D R O 
D R O 
the carrier-pigeon kind, called by Moore columba 
tabellaria minima. It feems to be a mongrel breed 
between the tumbler and the horfeinan fpecies. 
This race increafes prodigioufly; and as it is lighter 
than the horfeman, it is fuppofed to fly feveral 
miles with more expedition, though the former out- 
ftrips it at laft. One of thcfe pigeons, it is laid, 
flew from St. Edmundfbury to London, being fe- 
venty-two miles, in the fpace of two hours and a 
half. 
DRILL. An appellation given by Purchas to 
the ourang-outang, or wild man of the woods. See 
Ape, Great. 
DROMEDARY. An animal of the camel 
kind, from which it is diftinguifhed by having only 
one bunch on it's back. It's hair is foft to the 
touch, and fhorter than that of the ox, except on 
the head, throat, and top of the neck, where it is 
confiderably longer. On the middle of the back 
alfo there are hairs nearly a foot in length, which, 
though naturally foft and flexile, yet fl:anding in an 
eredt pofliure, form the moft confpicuous part of 
the bunch; but, when removed by the hand, the 
flefh fcarcely appears more prominent than on the 
back of the hog. The head is fmall in proportion 
to the body; the upper Hp is divided like that of 
the hare; the feet are each terminated by two fmall 
claws; and the foles of the feet are broad, very 
fielhy, and foft to the touch, though the fl<in is 
extremely hard and callous. There are callofities 
on the knees, the flioulders of the fore-legs, and 
on each of tlie hinder ones ; and befides thefe, ano- 
ther much larger adheres to the breaft, on an emi- 
nence which feems formed by nature to fupport it : 
thefe callofities appear as if intended for the fupport 
of the animal's ponderous body when it either 
ftoops to reft or to be loaded. The ftomach is 
very large; and, as in other ruminating animals, is 
divided into four parts: but it's ftruflure is ex- 
tremely Angular; for, at the upper end of the fe- 
cond ventricle, there are feveral fquare holes, which 
are the orifices of a great number of bags placed 
between the membranes which compofe the fto- 
mach ; and thefe feem to be the receptacles of wa- 
ter kept for emergencies; the creature drinking a 
vaft quantity at once, and then fubfifting for fe- 
veral days, on particular occafions, without any 
other fluid. 
Dromedaries being naturally very fwift, they 
are frequently trained by the Arabians to racing, 
and fometimes to carry meftengers with difpatches, 
who, by their means, can travel upwards of one 
hundred miles daily, for nine days fuccefTively, 
over burning defarts impaflTable by any other ani- 
mals. 
DRONE. The name of a large kind of bees, 
fuppofed to be the males of the fwarm, which be- 
ing unprovided with the neceffary apparatus, never 
go in fearch either of wax or honey, but live on 
the ftores coUefled by the reft. The common 
working-bees are generally confidered as being 
neutral : and there is ufually only one female in a 
hive; for, from numerous recent experiments, 
there is reafon to conclude that the queen bee only 
lays two kinds of eggs, namely, fuch as are to 
produce Drones, and thofe from which the work- 
ing-bees are to proceed. 
This larger fpecies of bees, called Drones, may 
be eafily diftinguifhed from the working tribes, by 
being nearly double their fize. Their heads are 
round, their eyes are full, their tongues are fliort, 
and their bellies are broader and more obtufe than 
thofe of the other claftes : they are alfo of a darker 
hue, and make a louder noife in flying, by which 
they may be diftinguiftied though unfeen; and they 
are deftitute of ftings, v/hich tiie honey-bees are 
univerfally know^n to poflcfs. 
On diflfefting a Drone bee, there appear the moft 
inconteftibie proofs that it belongs to the mafcu- 
line gender. In this creature there is no appear- 
ance either of ovaries or eggs, nor any traces of the 
internal conformation of the labouring bees; but 
the whole abdomen is filled with tranfparent vef- 
fcls, winding about in various finuofities, and con- 
taining a white or milky fluid plainly anomalous 
to that found in the males of other animals, Vv'hich 
is dcftined to impregnate the eggs of the females: 
and this whole apparatus of veffels, which bears a 
ftrong refemblance to the convolutions of the fe- 
minal vefl^els in other creatures, is evidently in- 
tended for the preparation and retenfion of tl 
matter till the appointed time of it's emilTion . At 
the extremity of the laft ring of the body, in the 
female, and in the working-bees, is placed the 
aperture of the anus, from which the ftings of the 
latter are alio protruded: but, with refpeft to the 
Drone, or male bee, the cafe is very different; for 
the extri^mity of that ring is doled, and the aper- 
ture of the anus is fituated in the under part of 
it, about it's middle. On fqueezing the body 
of the Drone, the penis is alfo forced out at this 
opening; which memiber is a fmall, flender, fieftiy 
body, contained between tv/o horns of a fomewhat 
harder fubftance, which unite at their bafes, but 
gradually diverge as they increafe in length. When 
the prefliire is long continued, there are thruft out 
at the fame aperture fome of the feminal vefiels, 
and finally part of the milky fluid is extravafated ; 
but this feem.s rather to flow from fome lacerated 
vefl^el, than from any natural evacuation. Thefe 
parts obferved in all Drones, and in no other kind 
of bees, feem fatisfaftorily to evince the difference 
of fex. But one thing farther deferves to be re- 
marked, namely, that though the penis evidently 
appears from the effeft of preftlire, it is with diffi- 
culty difcovered on difl^eclion; the reafon of which 
feems to be their fvv'clling when cxpofed to the air: 
and the penetrating Svv^ammerdam fuppofes that, 
in order to this end, thefe members are furniflied 
with a great number of tracheje, which readily ad- 
mit the air as foon as they are expofed to it's ef- 
fects. 
But though Maraldi, as well as Swammerdam, 
difcovered in the ftrufture of Drones fome refem- 
blance to the male organs of generation, and from 
thence referred them to the mafculine gender; nei- 
ther of thefe accurate and ingenious obfervers could 
ever notice them in the aft of copulation: and the 
latter, for that reafon, entertained a notion that the 
female, or queen bee, was fecundated without co- 
pulation ; that it was fufficient for her only to ap- 
proach the male ; and that her eggs were impreg- 
nated by a kind of vivifying aura exhaled from the 
body of the male, and abforbed by that of the fe- 
male. However, Reaumur imagined diat he had 
difcovered the a6lual copulation of the Drone with 
the female bee, and accordingly minutely defcribed 
the procefs in his Hiftory of Infefls. 
Notwithftanding thefe obfervations, many of 
the ancients, as well as the moderns, have ima- 
gined that the ep-e;s of the female bee are not im- 
pregnated with the male fperm, while in the ova- 
ria of the infed; but that they are depofited, unim- 
pregnated, in the cells j and that the niale after- 
wards 
