194 
THE HIVE AMU HONEl'-BEE. 
days, are found to be untenanted. At the second attempt 
they usually start a larger number, and seldom fail of suc¬ 
cess. Does practice make them more perfect ? or were 
some of the necessary conditions wanting at first ? 
The following able communication, from the pen of Dr. 
Donhoff, may throw some light on this subject“ Dzier- 
zon states it as a fact, that worker-bees attend more ex¬ 
clusively to the domestic concerns of the colony in the 
early period of life ; assuming the discharge of the more 
active out-door duties only during the later periods of 
their existence. The Italian bees furnished me with suit¬ 
able means to test the correctness of this opinion. 
“On the 18th of April, 1855, I introduced an Italian 
queen into a colony of common bees; and on the 10th of 
May following, the first Italian workers emerged from the 
cells. On the ensuing day, they emerged in great numbers, 
as the colony had been kept in good condition by regular 
and plentiful feeding. I will arrange my observations 
under the following heads: 
“1. On the 10th of May the first Italian workers 
emerged; and on the 17th they made their first appear¬ 
ance outside of the hive. On the next day, and then 
An extract from Huber's preface will be interesting In this connection. After 
speaking of his bllpdness, and prnising tho extraordinary taste for Natural nistory, 
of his assistant, Burnens, “ who was born with tho talents of an observer,” he says : 
“Every one of the facts I now publish, we have seen, over and over again, during 
the period of eight years, which wo have employed in making our observations on 
bees. It is Impossible to form a just idea of tho patience and skill with which 
Burnens has carried out tho experiments which I am about to describe; he has 
often watched some of the working bees of our hives, which wo had reason to 
think fertile, for the space of twenty-four hours, without distraction * * * • and he 
counted fatigue and pain as nothing, compared with tho great desire he felt to 
know tho results. If, then, there bo any merit In our discoveries, I must sharo the 
honor with him; and I have great satisfaction in rendering him this act of publio 
justice." 
And yot the man who was too noble to appropriate the merits of his servant, has 
by many, been consldorod base enough to attempt to Impose upon tho world, aa 
well established facts, things scarcely more probable than tho Actions of 1 Sinbnd 
the Sailor." 
