but on instituting a 

 strict analysis of its principles, it will be found so beset with 

 contradiction, that no reliance whatever can be placed upon 

 its validity. Huber says, he deprived a hive of its queen, 



