264 Microscopical Essays. 



To be further Satisfied, Mr. Debraw took the brood comb ? 

 which had not been impregnated, and divided it into two parts; 

 one he placed under a glafs bell, No. 1, with honey-comb for the 

 bees food, taking care to leave a queen, but no drones, among 

 the bees confined in it : the other piece of brood-comb he placed 

 under another glafs bell, No. 2, with a few drones, a queen, and a 

 proportionable number of common bees. ■ The refult was, that 

 in the glafs, No. 1, there was no impregnation, the eggs remained 

 in the fame ftate they were in when put into the glafs ; and on 

 giving the bees their liberty on the feventh day, they all flew 

 away, as was found to be the cafe in the former experiment ; 

 whereas in the glafs, No. 2, the very day after the bees had been 

 put into it, the eggs were impregnated by the drones, and the 

 bees did not leave their hives on receiving their liberty. 



The editor of the Cyclopedia fays, that the fmalf drones are 

 all dead before the end of May, when the larger fpecies appear^ 

 and fuperfede their ufe ; and that it is not without reafon, that a 

 modern author fuggefls that a fmall number of drones are referved, 

 to fupply the neceffities of the enfuing year ; but that they are 

 very little, if any,, larger than the common bee. 



It does not enter into our plan to notice further in this place 

 the wonders of this little fociety. A bee-hive is certainly one of 

 the fineft objects' that can offer itfelf to the eyes of the beholder. 

 It is not eafy to be weary of contemplating thofe workfhops, 

 where thoufands of labourers are constantly employed in different 

 works. While one party rs employed in eollecling the matter of 

 the wax, and filling their magazines with it, others work this 

 wax 3 and build with it their cells ; this is again poliftied and 

 6 perfe&ed 



