154 Rev . Mr :01)S<ir;^atiom on Bees^ 
would sacrificed for the public good; but I wished to;^scer- 
tain, whether, as Huber states, these great personages decide 
the flatter by single combat, or whether the bees themselves de- 
stroy the supernumerary ruler. I noted down s,t the moiuent, 
by way of journal, the circumstances as they occurred, nitd I 
transcribe them in the same form. 
July 28.-^10 o’clock a. m. Put into the mirror-hive a swarm 
from Tundergarth Manse. During the .bustle of the entry, the 
old queen has hid herself ; the new queen is seized by a few of 
the old bees, the rightful inhabitants, and is in imminent dan- 
ger; is rescued by a crowd of her own subjects, who treat her 
with much respect, and form an open circle round her, as if to 
defend her. A partial engagement between the swarms. 
Afternoon. The battle has ceased, and the bees seem united. 
One queen, which I believe to be the young one, is surrounded 
closely by about 100 bees; no appearance of the other. 
£9th. — Morning. One queen on the opposite side of the 
comb from where the stranger one was yesterday, and closely 
confined ; the other walking among the bees at perfect liberty ; 
cannot ascertain which is the old one, and which the stranger ; 
should have marked the latter before introducing her. Opened 
the hive, in order to bring the queens into view of each other : 
both escape to the other side of the comb, and both closely en- 
circled by dense crowds of bees. 
12 o’clock. Both still remain encircled. Opened the hive 
again, and seized a queen from amongst a great number of bees, 
not one of which attempted to sting, though, in my eagerness, 
I had neglected to cover my face and hands ; put the prisoner 
into a glass tumbler, and clapped it above the circle where the 
other queen was ; from the inequality of the comb’s surface, one 
escaped, and was instantly surrounded ; took off the tumbler, 
and the other instantly received the same treatment. 
Afternoon. One queen close prisoner, the other at liberty, 
and sometimes within two inches of her rival, but without any 
appeatanee of anxiety to get at her. The crovv^d. is . pressing so 
^yery closely round the captive queen, that in .all probability she 
will be sufibca^ed or starved. 
Evening. Matters remain in the same state. 
