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-■■■■'. ■'■' -*■ ■ •'/

NATURAL HISTORY

♦•

O F

BE E S. .

CONTAINING

An Account of their Produdlion, their Oeconomy,
the manner of their making Wax and Honey,
and the beft Methods for the Improvement and
Prefervation of them.

V

,-'•• 'ILLUSTRATED

With Twelve COPPER PL ATE S.

Tranflated from the FRENCH.

LONDON:*

Printed for J. and P. K n a p t o n, at the Grown in
Liidgate-Jlreet j and P. Va i l a n t, in the Strand.

M. DCQ. XLIV,

^

ADVERTISEMENT.

TH E care and culture of Bees have
always been one of the mofl agree-
able and ufeful employments of a
country life. The antients cultivated thefe
animals with care, from a profped: of honey
which was among them as much in ufe as
fugar among us. But fince it has been thought
proper to fubftitute fugar in the room of
honey, the latter has fallen into conliderable
difcredit : but then, in return, wax has be-
come the fubjecl of a very confiderable com-
merce. By this means Bees have always
claim'd our care and regard, and the publick
utility demands it.

'Tis not in towns we train up Bees 3 'tis

only in the country. Two -forts of people

employ themfelves in the culture of thefe

laborious animals : the countr)' people in

A 2 hopes

ADVERTISEMENT.

hopes of profit from them ; and perfons of
eafy circumftances add to this view that of

an agreeable amufement.

The firfi: of thefe, too much taken up in
laborious and continual employments, where-r
with to gain their daily fubfiftance, ^can
beftow on their hives but few, and thofe
ftolen moments, and a too negligent concern
for fuch an increafe of Bees, as the good of
commerce requires.

The other fort, whom an eafier fortune
and a more improved genius would render
capable greatly to advance an art, which at
this time makes a confiderable branch of the
commerce of the kingdom, are difcouraged
by the difficulties of approaching thefe ani^
mals, always to be dreaded, and which one
cannot manage eafily j which makes them
negleft thofe experiments, that would en^
able them to make greater improvements
than have hitherto been made.

If one has a clearer intelligence of thefe
matters than others j if a man has rules to

lay

AiDVERTISEMENT.

lay down on the beft conduct of Bees, 'tis
to fuch an one that we ought to refer them.
Their fkill, their knowledge, their time,
which is more in their own power, makes it
eafy for them to try, and even to execute the
moft favourable methods for the multiplication
and prefervation of Bee-hives. If they fuc-
ceed, others will foon know how to imitate
them.

'Tis not enough to inform perfons of un-
derftanding of the beft methods we know, but '
we ought to make them fenlible of the reafons.
By this means people born with a certain
fagacity execute with greater pleafure, and
more eafily bring to perfedion the new dif-
coveries of others.

The practical reafons for the fuccefs of
Bees are nothing more than the knowledge
of their wants; and thefe wants can't be
known, if one is not acquainted, with the
utmoft exadlnefs, of their method of living,
their temperature, their nourishment, the
dangers to which they are expofed, the moft
favourable fituation they can be placed in;
A 3 if

ADVERTISEMENT.

if one knows not how to make them change
their habitation, &c.

The antients have loaded their hiflory of
Bees with fo many fables and abfurdities,
that it is not at all ftrange, if the prejudices,
which arife from thefe falfe reprefentations,
have retarded the progrefs, which might
otherwife have been made, in the training up
of Bees.

To reinforce this profitable art, and to
render it capable of the higheft perfection ;
it was neceflary, that fomebody fliould give
himfelf the trouble to make Bees his ftudy
more than the antients have done. This has
been effected in our time j and we are in-
debted to three celebrated authors. Swam-
merdam is the firft, who applied himfelf,
with all that knowledge, of which fo great an
anatomift was capable : but his ftudies and
difcovcries go not beyond the interior and
exterior parts of thefe animals j their genera-
tion, and their food : his delign not extend-
3 ing

ADVERTISEMENT.
ing to what might be ufeful either to pre*
ferve or multiply them. In fhort, his work,
wrote in Latin and Dutch, is of no fervice
to the perfons we have in view. The late
M. Maraldy, like the gods of the poets,
who fometimes quit heaven to amufe them-
felves with terreflrial creatures ; M. Maraldy
I fay, diverted himfelf, amidfl his aflronomi-
cal obfervations, with the ftudy of Bees. This
author has left us a very minute hiftory of
Bees, accompanied with many obfervations
and difcoveries. It is to be found in the
Memoirs of the Academy, and confequently
beyond the capacity of thofe perfons, who
have the moft need of it. Befides, this au-
thor, as well as Swammerdam, gives no rules
for the training up of Bees. They are both
fatisiied to examine them as naturalilis. At
length M. de Reaumur uniting the difcoveries
of all his predecelTors to his own, has lately
oblig'd us with a new hiftory of thefe animals;
which one may conlider as the moil compleat
and perfed work, in all refpecls, that can be
hop'd for in this kind ; as well with regard
to the natural hiilory of Bee?, as to the new
A 4 and

ADVERTISEMENT.

and eafy methods, there propofed, for their
increafe and improvement. This trad: is
found in the 5th volume of his Memoirs hi-
te?ided for a Hijlory of InfeBs ; a w^ork,
which for the price, bulk, and extenfive
learning, feems only fitted to the capacities of
the learned and the curious.

Thus the deftiny of Bees has this in par-
ticular, that all thofe, who have moft fuccefs-
fully interefted themfelves for them, who
have beft known them, and who have treated
of them moft learnedly, and with the great-
eft exadtnefs, have not writ but for fuch, who
have it not in their power to profit by their
difcovcries, and ledhires, and have no real
relation to Bees : whilft thofe, who breed
them, and who might make their advantage
of them by enlarging commerce, have fcarce
any knowledge of them.

This refledion has given me the notion of

making thofe difcoveries and improvements

more general, which feem lock'd up in the

cabinets of tlie learned ; to place before the

3 eyes

ADVERTISEMENT.

eyes of all thofe, who have any defire or
any intereft to be acquainted with them, the
mofl proper means to bring up thefe animals,
and fo enlarge the commerce of wax.

'Tis with this view, and for thefe perfons
only, that I have attempted this Hijiory of Bees.
I have taken all the materials from the me-
moirs of M. de Reaumur. One will be
eafily perfuaded, that I could not draw from
a purer nor a more copious fource. The form
of dialogue, which I have pitch'd upon, ap-
peared to me the moft proper for inftrudlion,
without having that dogmatifing air fo dif-
couraging to readers • who, through want
of pradice, find themfelves not fitted to at-
tend to a continued and connefted difcourfe.

As my only aim was to make myfelf ufe-
ful, I have made no fcruple to m.ake ufe of
the obfervations, remarks, experiments and
difcoveries, which have already been made
upon Bees by others -, and have likewife em-
ploy'd their defcriptions, fuch as I found
them, either intire or abridged, and fome-

times

ADVERTISEMENT.

times by inlarging them, when I was certain
of not exceeding the bounds of truth. To
what M. de Reaumur has faid, in his Memoir
concerning Bees, I have added every thing
which had relation to that fubjed, which is
found in his other memoirs. I have pre-
ferved, as far as poffible, his terms and ex-
preffions, being perfuaded,that when things are
well exprefs'd, an attempt to exprefs them
otherwife is almoft an inevitable rifque to
exprefs them ill. If my condud:, in this
particular, had need of an example to autho-
rife it, I could cite that of M. Rollin in his
antient Greek and Roman hiftory.

As to the form of dialogue, which I have
chofcn,andthe manner in which I have execut-
ed it, it belongs to the public to judge, whether
I am in the right or no. I fliall content myfelf
with reprefenting Clariffa as the miftrefs of a
family, refiding in the country on her own
eftate, and whofe underftanding has no other
improvement, but that which a good educa- i
tion, a knowledge of the world, and the
reading of books, not abfolutely trifling, com-
monly give. Eugenio, the other perfon of.

the

ADVERTISEMENT.

the dialogues is the author; and though he
borrows almoft all his fafts from M. de Reau-
mur, though he often copies his expreffi-
ons, 'tis flill Eugenio, who is accountable
for the ufe he makes of them. If he is
deceived, his miftakes are to be imputed to
himfelf alone.

CON.

CONTENTS.

Conversation. I.

X^ F the firft ohje^s, which a Bee-hive prefents.

page 6

Conversation II.

Of the queen of the Bees, and of the males, or
drones, j^

Conversation III.

Of the Working-hees, o j

Conversation IV.

Of the venom of Bees : the wounds they make with
their flings: their private' and publick quarrels,

57
Conversation V.

Of the generation of Bees, and the fruitfulnefs of
the Mother -lee, go

Con-

CONTENTS.

Conversation VI.

Of the Mother-bee's laying her eggs^ and the homage
''paid her, 1 06

Conversation VII.

0/ the eggs : the birth and nourijhjnent ef the mag-
gots, and the tijfue they fpin. 128

Conversation VIII.

Qhange of the maggots into their nympha-Jiate^ and
the nympha:^ into Bees. Prolongation^ at willy
of the life of infects, The firfi ijfuing of the in-
fant Bee from th€ hive, 153

■' ^ ( '

^ * Conversation IX.
Of the maffacre of the fupernumerary queens, with
that of the males and rnas'^ots. . . 1 74

Conversation X.

Of the Propolis or rofin, with which the Bees clofe
'- the clefts in the hive. Of the wax, 199

Conversation XI.

Continuation of the origin »nd nature of wax ; ufe
which the Bees make of it, both for food and for
the building their cells. Defcription of a cell. 220

Conversation XII.

Continuation of the cells. Errors committed by the
Bees in building them, and how they add thefmifh-
ing ftroke, Dimenfwns of a cell. Combs of a
royal cell. 247

Con-

CONTENTS.

Conversation XIII.

