&44 Mr. Knight on the Economy of Bees. 
of the bee, for the joint purposes of being carried with con- 
venience, and giving the the temperature necessary for being 
moulded into combs : and I am led to this conclusion, not 
only by the circumstance of wax being found in the vegetable 
world, but also by having often observed bees employed in 
detaching something from the bases of the leaves of plants 
with their forceps, which they did not deposit on their thighs, 
as they do (I believe invariably) the farina of plants. I have 
also frequently observed the combs of very late swarms to be 
remarkably thin and white, and brittle ; which are circum- 
stances very favourable to the conclusion that the wax is a 
vegetable substance, for it would probably be less abundant 
during autumn than in summer ; and that portion which had 
remained on the plants till late in the season would hence 
become more colourless by exposure to light, as well as more 
dry and brittle, than when at first exuded; but were it an 
animal substance, there does not appear any reason why it 
should be more dry and brittle, or less abundant, in the autumn, 
than in the spring and summer. The conclusions of Mr. 
Hunter are, however, always drawn with so much caution, 
and he united so much skill and science with the greatest de- 
gree of industry, that it is not without much hesitation and 
diffidence, that I venture to put my opinion in opposition to 
his authority. 
T. A. KNIGHT. 
Ellon, May 4, 1807. 
