*4 
Of Bees. 
of a week in the hot gathering time, they 
being fubjeft to fb many cafualties 5 For 
the Swallow and many other Birds dayly 
make a prey of many of them, befides what 
the extremity of the weather deftroys, and 
infinite ofother accidents befall thefe inno¬ 
cent creatures 5 That of a Swarm of thirty 
thoufand Bees in June, you have fcarcely 
left at Michaelmas ,above ten thoufand,over 
and above what are bred in that time, the 
reft having loft their lives in their ad venturs 
abroad. It isalfo e'afie tocaftup, that there 
are about fifty thoufand Cells in an ordi¬ 
nary Stall ofBee/j and although the great¬ 
er part of them have their Inhabitants in 
the Summer, yet but few of them in the 
Winter. 
Many opinions there are amongft Bee- 
Mafters, concerning Drone Bees, moft ma¬ 
king them to be a different Species of Bees, 
when upon a ftrift view and examination, 
they leem all to be but one fort. For you 
may obferve that moft Infc&s ( efpecially 
fuch that-may proceed fiom the putrifaifti- 
on of fome bodies, amongft which Bees 
may be reckoned) areof both kinds, Male 
and Female: and that in their declining 
age they engender and lay their feed or 
itggs, and then vary in fhape and propor- 