Of the origin of honey ; its gathering in, or harveft :
the twoflomachs of the Bee : the fiore-houfes of
honey ; the different qualities of it. 270

Conversation XIV.

Of the labours and occupations of Bees in the hive,

296
Conversation XV.
Q/ thefwarms. 220

Con versation XVI.

Of the enemies to the Bees ^ and fuch infers ^ as de>-
vour the wax. ^ .5

Conversation XVII.

Concerning the hefi manner of taking the honey, and
the wax, out of hives, without deflroying the
Bees, Of the neceffay of Securing thefe, during
winter and fpring^ from cold and hunger, 275

Conversation XVIII.

Of the methods for increafing confiderably the traffic
of wax. Of the -produce of hives. Of the joiir-
nies which Bees are made to undertake. 4 1 1

CONVE rsation XIX.
Of the precautions 7ieceffary for making Beei thrive.
Of the difeafes to which they are fuhje^i, and their
' mtural death, .22

Twelve

Twelve COPPER PLATES to be
placed at the End of the Book.

THE

THE

NATURAL HISTORY

O F

B E

DIALOGUE.

EUGENIO and CLARISSA.

CLARISSA.

WAS extremely difpofed^ Eugenio, to fol-
low your advice, and to read the Hijiory of
Bees, in the fifth volume of Memoirs, in-
tended for an Hijiory of Infe5ls, which you
lent me. I was pretty certain of finding there
all that you had promifed me. But two Reflec-
tions made me change my defign •, the firft is,
that not having a head for abftr^6t fciences, all
that has the form and appearance of it terrifies
me. You, however, reprefcnted this hiftory, not
only as very amufing^ but as very learned. Per-'
haps you don't know, that if the amufing makes
me advance ten Heps forward, the learned, on

B the

D. H. HILL LIBRARY

The Natural History
the contrary, fets me as far back. The fccorrcf
is, that it appears to me, that if I was defiroiis,
at this time of Hfe, to employ myfelf in thofa^
fludies, in which it is unufual to inftruft our
fex, and embclUfli my mind with them, fucK a
parade would but ill fuit with my other indif-
pcnfible employments. What would the world
fay to fee the miftrefs of a family, at the head of
a- country farm, go alternately from the examina-
tion of a problem, to a review of her poultry,
or from reckoning, with her farmers, to a geo-
metrical", calculation ? Methinks I fliould ha7«
,the awkward grace of thofe eountiry ladies, who
having been at Paris, or Verfailles,. mix the air of
the court with their own country jai^gon. Let
us each reft in our own proper fphere. Whether
it be, that men have made tliefe laws in conit^
quence of their own intereft, as we are forae-
times apt to upbraid them -, or whether it is the
fole effect of reafon, ftripp'd of all private viewa^
•which prefides over thefe cuftoms : the laws are
made ; our birth fubjedls us to them, and we
muft obey. I am of tlie fame fentiment, with re-
gard to cuftoms i and confcquently wif h regard to
that, which condemns us to an ignorance of the
fublime fciences. So, fee here's your book again :
keep fcience to yourfelves, and leave us to read,
only books of amufement and diverfion •, 'tis al^
that our lex, at leait myfelf, muft aim at.
. EUGENIC. You do not ufe. Clarilfa, to.
• take things with fo much vivacity. Curious and
probable difquifitions ha,ve always appear*!! to me..
2 ' -tQ.

of B E E S.

to be In your tafte -, and yet you cry out againft
them as much as it I had put into your hands
Dcfcartes, or Sir Kaac Newton, to comment
upon. Now our Hipry of Bees has nothing of
refemblance •, it is the life of a people, in-
duftrious, laborious, and indefatigable ; rigid ob-
fervers of their own laws -, full of forefight and
oeconomy ; whofe reigning pafllon is the good
and profperity of the Family ; of a people, ifi
a word, who feem to have taken their model
from you. What can you find here fo rigid and
abllracted .?

CLAR. This is a moft obliging Compli-
ment : but what caufes my apprehenfions, is
to find the word problem at the openino- of the
book. We are there told, by way of applaufe,
that one M. Koening, the difciple of Bernouilli
and Wolfius, ( ftrange names for a woman !•^
had refolv'd a problem, which the Bees put in
pradice every day. After this, we are pre-
fented with a detail of the problem ; which I
moft unfortunately light upon, and where I
had like to have loft myfe^f. I ani the Bees
moft humble fervant -, nor think I myfelf wor-
thy to be acquainted with fuch able Geome-
iricians.

EUGEN, You reproach the author with
the greateft merit of his whole work. He
fhews us, that what man gains not but by a
long train of dedudions -, that what Archimedes,
Defcartes, Pafchal, and fo many others, who pre-
ceded the invention of fublime geometry, were
B 2 not

The Natural History

rtot able to demonftrate -, he makes us fee, I fa)",
that the author of nature caufes this tO' be exe-
cuted before our eyes, by animals, to whom our
pride denies underflanding.

CLAR. I will confine myfelf to the morale
and will draw proper inftru(flions from it •, but
I have no need, in order to admire the Creator's
work, to lofe myfelf in demonftrations, that pafs
the bounds of my capacity. In a- word, to abridge
our difpute, I confenr, that you, yourfelf, give me
the Hijiory of the Bees- \ nay, I beg of you fo to
do ; but fpare me their clafles, genius, fpecies,
and all that learned detail. 1 only defire to know
the life, manners, inclinations, the imployments,
labour, and induftry of thefe little people. As
when I read the HijloTy of China, I have no- need
to have the Chinefe Kaknder explain'd to me ;
but I iliould hke to be informed, hov/ the ladies
there, with a very pretty^ little toot, a fmall nofe,
little eyes, plump cheeks, a fhape fliort and fat,
appear charming ; that they there find a huf-
band, who, after ten years marriage, has not
had a full fight of his wife, tho' he has had feve-
ral children by her. To conclude, I ask nothing
of you but a romance, but the true romance of
the HiJlory of Bees.

EUGEN. I will endeavour to fatisfy you :
I will relate nothing but what has been carefully
.cbferv'd, ^nd well attefted : there will enter a
good deal of the marvellous into my recital, but
nothing of the fUfe. I fiiall deftroy the antient
fables, with which, I doubt not, your infency was
. . ' 2 - often

of B E E S.

often amus'd. In return you fliall have truths,
■that will not lefs furprize you, and will give you
more fatisfaftion -, but I Ihall have need of feve-
ral audiences for this purpofe.

CLAR. You fhall have as many as you
plcafe. Everyday, after dinner, we wil! retire
into my walk of Jime-trees ; and there you ihall
tell me, at your leiilire, ihe wonders of that
people ; with whom, according to you, we
have liv'd fo long, and of whom we know fo
httle. This place will be fo mucli the more
proper, as we Ihall have in view a dozen of
hives ; the advantage of which, hitherto, has
been onl^^ known to my gardener.

B 3 CON-

The Natural History

CONVERSATION I.

Ofthejirfi object ^^ isuhich a bee-hive pre fent^,

E U G E N I O.

Ml'fhmks I fee, among your hives, one, that
is a glals one.

CLARISSA. Yes, 'tis that, which I oalei-'d
fo be made according to the plan, which you gave
me. However, I own my cowardice •, I never
dare go near it, io gi-eat a fear I have ot their
itings.

EUGEN. Let us draw near to this glafs-
hive, and fear nothing. Thele are not men, but
animals, inflrufted by nature, and faithful to
their inftmclions ; animals, tliat do not luffer
thcmfelves to be hurried away by the movements
of an irregular pafTion. Do not attack or menace
them, and they will not attack you. Glafs hives
are very commodious, to lee, in grofs, the work
of the bees, their combs, and their different
movements. This invention, tho' fimple, is
nev/ : a hundred years ago it was unknown.
The antients, who probably did not apply glafs
to fo many purpofes as we do, had fome hives
made, wliofc glazing was tranfparcnt horn : but
thcfe lail ages have brought glafs-making to
great perfc<^ion. Before we ;ake a view of the

inficie

of B E E S.

infide of a hive, let us begin by examTnrng the
outfide, which prefents itfelf firft to view. A
hive is a city well peopled, where we find com-
iBonJy from fixteen to eighteen thoufand inhabi-
tants. This city is itfelf a ,monarchy, compos"'d
of a queen, grandees, foldiers, artizans, purve^'-
ors •, of hou fes, ftreets, doors, magazines, and
a polity. The queen, whom our fore-fathers
(who did not make fuch nice obfervations) caJl'd
a king, inhabits a palace in the infide of this
city. I do not at all e:xaggerate, -when I call it
a palace ; it is a dwelling vaft and remarkable -,
of which I fhall give you a clearer idea by and
by. There the grandees have their hotels, and
the populace their houfes. AM thefe pieces,
that you fee pendant from the top of the hive,
are call'd combs : they are all of pure ^-ax -, 'tis
the fame wax, which we make ufe of Thefe
iioles of an hexagon figure, which you there
fee,- are their houfes-, of which fome are more
capacious than others. Here are the hotels, or
apartments of thofe, who, after the <|ueen, hold
the firft rank in the republic, who are nearer to
ha- perfon, and partake of her favours. The
others are deftin'd for the populace : they call
them cells, or aheoU. All thefe bees, which
you there fee in the air, either going, or re-
turning from the fields, thofe, which enter into
the hives, or iitue from thence with prodigious
vivacity, compofe that very populace, of which
one part goes in queft of forage, or returns from
thence : fcm.e bring food into the lioufes, where
B 4 it

The Natural History
icis difxvibuttd gj-af is -y others return loaded witfi
materials proper for building the public edifices.
For the greater precauti<yi, each Bee carries with
him his lance ; that is, that very flii^g, which to
you appears fo terrible. It would not be Tate to
plunder them upon the road ; nor would an ene-
my find a kind reception, wlit> Ihould take it
in his head to difturb their work, or infult their
.city. Every working Bee is not only an artifan ;
he is likewilc. a fuldicr, always arm'd for de-
jfencc.

