-_ _ NATURAL HISTORY. 
_ are hived, to ftop up all the crannies. They make ufe of a fort of re 
finous gum, which is more tenaceous than wax, and differs greatly 
from it. his the French call propolis. It will grow confiderably 
hard in June, though it will always grow foft with heat, and it varies 
in confiftence, colour, and fmell. It has generally an aromatic, agree 
able fmell, when it is warmed, infomuch that fome place it in the rat 
of perfumes. The outward colour is of a reddith brown; but the in- 
ward more yellowith, and nearer the colour of wax. When the Bees 
begin to work with it, it is foft; but it acquires a firmer confiftencé 
every day; till at length it becomes harder than wax. The Bees carry 
it on their hinder legs, and fome think it is met with on poplar, birchs 
and willow trees; but there are others that will fupply them with thé 
fame. It is much harder for them to get it from hence, than the pow- 
der which is upon the ftamina of plants, and more difficult to manages 
the Bees make ufe of the fame fubftance to cover the fticks laid crofs- 
ways, which help to fupport the combs; and often they plaifter a great 
part of the inner fides of their hives therewith. 
It is wonderful to confider how the Bees build their combs, wherei# 
the cells are of fo regular a form, and applied fo ingenioufly, one againft 
another. Every thing feems to be difpofed with fo much fymmetrys 
and fo well finifhed, that at firft fight, one may be tempted to thinks 
that they are the principal workmanthip of thefe induftrious infects 
All the cells are hexagons, that is, they have fix equal fides; and this 
figure, not only takes up the leaft room, but is the moft capacious. 
It is no eafy matter to fee them at work, except by the afliftance of 
a glafs hive. They are always ready to affift each other, in laying thé 
foundation of fome new comb, or enlarging the old, though a fpecta- 
tor might conclude from the hurry that they are in, that there was no- 
thing but confufion among them. However it is eafy to perceive, that 
their teeth are the inftruments, by which they model and fathion theif, 
combs. They begin at the bottom of their building, and feveral 0 
them work at a time, at the cells, which have two faces. But if thef 
are ftinted with regard to time, they give the new cells but half th@ 
depth which they ought to have, leaving them imperfe&, and put © 
finifhing them, till they have fketched out the number of cells, which 
are neceflary for the prefent time. The conftruction of their comb’ 
cofts them a great deal of labour, for they are not able to make the™ 
in molds, as at firft fome might think they were. They are all bufied 
in erecting, fhaping, and polifhing the cells that are unfinifhed; a0 
the ufe they make of them, is to lodge their honey, and to depofit 
their brood therein, for there the eggs increafe and grow, till they at® 
transformed into Bees. But the cells defigned for the worms to chang 
into drones, ought to be larger than the reft; and for that reafots 
they make fome with greater diameters than others. The cells of thé 
brood, at different times, ferve for the honey-comb; however thol® 
that were defigned for the honey only, are much deeper than the rel 
‘When the harveft of honey is fo plentiful, that they have no fufficiet* 
soom for it, they either lengthen their combs, or build more, whi 
are much longer than the former. 
Sometimes they work at three combs at a time; for when there af? 
three workhoufes, more Bees may be employed at a time, without e™* 
farrafling each other, and they can perform their bufinefs more — 
ae 
