Rev. Mr Dunbar on the Instinct and Operations of Bees. 147 
turning their heads towards her, fawii‘ upon her, if I may use 
the expression, lavish their caressed upon her, touching her soft- 
ly with their antennae ; and this appearaUee haa' given rise to 
the idea that she is attended by guards. The moment she has 
passed a circle of her admiiring subjects, they instantly resume 
their labours, and she passes on, receiving from every cluster in 
her way the homage due to a mother and queen. 
Such are the few observations I made during the first season 
my hive was at work. You have the simple facts as they were 
noticed at the time, without any embellishment ; for if they add 
little of iniportance to what is already known of the nature and 
habits of the bee, they owe nothing to the colourings of fancy. I f 
you think them worth sending to the ^Edinburgh Philosophical 
Journal, you are at perfect liberty to do so ; and I hope one 
good effect of their publication will be, to induce others also to 
contribute their mite of infprrnation. I am myself an enthusiast 
in the cause ; nobody can study them closely without becoming 
so. Beaucoup de gens,” says a good old clerical bee-master 
of Switzerland, “ aiment les abeilles ; je ffai vu personne qiii 
les aimat mediocrement; on se pour elles.” Fortu- 
nately, I have a reverend brother in my neighbourhood whose 
enthusiasm equals mine, and whose experience is much greater. 
I allude to the gentleman whose humane method of saving the 
lives of these amusing insects has been made honourable men- 
tion of in a recent Number of that Journal. If he, and such as 
he, could be prevailed on to communicate the result of their ex- 
perience to the public, the natural history of the bee would be 
better understood, and its cultivation much more profitable. 
Applegaiith Manse, \ 
March 27. 1820. ) 
Explanation of Figures, 3, 4, 5, of' Plate VI. 
Fig. 3. is the external appearance of the hive, mounted on its 
stool, and having the shutters closed on the glass ; front 
view. 
Fig. 4. is a profile of the same, shewing the edges of the three 
frames of which the hive is composed, joined on the 
K 2 