CLAR. That })uts me in mind of thofe
Jews, who repair'd the wails of Jerufalem ; with
the trowel in one hand, and the fv/ord in the
other. *Ah ! Eugenio : fee, here's a Bee on my
h^nd. See — he couches his lance.

"EUGEN. Don't touch him, Clarifla ; don't
ftir ; permit l;im to retire, according to his own
fancy.

CLAR. You are in the right ; fee, he is
gone, without doing me any harm 1

EUGEN. It will always be fo. Permit
them to walk upon your arms, your hands, your
neck ; and even on your cheeks : you v/ill have
nothing to fear, if you do not diilurb them. Bees
grow tame with men ; their neighbourhood docs
not at all terrify them. Eet us go nearer.

CLAR. Stay a moment. I'ho' 1 have great
confidence in you, 1 fiiall be glad, before I take
one ftep farther, to clear up a certain fufpicion :
Have not I heard, that they can't fufi^er ftrong
icents .? I muft inform you therefore, that I have

put

of B E E S.

put into my hair feme pomatum of jeflamiii.
Will therefore this triflmg delicacy bring upon
me a ftroke of their lance ?

EUGEN. This averfion for fcents is one of
thofe fables, with which it has pleas'd the antieats
to cmbellifh the Hijiory of the Bees. If we were
to give credit to divers writers, we ought not to
approach them, 'till we have flridly examin'd
our conlciences. They alTure us, that they can-
riot lutFer impure perfons, and efpecially thofe,
who are guilty of adultery : that they give no
quarter to robbers : that there are virtuous Bees,
who love the virtuous, and know how to diftin-
guifh them. That fops, and curl*d and powder'd
beaus, are their averfion. They tell us too,
that there are certain times, when it would not
be fafe for the women to approach them. Arifto-
tle goes farther : he pretends, that odors, whcr
ther good, or bad, determine them to attack the
perfon, from whom they proceed. Believe no-
thing of all this : all thofe averfions are pure
fables. We fee them continually lighting on the
mofl odoriferous flowers •, namely, on jonquils,
tuberofes, and lillies, which make your head ake 5
as well as upon the jefTamin, your favourite ;
from whence they extract their honey, and colle6t
their wax. Oac fees them too fettle and con-
tinue a long time on places moiften*d with urine.

GEAR. I have nothing to fay againft their
lillies and tuberofes ; but for thofe places, To
difagrceably moiflen'd, I could not have fufpefc-
f;d them of fo vitiated a tafte.

EUGEN.

lo. The Natural History

EUGEN. We are all too hafly in our judg-
ments. Pray what conftitutes a good or bad
tafte •, a good or bad fcent ? The fenfes, as well
as the fentiments, don't fall in with the diflin-
diions one may be apt to make : a whole nation
of people differ, in this refpe(ft, from others ;
and, without going farther than ourfelves, your
fmell is gratified with the fcent of your fheep-
folds, which offends mine •, while that of woad,
which you diOike, gives me pleafure.

CLAR. Methinks it would not be very dif-
ficult to determine .certain fmells to be really
bad. In taking the plurality of voices, I fancy,
one Ihould find but few, who would fpeak in fa-
vour of thole laft mention'd places, which the
Bees frequent.

EUGEN. Perhaps, more than you imagine.
If the queilion was to collecft the voices, in order
to come at the proof, it is but juilice to admit
the beads, fince we are willing to judge of
a fenfe common both to us and them -, and
which is nothing but a mxchanical affection,
where reafon does not always prefide. Now, In
fuch an affembly, compos'd of men, beafts, birds,
and infcfts, whofe clafs is far fuperior to the
others, taken colledively, 1 doubt whether I
fliould not find the greateff number of votes.
7i|^, y But, fee, we are wandcr'd far from our fubjc<fl :
Fiv. z. let us relume the thread ot our hiflory. '

CLAR. With ail my heart •, for, without
reproach, you place yourfelf in pretty bad com-
pany. I Ihculd much rather be.fatisly'd on the
.. ..:-i . . ■ objcdl

of B E E S. II

objed I fee before me. What are thofe lazy
Bees about, who hang down in clufters from one
of thofe combs r

EUGEN. Speak, if you pleafe, with more
refpect, of a people, who go not to labour or
rcpofe, through lazinefs or caprice, as v/e do.
They are Bees, which have deferv'd the rcpofe
they take ; after which, they will return again to
work, with greater ardour. If there is any thing
particular in this their method of taking repofe,
'tis not only in cohering themfelves in a heap,
as you fee them there, but likewife hanging in Ibid.
to each other, by their feet, and being fufpcndcd '^
in the form of a garland. This may be feen
through that other glafs fquare.

CLAR. This is really a very pleafant tafhion
~ of taking a nap. I can't think, tliat the firft,
which fupport all the reft, are very much at
their cafe.

EUGEN. And I believe they arc as com-
modious there, as they would be on your couch :
animals know how to take their reft as well as
men. We are not fufficiently acquainted v/ith
the mechanifm of theiw fprings, to judge of the
attitudes, that beft fuit them. But we may lafely
refer ourfelves, in this particular, to nature. We
fee, every day, fomething more furprizing in
other animals. Do you call to mind that catter-
pillar, which I Ihew'd you one day on one of
your apple-trees .? Ref eift, that I m.ade you ob-
ierve, when it had crept up one branch, and
Imd fillM itfelf there, its body was ftrctch'd out

to

12 The Natural History

to its titmoil length, and tenacioufly fupporting
kiclt' with its two hind legs, foim'd, with the
brn.nch, an angle of forty-five degree3 ; or, to
jpeak Jefs learnedly, the animal appear'd ftreight,
like a flick ered:cd on its end upon a phin, and
in an oblique polition ; v/hicli our moll expert
vaulters can't Derform for one moment, let them
licck their feet with what force they pleafe :
Plate I. ind yet in this poftiire it is, that the caterpillar
^^S- ^. takes irs eafe, and judges of us, perhaps, as we
do of it. The rcpofe of Bees therefore, having
nothing more to furnifli us with, let. us take cur
icjit. on this bench, over-againft this other glafs
Iqiiai-e, where we fliall better obferve the infide
of the hive. See thofe combs I fpoke of, which
depend from the top : there is a fpace between
them, big enough for two Bees to march a-brealV,
witliout.embarraffing each ether -, tliefc are the
ilreets. There is a trad more fpacious, of which
there are feveral in a hive ; thefe are the public
places : thefe holes, or narrow paffes, v/hich crofs
the combs o-n each iide, are lanes or narrov/
fcrects, wrought tranfverfly : thefe are made by
the Bees to rhortcn the v>'ay, v.*hcn they are dif-
pcs'd to pafs from one comb t6 another. You
arc not, hov/evcr, to fjppofc, that every hive,
^vhich we Hiali fee, has exaftly the fame diifpo-
Iirion : they vary, as in our towns, according to
the circumflancc of ]>]aces.

CLAR. I am nov^ well acquainted with their
juct:t$ -, let US enter into their houfes. Th<;fe,
.probably^ -arc tliofe hollov.s of Bx fides, which

rrc

of BEES. ig

are on the furface of the combs, and which you
told me were nam'd al-veoli. Each Bee has,
without doubt, one pecuhar to itfelf ; where it
performs family offices ; and in the poflefiion of
which, 'tis but juft to maintain it.

EUGEN. Where there is no property, there
can be no juftice. Every thing is common among
thefe people : there is no fuch thing as mine and
thine, and confequently no plaintiffs or defend-
ants. The al-aeoU are public ediiices, which,
like all the reft, belong to the uhole fociety.
Some are magazines, doled up, where they de-
pofite their honey againft a time of fcarcity :
others are open magazines, for the daily food of
thofe Bees, which guard the houfe : in others
thefe depofite their unwrought wax, for thofe
who work, without ever ftirring out : others
(and thefe, without com.parifon, the more nume-
rous) are deftin'd to receive the eggs •, from
whence new Bees are to take their rife, and to
nourifii and bring up the little maggots, from
whence they proceed.

CLAR. If it be ^o^ tell me where the Bees
pafs their nights : it is likely they lodge in the
city. That gives me fome difquietude.

EUGEN. You have caufe to intereft your-
felf for them : they deferve it ; fmce they adlu-
aflly labour for you. But bid adieu to your fears :
they pafs their night without changing their roof;
-cither in clufters, as we have juft now feen them,
or in the form of a garland, before their houfes.

■14 The Natural H i s T o R V

CLAR. Before their houfes ? That is to fay,
that they lye in the flreets. Farewel then the
palace of the queen ; farewel the hotels of the
grandees, and houfes of the populace : fee every
thing converted, in a moment, into magazines,
or the cradles of infants. I expedled quite ano-
ther thing fi'om {o politick a nation. The
pleafingdefcription you juilnow gave me, caufes
great regret in me to fee it vanifli fo foon.

EUGEN. We do noC always pafs a right
judgment, when we refer every thing to our-
felves, and believe we are the common meafure,
by which every thing ought to be regulated : and
that what does not refemble us cannot be right.
When the Creator had form'd this earth, he
peopled it with animals, that is to fay, with
men and beafts ; and provided for the wants of
both the one and the other. Our own wants are
known to us ; we know what to fupply them
with. Beafts have the fame knowledge. Why
fliould they be worfe ufed than we ? They are,
fays Montagne, of the fame family with us.
But it was nor neceifary we ihould be treated
after the iame manner ; each is as they ought to
be, and that well too, tlio' in different manners.
Omnipotence fhines not lefs forth in the variety
of created things, than In the creation. To
fleep before the door of its houfe, is as much
the property of Bees, as for us to repofe in our
beds, or for a hare in the middle of a field. As
to the queen's palace, and thofe hotels you
thought demolilh'd, they fubfift ftill in their

perfection.

of B E E S.

perfection. It is true, when the Bees are arrivM
to a certain age, which, among us, we call ma-
turity, they no longer make any particular ule
of them : they refide in open air, and employ
themfelves in their infancy. Let us now pafs to
the different dates, which compofe the nation of
Bees. A hive commonly confiils of a queen,
the only one of her fex, of two, three, up to
feven or eight hundred, and even a thoufand
males, commonly called Drones -, and of fifteen,
up to fixteen thoufand or more Bees, of no fex,
which I call the Workers •, becaufe they are thofe,
ta whom the whole management of the family
is entrufted.

CLAR. One only female, a thoufand huf-
bands, fifteen or fixteen thoufand domefticks,
who are neither male or female ! You begin to
tell me wonders betimes ; will you abate no-
thing of all this as v/e proceed ^

EUGEN. With regard to their number, I
fhall fometlmes have reafon to retrench, fome-
tirrves to augment ; but never, with refped to
the fact. You will fometimes fee two, three,
or four Mother-bees ; but, after winter is over,
there is never more than one ; and this one is fo
neceffary, that a hive cannot fubfift without her.
The Queen, or Mother-bee, or QLieen-mother>
(for I Ihall indifferently give her one of thefe
names} is the foul of the hive ; *tis fhe, that puts
every thing in action. In a hive, where there
iS no mother,, all languifhes, all labour ceafes.
Ariflode salk'ti^-idly, when he told us, That

when

1 6 The Natural History

\;rhcn the Bees are depriv'd of her, they content
themfelves to make vfax combs, but lay in them
tio ftore of honey : but he had only feen thetti
fuperficially. When they are deftitute of a queen,
they no longer amafs either honey or wax ; having
no profpeft of profperity, they embarrafs them-
felves no more about futurity : they do not hoard,
like our niifers, for the pleafure of hoarding.
When they perceive there is norte to furvivc
them, they no longer difquiet themfelves ; they
hive from day to day, and content themfelves to
take their melancholy repafts in the fields : but,
prefently, the uneafinefs to fee themfelves the
laft of their race, makes them pine away, and
they perilli in a little time. Give yourfelf the
pleafure to take the Mother-bee from the hive,
and you will foon fee it empty, either from mor-
tality, or defertion : 1 have had the experience
of it.

CL-AR. I (liall never do fo : diverfions of
this nature are not for me. Methinks, you
learned gentlemen, the defire of knowledge
makes your hearts terribly cruel : If beads are
of the fame family with us, you are but bad
relations.

EUGEN. The orders you give your cook, in
confequence of which he difpeoples your court-
yard of its poultry, or your pidgeon-houfe ;
thofe you give your huntfman, are they much
more humane ? Methinks your table is no com-
mendation of that tendernefs of heart, which
animates you againfl the learned. Which has

more

of B E E S. 17

more right to be cruel, the defire of faiisfying
one's appetite, or that of inftruding ourfelves ?
own frankly, that we have nothing here to re-
proach ourfelves with : So let us continue our
fubje(5t. I fhall have frequent occafions to men-
tion the attachment, tendernefs, relped, and du-
ty, which the Bees pay to their queen : but, to
give you, at prefent, a high idea of that admi-
rable fidelity for their fovereign, which renders
them fo praife- worthy, I will only relate two very
odd fa(5ts. Swammerdam, an author you are not
well acquainted with, but whofe teftimony may
eafily be admitted, drew the Mother-bee of a
fwarm by one of her legs, with a fmall bit of
thread fallen'd to a long pole. The whole fwarm
immediately affembled round the end of this
pole, to cover the Mother-bee. This Iwarm was
carry *d wherever the bearer pleas'd, in purfait of
the pole. The other fa6l is this. I remember
to have feen you reading the Travels of P. Lahhat:
I make no doubt but you took for a pure ro-
mance that, with which that father inlivens his
hiftory, his relation of the Bee -man.
CLAR. Help me to recoiled the fafb.
EUGEN. Thefe then are pretty nearly his
words : " He receiv'd a vifit from a man, v/ho
caird himfelf the mafter of the Bees : whe-
ther he was their mafler, or no, 'tis certain
they follow'd him as a flock of fheep does their
fhepherd, and even clofer too ; for he was
entirely cover'd with them. His cap, par-
ticularly, was fo covered, that it perfedly re-
C " femtikci

i8 The Natural History

" fembled thofe fwarms, that endeavouring to
" fettle, fix on fome branch of a tree. They
" bid him take it off, and the Bees placed
*' themfelves on his flioulder, his head, and his
" hands, without flinging him, nor even thofe,
" who were near him. — This'man muft needs have
" rubb'd himfelf with the juice of certain herbs.
" He was prefs'd to tell his fecret, but they
" could get nothing out of him, but that he
" was the mafter of the Bees. They all followed
*' him, when he retir'd : for, befides thofe he
" carried about with him, he had legions, which
" attended him.'*

CLAR. This man had certainly Swammer-
dam's pole •, or, rather^ he was him himfelf.

EUGEN. I make no doubt but this jugler
had fome Mother-bee fix'd to his ear, or
fome neighbouring place, fince that was fufii-
cient to make a whole fwarm follow him. You
may judge of this by the natural attachment the
Bees have for their queen.

CLAR. You continually encreafe the defire
I have to be acquainted with a mother fo be-
lov'd.

EUGEN. 'Tis my defign to make you ac-
quainted with her. But I fancy we have talk'd
enough about her for to-day \ and that it would
be proper to renew the fame converfation to-
morrow ; when I will difcourfe with you, not
only of this mother and her people, but like-
wife of the different flatcs, wliich compofe her
numerous family.

CON-

of B E E S.

CONVERSATION If.

Of the queen of the Bees^ and of the males^
or drones,

CLARISSA.

YO U remember, Eugenio, that you owe
me the defcription of a queen ; of whom
I have, before-hand, form'd a very high idea.

EUGEN. Let us fee the idea you have
form*d ; we ihall afterwards give ourfelves the
pleafure to compare it with the reality.

CLAR. In the idea of a reigning queen,
which is likewife that of every other fovereign,
I figure to myfelf an affemblage of clemency and
juftice, of humanity and haughtinefs, of pru-
dence and adion, a grand and majeftick air,
of an accefs eafy, and full of goodnefs, of a
continual attention to the profperity of her peo-
ple, and of an inflexible feverity with refped
to difcipline and the laws ; and a great many
other fine things, which are not a6lually prefcnt
to my imagination, and which, I fancy, I fhali
find in your Queen-bee.

EUGEN. Sovereigns, according to the
portrait you have begun, and which, if yoir-
had pleas'd, you could happily have finifh'd, are
neceflary among men, on account of the depra-
vity, with which our nature is infe(fled. Thof^
C 2 who

19

20 The Natural History

who govern, ought to be poflefs'd of moral vif^
tues, that they may be oppos'd to the vices of
them, who are governed : but, where moral evil
is unknown, nothing but natural virtues are re-
quired. Therefore you make a wrong calcula-
tion of the virtue you judge neceflary to a Queen-
bee. Our fore-fathers, who made no fcruple to
fupply by fables, drawn from their imagination,
what they could not difcoVer in their fearch of
natural things, have given to the Mother-bee all
the knowledge^ foreiight, wifdom, in a word,
all thofe qualities, and all the virtues neceflary to
govern a numerous people ; over whom they have
likewife given her a defpotick power. They
imagin'd, that nothing was done in the hive, but
by her orders They have likewife given her
ilrength and power to execute thofe orders. Two
authors, of great name and reputation, talk to
us of the Mother-bee in terms, which ill fuit with
* Hill, their reputation. The illuftrious *Rollin, citing
Anc.p.47.Xenophon, compares a wife woman to the Mo-
ther-bee, commonly call'd, the king of the Bees.
He fays, that fhe alone governs the whole hive,
of which Hie has the fuperintcndance -, that flie
diflributes employments, animates their labours,
prefides over the conftrudllon of their little cells ;
that Ihe watches over the fubfiftance and nourifh^
ment of her numerous family ; that flie regu-
lates the quantity of honey, deftin'd for that
ufe ; and that, regularly, at certain fix'd times,
fhe fends the new fvv^arms from the hive, to form
a colony. To conclude ; all which they do,

either

of B E E S. 21

either within, or without the hive, they make
them perform in confequence of the queen*s or-
ders. The head of a Bee, fufficient for fo many
different views, would be a ftrong head indeed,,
and much to be valued : but that of the Mofberr
bee, is probably exempt from all thofe cares.
If Ihe reigns, 'tis over fubjedts, who every mo-
ment know, that the good of their fociety de-
mands what they perform j and who therefore
never fail to do it. TKey never have occafion
to receive orders. In this ftate every one, whe-
ther monarch or fubjedt, purfues their original
defign, from which they never vary.

CLAR. It is very eafy to be a fovereign, af
this rate. I could eafily accommodate myfclf
to a government , which would require no
greater fatigue. Since all the world neceflarily
knows what ought to be done, it feems to me,
that our queen has no otlier cares than thofe of
making much of herfelf.

EUGEN. We fhall prefently fee, whether
you would change condition with her, and, upon
the fame terms, hold fhe reins of empire. The
fole office of a queen, but an office, the impor-
, tance of which is known to the other Bees, and
which makes this mother fo valuable, is to pror
duee a numerous pofterity : 'tis this, to which
fhe feems entirely deftin'd, and the only title, by
which file lays ciaim to royalty.

CLAR. It is likewife the principal objedl,
and what one expefts from the queens of all
people..

C 3 EUGEN.

22 The Natural History

EUGEN. It is true. But the views and
wifhes of the people terminate in obtaining an
heir for the empire : but, among the Bees, their
demands are much higher. A queen, who
would merit the love of her fubjeds, muft pro-
duce between ten or twelve thoufand children in
feven weeks, and, commonly, from thirty to forty
thoufand in a year.

CLAR. Ho ! ho ! you are in the right to
fancy the honour of a throne is a dear purchafe
in this country.

EUGEN. This prodigious fecundity is an

article, v/hich demands a whole converfation,

with which I will entertain you another time :

at prefent, I will fatisfy myfelf with finiHiing

the portrait of the Mother-bee, and the two other

Plate I. orders, which compofe a hive. The queen is

F'S- 3- eafily diftinguifh'd from the reft, by the form of

her body : fhe is longer, and more (lender than

the males : her wings are very Ihort in propor-

Ib Fijr c.^^^^ ^° ^^^^ body ; whereas the wings of com-

Ib Fig 4. mon Bees, and thofe of the males, cover their

whole body : thofe of the female hardly reach

beyond the middle, and end about the third

ring.

CLAR. Would it not be better to give me
a fight of her, fince we are over-againft a hive ?
EUGEN. Doubdefs, if the thing was cafy ;
but it fcarcely ever happens, to have a fight of
the Mother-bee. Many of the country people,
whofe bufinefs it is to take the honey and wax,
have never feen one ; and die without the fight.

I have

of B E E S. 23

I have had, for many years, a glafs hive, without
having ever feen the Mother-bee : the fault,
certainly, was not for want of carefully looking
for her; and I Ihould, perhaps, not yet have known
her, had I not had recourfe to fome expedients ;
of which I fhall give you an account fome other
time. In fine, the queen is bigger than the
males •, the males than the working Bees : thus
the queen is the largeft perfon of her whole
realm : fhe joins to this air of majefty a grave
and folemn gate, a good deal of fweetnefs, and
a prodigious fruitfulnefs. 'Tis to this, that all
the great qualities you fuppos'd to find in her,'
are reducible •, excepting this, and fome other
flight differences, a detail of which would not
be very agreeable to you, Ihe pretty much re-
fembles, with regard to her exterior form, the"
working Bc^es •, and has, like them, a lling.

CLAR. A fling !

EUGEN. Yes, a fling. This, likewife, is
an ancient error, that the king or queen ( for
they were fo ill inflrudled, that they could
not agree about the fex ) was not provided
with that offenfive weapon. The Mother-bee
carries about her a fling, which differs not
from thofe of other Bees, excepting that it is
bigger, and a little curv'd. The fheath, which
furnifhes the venom, which this fling introduces
into the fkin, is likewife found in her. I had
the curiofity to put fome of this venom upon my
tongue,' and can tell you, it is burning and cau-
ftick. We ought to do juftice to Ariflotle, and
except him from the general number of the an-
C 4 cients.

The Natural H i s T o r Y
cients, wiho have denied this Queen-bee a fling :
he was but half deceiv'd in this particular. He
agrees, that the Mother-bee is provided of a fting ;
but then he pretends, that fhe is not arm'd with it,
but for dignity •, and that fhe makes no ufe of it.
It is true, fhe is extreamly pacifick ; and that
one may handle her, and turn her, and even
teaze her, for fome time, before fhe determines
herfelf to vengeance j but, at lafl, fhe determines,
when it is abfolutely necelTary. The fault was
wholly my own, that I had not the honour of
being ftung by a queen : but I judg'd it proper
to deprive myfelf of it, believing, that experi-
ence would teach me nothing more than I had
feen.

CLAR. You are not, Eugenio , as yet,
above half learned : having felt the venom,
you ought likewife to feel the fling. I have a
right to refufe my afTent, 'till you have been
v/ell ftung.

EUGEN. When the prefumption is ftrong
for the affirmative, the negative is not admitted,
but after fufficient proof, on the part of him, who
denies. Therefore I would not advife you to
wrangle ♦, but firmly to believe, that when a
Queen-bee has been at the trouble to fling fome
infolent, who has made himfelf too familiar with
her, fhe caufes a wound larger and more painful
than the other Bees, a wound proportion'd to
the inftrqment, which makes it.

CLAR. 'Tis a truly royal chara<fler to be
fiow to punifh ; but to do it in fuch a manner, that
the example may be capable to deter others -,

and

of B E E S. 25

and that the remembrance of it may continue a
long while.

EUGEN. Your reflexion is juft. But, be-
fidcs the moral fenfe, which you rightly draw
from it, there is likewife an eflential phyfical -
reafon, which requires it fhould be fo. It is this :
The whole fafety of the republick depends on
the life of this queen •, and, as it is of importance,
that fo valuable a life fhould not be fo often ex-
pos'd as that of ordinary Bees, nature has beflow'd
upon her a pacifick difpofition ; which expofes
her lefs than others, to ferve herfelf of that
weapon •, the effe<5l of which is almoft always
fatal, both to the offender and revenger : as I
Ihall explain to you fome other time. Let us
now pafs to the drones, or males •■, that is, to the
thoufand hufbands of this fmgle queen. They
call them the drones, to diftinguifh them from
other large flies, more commonly known under
the name of Drones. They are not ordinarily
found in hives, except from the beginning or
the middle of the month of May, till towards
the end of July : their number is encreafing every
day, during this interval : and 'tis never greater,
than when the queen is in a condition to
multiply the fpecies, and in thofe, which im-
mediately precede that, wherein they all dif-
pear, or the majority of them •, and, in few
more days, they too will finilh their life by a vi-
olent death.

CLAR. How, by a violent death? You
make me tremble ! Would the Mother-bee be a

perfon

-26 The Natural History

perfon to renew the frightful nuptials of the
daughters of Danaus ?

EUGEN. 'Tis one of thofe true and fingu-
lar fads, many of which you will fee in the
courfe of this hiltory ; but it is not yet time
to entertain you with them. The drones,
of which I have already made mention, are
fmaller than the queen, and larger than the work-
ing bees. As we are yet in the feafon proper to
find them very eafily, let us look through this
glafs, whether we cannot meet with fome.

Plate I. CLAR. Is not this one of them, here ?

Fjg. 4- EUGEN. You are in the right ; fee, here
are many of them, which take their walks very
negligently. The life of thefe is very different
from that of the other Bees : it is conformable
to the fole employ, to which they are deftin'd,
to the honour of being hufbands to the queen,
and fathers of a numerous pofterity : that cer-
tainly requires a diftinftion -, therefore they have
a very great one. Except the moment, in which
their fervices may prove effential to the queen,
they are exempt from all labour. To live, is the
only thing they have to do. A life fo foft and
delicate could not be fupported, but by very
fubftantial food ; therefore they eat nothing but
what is very choice, and of eafy digeflion. They
live, in reality, on nothing but honey ; whereas
the working Bees eat a good deal of coarfe wax.
Thefe, being brought up more hardily, take
their way to the fields, at the rifing of the fuHj
and return not home without being charged with
I honey

of B E E S. 27

honey and wax for the common good of the
fociety. The drones, on the contrary, go
not out, till about eleven In the morning,
to take an airing, and a flight repaft, and
return exadly before fix in the evening •, fo
much are they afraid of cold air and damps.
To bear arms is not intended for the flothful
and voluptuous : they would be of no fervice,
but to diflionour them ; therefore they have
them not. They wear no fling. Some body,
but let not that fome body be you, ClarifTa,
might be tempted to envy the honour of thefe
drones, and their foftnefs of life -, but would
foon find caufe to repent. We Ihall fee, in the
fequel, that the term of a life fo delicious is
very near its commencement ; and that it always
finifhes by a tragical end.

CLAR. So much the better : it is an ex-
ample I will never fail to reprefent to my chil-
dren.

EUGEN. The beft ufe one can make of
human knowledge, is frequently to draw from
thence inftrudions for ourfelves and others.
The drones not being form'd for the gathering
wax, or putting it to any ufe, nature, who makes
nothing in vain, has not given to them as to
the other Bees, pallets, which may ferve them as
fo many bafkets to bring wax to their hive, nor
teeth jutting out and proper to knead and falhion
it. The teeth of thefe drones are little, flat,
and obfcure : their trunk likewife is more
(hort and thin. There is likewife fome other

dif-

21, The Natural History

difTerences in their exterior parts ; but there is
one, that can't be pafs'd over, without particularly
attending to it ; that is, their eyes. The eyes
of the males cover the top of all the upper and
Plate II. under parts of their head, whilft thofe of corn-
Fig- !• mon Bees only form a kind of oval cufhion, or
roll on either fide. I fee, very opportunely, at
the bottom of the hive, feveral dead Bees, which
will affift me to fhew you that, which I could
not fo clearly defcribe to you. Here is one. *Tis
jj^^j a male, too. Don't you fee tliefe two large
XctL. A A. eyes.

CLAR. They are prodigious. It appears to
me, as if the two together are much bigger than
the reft of the body.

> EUGEN. That is true. This part, fo ef-
fential to every animal, who has occafion to
tranfport itfelf from one place to another, has
been, (luckily for us) examin'd very carefully,
by able philofophers, in our own times. Nay,
it feems too, as if they had given the preference
to the eyes of flies, on account of the particu'
larities they have met with in them, and which
are common to all, as well Bees, as other kind
of flies. For this reafon I fliall enlarge a little
on this article, and hope to find difcoveries on
this fubjedl, which will, at leaft, affbrd you as
much pleafure, as the pretty little feet of the
Chinefe ladies.

CLAR. I underftand your raillery, Eugenio :
Let us fee then the rarities you have to inform
me of, with regard to the eyes of flies .

EUGEN.

of B E E S. 29

EUGEN. Infers have not, perhaps, any
other part more proper to fhew us, with what
prodigious magnificence nature has form'd them,
and to fhew us, in general, how many wonders
flie has wrought, which efcape us. So thofe,
who have employ'd moft time in ftudying in-
fers by a microfcope, as Bonnani, Hooke, Lew-
enhoek, Puget, have not fail'd to take notice of
thefe eyes, Thofe of flies, beetles, butterflies,
and divers other infers, differ in nothing eflfen-
tial. All thefe eyes are, nearly, portions of a
fphere : their exterior cafe may be confider'd as
honey. They call the outward covering of every
eye horny ; as well our own, as thofe of other
animals. That is it, which you may touch with
your finger, if you are difpos'd ; the lid remain-
ing open. The eyes of thofe infers, which we
treat of, have a kind of radiencc, which often
prefent colours as much varied as thofe of the
rainbow. It appears to the naked eye, unaided
by a microfcope, as fmooth as glafs. However,
look at the eyes of this dead Bee through my
magnifying glafs, and tell me what you fee.

CLAR. They appear, to me, cut facetwife,
like a diamond. A work truly wonderful ! What
art ! what regularity ! What an hand that is„
which is able to effeft fuch things ! The number
of thefe facets is prodigious -, is innumerable.

EUGEN. The number, however, has been

counted. Lewenhoek has computed 3 1 8 1 , upon

the homey part of a beetle's eye •, and upon each

of thofe of a fly. And M. Puget has calculated

I 17325

30 The Natural History

17325 upon each of thofe of a butterfly. And,
not to make you wait any longer, that which is
moft furprizing is, that they pretend each of
thefe facets to be fo many eyes : fo that, inftead
of two eyes, which fome have fcarcely granted
to butterflies, we ought to afcribe to them 34650 ;
16000 to flies, and other infeds more or lefs ;
but always in a very furprizing number. The
difcoveries made by thefe learned gentlemen in-
conteftably prove, that every facet is a chryftal-
line ; and that every chryftalline is attended with
that, which forms a compleat eye. This is one
of their experiments. They detach'd the horny
fubfliance from the eyes of feveral infe^ls : they
took off* all the matter, that adher'd to it ; and,
after having well cleans'd the inward furface,
they put in its place the lens of a microfcope.
This horny part, thus adjufted , and levell'd
againft a foldier, made a whole army appear ;
againft a flambeau, one of the richeft illumina-
tions, that could be feen. Lewenhoek has carried
his diflfeftion fo far, as to difcover to us, that
every chryfl:alline has its optick nerve.

CLAR. I do not at all doubt of the fagacity
and exadlnefs of your virtuofi -, and it is that,
which caufes my embarraflfment. When a Bee
fees a violet, an ancmony, it really fees more
than thirty thoufand anemonies, or violets : how,
then, can this fail of puzling it ? How can it
light, without hefltntion, on the flower, which
is real, fince all the other are only illufions of
the fight.

EUGEN.

of B E E S. 31

EUGEN. You have two eyes -, and yet,
when you look at me, you don't fee two Euge- .
nio's.

CLAR. Philofophers fave themfelves by
comparifons, when reafons fail them.

EUGEN. Reafonable philofophers have like-
wife another manner of faving themfelves ; which
is often my own ; and that is, to own my igno-
rance. We are not very well acquainted, how we
fee fimple objedls, altho' we fee them with two
eyes : but the fa6t is certain ; nor do I believe
that you will doubt of it. From thence it is eafy
to conceive, that infeds, which mny have a thou-
fand eyes, may fee objects fingle. But it cannot be
that they can fee them with all their eyes at once ;
the convex figure of the horny fubilance does
not permit rays refleded by certain objects to
fall on more than a fmall number of chryfcallines,
notwithftanding the thoufand of eyes, which we
confider as the organs of fight in animals, of
which thofe two orbits are compofed. The
greateft part of flies have three others, placed in
fuch a manner, as will appear to you very extra-
ordinary. Thofe three eyes, which are as many
chryftallines, but very fmooth, and are not cut
into facets, are much lefs than the two others.
They have a triangular pofition on their head,
between the ikull and the neck. See them here
on this Bee •, where you may eafily difcover them
with m.y glafs.

CLAR. I fee them. Their defign feems to Plate II.
be to look towards heaven. L^^' l]^^

EUGEN.

^Z The Natural History

EUGEN. You may judge from this, that a
fly, which walks on a plain, ought to fee on
feveral fides at once. The difference of the
eyes in the fame infedl, the feveral places be-
ftow'd on the one and the other, give us room
to fufpedt, and with fome probability, that na-
ture has favour'd infers with eyes, differently
modified ; with eyes proper to different purpofes ;
that fhe has beftowM upon them fome to difcover
objeds at a diflance, and others to fee them,
when very near : that fhe has provided them,
as one may fay, with microfcopes and telefcopes.
For example : A Bee, whole bufinefs it is to
form an alveolus, and to work up its angles, ac-
according to the moft geometrical demenfions,
ought to have its eyes very near the obje(5l.
You would difcover nothing, was you to look
as near to the objeft as a Bee : its eyes then
ought to have a conflruflion very different from
our's, and fitted to fee objects, not only very
near, but likewife in the darknefs of a hive. A
Bee ought likewife to fee afar off. For flie fome-
times wanders a whole league from her hive, and
returns without any hefitation or fear of lofing
herfelf In fine, if we fee on the fame in feci, fe-
veral globules of eyes, which differ confiderably
among themfelves, both as to bulk and figure,
ought we not to conclude, that thefe globes con-
tain eyes of very different ofHces : and wherein
can the difference confifl, but in caufing them to
fee fome objefts near, others at a greater diflance,
in reprefenting their bulk in the proportion it

bears

of B E E S.

bears with the body of the infcfl, either in Ihew-
ing their bignefs augmented or dimmiflied. A
fingularity carefully to be remarked, and which is
found on the greateft part of thefe eyes, formM
facet-wife, is, that they are cover*d with hair.
When one views thofe of Bees with a very good
glafs, they are found to be cover'd with hair, which
appear to us not very well placed. It is reafonable
to fuppofc, that thefe hairs may hinder the rays of
light from falling on thefe facets ; but it muft be
obfervM, that they are upright, and not inclined,
and that by this means, no rays, but in a certain
dire<ftion, can fall upon them : befides, they are
capable of detorting too great a quantity of ufe-
his rays, which would only embarrafs the fight ;
and in this cafe would have the fime ufe v/ith
our eye-lids.

CLAR. After fo many fubtle difcoveries and
enquiries, I fhould be fcrupulous of propofing
one of thofe obje<5tions, which I have heard are
fo confounding among philofophers, who love
difpute.

EUGEN. Since truth is the aim, fcrtiples
and management are out of the queflion. Pro-
pofe your diniculties, and confound me, if you
■can.

CLAR. Since you afiume, Eugenio, this air
of aiTurance, I abfolutely deny the ex;{lcnce of
eyes ; and m.aintain, that you take for organs of
fight, thofe, which are deflin'd for other pur-
pofes i that, befides, their eyes are, for example,
at the end of horns, as in fnaiJs.

D EUGEN.

33

The Natural History

EUGEN. Some philofophers, and M. de U
Hire, among others, have had the honour of
being of your fentiment. He would not own for
eyes, thofe globes cut facet-wife. But attend to
experiments, which I believe will convince you,
as he himfelf would have been convinc*d, had he
known them. Mr. Hooke tells us in his Micogra-
phy, that he had taken out the eyes of fome flies,
and that they v/andred about as blind. Swam-
merdam had recourfe to a method more gentle
and as certain ; hci put upon the eyes of certain
files, a covering of black fteep'd in oil ; he ob-
ferved, that in this ftate they flew at random,
that they feemed to have no ftrength, and that
wherever they fettled, they did not avoid the
hand, which would take them. I my felf have
made fome experiments upon thefe eyes wrought
in net-work or facet-wife, of certain Bees, all
taken from the fame Hive. Ifpread upon theif
eyes, a covering of dark colour*d varnifh : I fliut
them up, with fome of their companions, which
I had not touch'd, in a large powder-box. I was
not above eight or ten fteps from the hive, from
whence I had taken them. When 1 had taken
off the cover of the box, thofe, which had their
eyes clear, immediately took their flight, and
went to their habitation: thofe, whofe eyes were
varnifli'd, made no hade to get out of the box,
they had fome difficulty to determine themfelves
for flight i and the greatefl: number directed it at
random, and on different fides, and went not
fir. To oblige fome of them to fly farther, I

threw

of B E E S. 35

threw them into the air •, they raifcd themfelves
vertically 'till I had lofl: fight of them, and
knew not what was become of them. A pretty
amufing hunting of crows has been found our.
Holes are made in the ground, in an open field.
They place in thefe holes a coffin of paper glew'd
on the infide, and at the bottom of this coffin a
bait. The crow, which touring in the air, per-
ceives a bit of reddiihi fleffi, alluring to its
tafte, fill Is upon it, and makes himfelf a ruff of
this paper, thus fmear'd with glue, and fo
much the more incommoding, as the ruff covers

\ his eyes, and he knows not which way to get
rid of it : thus muffled up, he raifes himfelf in
air, till you have loft fight of him ; and they tell
you, that he keeps flying fo long, that he falls
down, without any flrength, and almoft dead.
My Bees, whofe eyes were thus varnifli'd, repre-
fented to me, in fmall, an image of this hunting
of crows. Not oply thofe, v/hich I flung up in air,
but all thofe, which being more lively and more
reftlefs than the reft, took a m.ore elevated flight,

^faii*d not, in mounting higher and higher in the
air, to difappear from my eyes, and not one otthem
feemed to know the way to his hive. I was de-
firous likewife of knowing what would happen,
if I ftoppM the three eyes they have on their
head. J put therefore varnifti upon them in the
fame manner as I had done to thofe eyes formed
in facets: I fct them likewife at liberty, about
three or four fteps from the hive : not one feemed
to know the way, or even to fcek it. They flew

D 2 from

^6 The Natural History

from all fides upon the plants, but did not fly far.
I never more fet eyes on thofe, which mounted in
the air, as thofe did, which had their large eyes
varnifli'd over. It happens alfo fometimcs, that they
make themfelves blind. I have often feen Bees,
which flew, in ^whirling about near the furface of
the ground -, they did nothing but turn round, as
if they had been mad. Without doubt thefe mo-
tions proceeded from the powder, put on the
hair of thofe eyes, made in net-work, for thofe
Bees appeared all powdered. Judge you, Cla-
riflfa, whether there would not be enough, from
thefe experiments, to give a fufficient anfwer to
your formidable negative ?*

CLAR. Do you think, Eugenio, to pay
your court to me, when you reduce me to a ne-
cefllty of not being able to contradid you ? I
give you notice, that it you continue always to
have your rcafons, you v/ill pufh mine to the
extremity.

EUGEN. You fave yourfelf by pleafantry,
as I did, jufi now, by comparifons. I have
defcribed to you the Mother-bee , the males
or drones : it remains, that I fhould bring you
acquainted with the Working-bees. We fhall
not find a whole converf\tion too much for this.
It fnall, if you pleafe, be the fiibjed of the firfl;
we have together.

CON-

of B E E S. 37

CONVERSATION III.

Of the Working-Bees.

EUGENIO.

A M, to day, Clariffa , to entertain you
with the Working-bees, thofe very Bees>
which have the care of the whole hive, which col-
left the honey and wax •, which fabricate, fafliion
and work up the wax ; which build their alveoli
with it j bring up the young •, keep the hive
clean •, drive from thence the ftrangers, and em-
ploy themfelves in all thofe other concerns, of
which we fhall fpeak, as occafion offers. I ihall
not fpeak, at prefent, but of their exterior parts ;
and that I may manage your delicacy, an enemy
of long diffcrtations, I fhall only difcourfe of
thofe parts, which have their offices well known,
or have fomething fingulir. Firft of all, let us
gather up this dead bee, and make ufe of my
magnifying glafs, to obferve it. That, which is
feen by our eyes, flrikes and effeds us more than
what we hear : firft remark its head ; it appears to
you triangular : you are to knov/, that the point Phte TI.
of this triangle is formed by the pofition of two pjf.^'^jj
long teeth, jutting out, and m.ovcable. They are Fig. 5.
commonly found croffed in dead Bees ; but in ^^^^_^ -^J^
this, they have not changed their fituation. Their Fig. 2.
fubftance is fnelly, and confequently folid. When ^^"•
ycu hear talk of teeth, your idea of them is,
D 3 that

A A

3 8 The Natural History

that of inftruments proper to break and divide
the food. .Among the Bees it is the leaft noble
of their employments : they are inftruments, by
means of which, they perform thofe works moft
worthy of admiration. This is what I fhail ac-
quaint you with, when we come to the ftrudure
of their alveoli. Thefe two teeth, which appear
to you as flat plates, are nothing lefs than flat :
feparate one from the other with the point of this
pin, you will find they are a kind of fpoons,
whofe hollow is on the infide. The exterior cir-
cumference appears to you border'd with hair.
I will tell you, in a moment, the ufe of thefe
concave teeth.

CLAR. I fee perfedly all that you tell me.
Thefe two teeth have the air of pincers, and cut-
ting, fuch as voracious infefts are pofieflfed of.

EUGEN, Our Bees, however, are not car-
nivorous : there is fomething more, which is,
that thefe two teeth are not in the mouth, or, to
fpeak more jufl:ly, the mouth is placed elfewhere.
I will give you fight of it, in its turn : but mufl
firft: fhov* you its lungs.

CLAR. You pals, very quick, into the in-
fide of the animal. We ought, methinks, to
have a good many of the exterior parts to exa-
mine firft.

EUGEN. The lungs are exterior in all thefe
infedts. The method of refpiration, in thefe
infeds, is fo different from ours, that it deferves
we fhould ftop there a little. Raife up the two
wings of the fame fide you hold it, you will

find

of B E E S.

39

find near the origin of the under wing towards Plate ll
the ftomach, an opening refembling a mouth, j^^^^ ^
CLAR. I fee it.

EUGEN. That is the opening of one of the
lungs. Let not this term impofe upon you ;
there is nothing that bears lefs refemblance to
our Jungs, in regard to their form, than thofe
ofinfcdls: but the ufe of them being the fam.e,
with regard to refpiration, and that being now
our fubjed:, I think it will be proper to make
ufe of a well known and ufcful term. There is
another of them more high, concealed by the
firft leg ; and two more on thci oppofite fide,
which make the corceler, ( we call that corcelet,
in infeds, which in other animals we name the
breaft) without counting twelve others, which
are diftributed on one fide, and the other upon
the fix rings of the body. All theie infers in
general, have like organs of refpiration : the
difference lies only in the number, and the places
where they are fix'd. The filk-worm, and other
infeds of the fame fpecics, have eighteen : the
Courtilliere has twenty. "The Memoirs for a
hiftor'j of infeSts defcribe many fpecies of worms,
which carry their lungs at the end of their horn.
CLAR. The lungs at the end of the horn?
how odd it is! This reminds me of what you told
me fome fev/ days ago, that an infant had been
ieeny who came into the world, with his heart out
of his breaft, hanging like a medal before it.

D 4 EUGEN

4-0 The Natural History

EUGEN. I'he natural order in this infant
had been inverted -, it was monftrous, and the
infcd, of v/hich we fpeak, would be equally a
monfier, if it had its lungs in its bread. Nature
knows how to fix every think in its right place.
Thefe openings or lungs are named ftigmata,
and from them branch out, within the body, an
innnity of fmall canals, form'd of a fmall whitifti
fibre, roll'd upon itfelf like the worm of a gun.
Thefe canals ramify themfelves prodigioufly, and
convey air into all the parts of the animal's body.
We emit air by the fame canal, by which we
refpire : infeifls, on the contrary, take in air by
thefe ftigmata, and return it by the pores of their
body. Were one to ftop thefe openings with
oil, you deftroy the animal, becaufe you deprive
it of refpiration. From hence it is fiid, that oil
is mortal to infers. Let us pafs to other parts
ol them. Draw back a little the head of your
Bee, you will fee that it adjoins to the breaft or
corcelet, by a very fhort neck, and this corcelet
Pl.ite Hi. to the body by a very fine ligament. The body
^^' ^' is cover'd over with fix great pieces of fcale,
which Hide one over the other, and form fix
- rings which leave to the body all its fupplenefs,
and defends it at the fame time from fatal blows
it might receive from without. To conclude,
they are cloathed in armour, like our antient
warriors, when they fought with bows and ar-
rows.

CLAR. However, I believe they have little
to fear from fuch like accidents.

EUGEN.

of B E E S. 41

EUGEN. Don't poffcfs yourfelf of too good
an opinion of our Bees. They have doubtlcfs
furprizing qualities-, burthen they have others,
which will appear to you fo diftant from what
v.'e call renfon, and conformable to the abufe we
are accuftom'd to make of ir, that you will be often
tempted to blame them. They have frequent
quarrels among themfelves, and thefe quarrels
often proceed to a fight with each other, or a
combat of feveral againft feverai. So it was ns-
ceflary they fhould be arm*d, as well for defen-
five as oftenfive v/ar. You v»'ill fee proofs of it
in time. Let us now finifli our defcription. The
antenncz are thofe tvy'o kinds of moveable and
articulated horns, at the end of which you would
willingly place the eyes of the Bee. Almoft all Plate II.
infefts have fimilar horns, whofe ufe is yet un-^^^^' ''"'
known. I-ett. d d.

CLAR. I muft inform you then, for I am
us'd fometimes to obferve and reafon upon what
I fee; thefe horns are certainly the organs of
touch or of tafte : chufe.

EUGEN. I fuppofe they are neither one or
the other ?

CLAR. What are they then ?

EUGEN. That is the very thing, that is un-
known. It is perhaps the organ of a fixth fenfe,
of which we have no idea. But Itt us pafs to
things more eafy to be known. The fecond and
third pair of a Bee's legs, have one part which
we call the hmjij. This is it. This part is piat^ if.

fquare, its exterior furf\ce is bare and fmooth ; F'g- 7' ^•

. Lett. A A.
Its

42 The Natural History

its interior fide is more chargM with hair than
our brufhes ; they are likewife placed in order.
If one confiders, with attention, a Bee upon a
flower, the ufe it makes of thefe bruflies is eafily
known, as the teeth and brufhes are inftruments
given to the Bee, for the coUeclion of that mat-
ter, pf which wax is made : I will defcribe,
more at length, what this matter is, and the in-
ftruments, with which it is colieded. I fee yon-
der a laded lilly, which I will gather, to ex-
plain myfelf more eafily. You fee rife from the
middle of this lilly, fprigs furmounted by a heavy
part, which lie upon their upper extremity, and
fo crofs, as to give them the figure of a little
Plate III. hammer. Thefe fprigs are called by the bota-
f'S '• nifts, the fiamina of the flower, and this little

Lett. 1 J t

t, i^i^. hammer the fummet. It is not always of the
fame form you fee it here. It is fometimcs only a
capfula, which includes the powder, and at other
times it bears, its powder without ; and this pow-
der remains on the fingers of ,thofe,who handle it,
as in the fillies. There are true materials of
wax ; ^ 'tis more, it is wax itfelf, but rough and
iinform'd. I fliall make another digrcffion
with regard to thefe ftamina. I cannot let the
occafion flip, of informing you of one of nature's
fecrets, which the modern naturalifts pretend to
have fl:olen from her. You fee, in the middle of
. thefe fprigs, another parr, which raifes itfelf like
them, and which terminates by a kind of button.
,,-., It is called tac pi/rile. It is faid, that this piftile

Lett. B. is the female part, and the ftamina the male :

t.hat

of B E E S. 43

that the two fexes are colledled in the middle of
the flower j that plants are hermaphrodites : that
the dart of thefe ftamina falling on the piitile
renders the feed fertile ; and that every feed, not
thus vivified by this dud, remains barren. This
fyflcm of the generation of plants has been car-
ried a great way : inanimate, as they appear to
us, they have their amours, which have not ef-
caped the fagacity of our obfervators. This dufb
then, which falls upon thefe ftamina of flowers,
is the fole matter, of which wax is made, which I
fhall call rough v/ax. The feeds, which com-
pofe this dufl:, have not figures form'd at ran-
dom, like bodies bruifed or ground fmall. In
every kind of flower, thefe feeds have a deter-
minate figure : they are commonly of a round
form, or rather oblong ; they have likewife,
fometimes, very particular figures. The Bee,
which would colledt this dufl: or rough wax, en-
ters into the flower well blown, whofe ftamina
are loaded with this powder, which adheres but
very flightly. Then the brifling hairs rub a-
gainft this powder, and charge themfelves with
it : the Bee comes out all cover'd with powder,
and of the fame colour with it -, which is fome-
times yellow, fometimes red, and fometimes of
a yellowifli white, according to the colour of the
ftamina: if tliefe powders are fhut up in the c.ip-
fulas, or boxes, as they are in many flowers;
the Bee employs thofe f\lient feet, which I fhev/ed
you, to open the capfula, and to get from thence
that precious powder, with which all its hairs

are

44 The Natural H i s t o r y

are inruintly covered: though there are fcveral
Bees, vvJio, when they come to ;heir hive, have
their hairs full of this fort of dull, there are ftiJl
more, v/ho before they think of returning, take
care to clean and brufli themfelves. I can't tell
what determines them, to brufli themfelves by
the way, or to wait till they are returned to their
hive in order to do it: but I can tell you, it is
very curious to fee them. There is a certain
tune very proper for this -, it is towards the latter
end of winter, when they are weai^ and difpi-
rited ; for when the warm weather has made
them lively, you can no more follow the move-
ment of their kut, than you can the fingers of
an able mufician, who lightly runs over the vio-
lin or harpficord. They have, as I have already
ihewn you, fo.ir bru flies, upon their four hinder
Platen.^ legs ; but morc particularly, two very large, up-
W A A.' o" their hindermoft. It is cafy to imagiiTe how
Jb. Fig. s. the Bees, by pafLng and repaffing, its different
bruflies^ over the fcveral parts of its body, can
take off the powder, which flicks to them. When
I iAy take it off, it is not as we do our cloaths, in
fulTcring them to fall : thefe materials are of a
very great value to the B^e : flie collets them
while Ihe is a brufhing, and rolls them up in a
little iv.afs. I have fomctime? had a very great
pleafure, to fee their forelegs tranfport to diofe
ol the middle thefe fmall maffes, and thefe a-
gam place and pile them up, on the triangular
pallet of their extreamefi legs. This pallet, vvhich
1 have already fpoke of, in telling you, that the
^ - Queen-

of B E E S. 45

Queen-bee and the males have it not, bccaufc
they are not defl-in'd to gather the wax, aflliredly
dcferves not to be forgo:. TIk Bee has fix Itgs,
all of which are compofed of five parts, articu-
Jated Jike our arms, which affords them a num-
ber of various movements. The firft parts arCp, .^

r line IL

very well furnifh'd v/irh hairs, and thefe hairs i-2g -.
are form'd like the leaves of trees, to be niore
fitted to collecfl the powder of flowers : but the
third part, in each leg of the third pair, is wh.it
we call the triangular pallet. Thefe two words pj.j^ jj-^
mark out their figure and their ufe. You may Fig 7.
very diftindly fee it with my glafs. You will "'^' ^'
fee likewifc, that the fame part, in the fecondpair
of legs, is fhorter, flreighter, and lefs triangu-
lar, and that in the firft pair it retains nothing
of this form. The exterior fide of this triangu-
lar pallet of the third pair of legs, is fmooth and
ihining ; the hairs erc6l themfelves above their
edges: as they are fcreight, ili[f, clofe \c\.^ and
furround k^ th.7 form, with their fur£ice, a
kind of banket. It is there, that the Bee colled^s Phte III.
thofe little mafTes of wax, and m the form of a^^-S- 3-
pin-cuiliion, which is fometimc:. as big as a grain""
of mufcard. The tvv'o cofterior legs, are guard-
ed, each, with a like cufnion i the Bee returns
home, charg'd with its plunder. In ftcoping a
little, and looking at the doer of thj hive, we
Ihall noc fill to fee Tome of th^m.

CLAPv. I actually fee many, who return
tJius charg'd ; but dvcy are not all equally fo :

probably

46 The Natural History

probably there are fome of them better workmen
than other.

EUGEN. That is true : but we mull fay,
that fortune interferes fometimes in their affairs :
that fome find plants better furniflied with pow-
der than others. When our free- booters fet out
tor their courfe, they do not all return with equal
plunder : the Bees, like ourfclves, are fubjeft to
the caprice of chance.

CLAR. What charms me, is the diligence,
with which I obferve thofe fraall animals return
with their prey. Methinks I obferve a greater
joy in thofe who are well loaded ; workmen like
thefe afllirediy deferve to Jive.

EUGEN. And fo they do. The author of
their being has provided for their neceffities, in a
very extraordinary manner. A comparifon will
fliew you all the advantage. If D«r reapers
found, in the very field, where they reap'd, and
at the foot of thofe plants they cut, fources of
water, frefh, fvveet, and delicious, and proper to
fatisfy them as well as to quench their thirft ;
their condition would not be fo much to be piti-
ed, as it fometimes is. This is the cafe of our
Bees : they find honey, at the foot of thefe fprigs,
loaded with dud, which they colledt. It is
therefore from flowers, that the Bees extrad their
honey, as from thence they colled their wax. A
modern author has obfcrved, that flowers have a
kind of bladders, or rather glands, which are
fo many refervoirs of a honey ifh liquor. Thefe

2 ' glands,

of B E E S. 47

glands, in diffcTent flowers, are difTcrcntly placed,
but the Bees know where to find it.

CLAR. I will tell you where they arc ; for
I remember^ that chance, who often likewife in-
terferes in my affairs, caufed me to obferve, one
day, a Bsc at work upon a flower : I faw it very
diftindly plunge its trunk into the bottom of the
cu{^, and hold it there a long while, in the lower
extremity of one of thofe colour'd leaves, which
compofe the flower.

EUGEN. They call, in terms of botany,
thefe leaves the petals.

CLAR. Petals be they then. It feem*d to
me to pump it. But I don't now remember on
what kind of plant it was.

EUGEN. Except pumping, for that they
never do, the obfervation is good. Let us talk
of the trunk or probjfcis, fince the difcourfe leads
us to it. But firft; of all, I niuft guard you a-
gainfl: the common prejudice, in informing you,
that the trunk or mouth are two parts, very dif-
ferent, and feparated the one from the other.

CLAR. It is then, as in an elephant.

EUGEN. Pretty nearly. The ufe of this
trunk is not only to procure itfelf neccfiliry fub-
fiflance, but it is befides employed by the Bees to
colled that, which we appropriate to ourftlves,
as if it had been made for us.

CLAR. You doubtlefs, mean honey. I
fancy we have as much right to this honey, as we
have to the wax.

EUGEN.

48 The Natural History

EUGEN. As much as to the wool upon
flieep ; 'tis a pure ufurpation on our part.

CLAR. Ho, for once, Eugenio, I catch
you tripping. I fliall be right, now, and you in
the wrong. Anfwer me : Who manur'd this
land ? Who fow'd thefe fields with corn, pop-
pics, fanfoin ? was It the Bees .? Who adorn'd my
parterre with fo many beautiful flowers ? Who wa-
c§rs, forms, and works, during the extream hoat
of the day, this kitchen-garden, from which we
have fuch pleafing hopes ? The Bees think you ?
What, you will pretecd, that they ought to come,
with impunity, to take away the powder from
the ftamina of my flowers, without doing me
the lead damage ? And if this powder is fo ne-
cefiary, as you fay, for the fecundation of the
feeds, can you doubt, when they rob me of it,
if they do me an injury ? How many of my
feeds have they made unfruitful, to make them-
felves one pin-cujliion of wax, as big as a grain
of pepper ? This little wax may perhaps
have coft me a bufliel of wheat, or a dozen of
my fiirefl: peaches. It is but jufl', that they
Jliould make me fome amends for what I do for
them, and for what I give them to live on. All
that 1 can do, on your confideration, and not to
find them guilty of ufurpation, is to conflder
them as farmers, with whom I have a contrad
for half" their produce.

EUGEN. I did not expe6t, Clariflii, this
Hilly. I am interefled, as well as you, not to ex-
amine too nicely into this title of property.
Therefore, not to have more debates on this head ;

let

of B E E S. 49

kt us refume our argument. I am now going to
defcribe to you the trunk of your farmers ; firft,
place one of their trunks before your eyes, and
make ufe of my magnifying-glafs. In holding Plate IIL
the Bee in this pofition, you firft of all difcoverL^^^''^'^
one of thefe great eyes form*d facet-wife. Above
arc the two jutting teeth, and above them you
fee the trunk come down, applied to the hinder
part of the head. It doubtlefs appears to you,
as to me, a kind of plate pretty thick, very
fhining, and of a chefnut colour. I will imme- Lett- b b.
diately draw out the trunk with my litde pincers, t ^^ ^,
that you may fee it at its whole length. You
may now know, that there was but half the ^[^^^ ^^-
trunk to be feen, and that lay folded in twoLg.f g p^
parts, of which one conceal'd the other, The^^ett b.

• Lett c

concealed part begins at the place, which the
point of my pin fhews, and ends at the bot-
tom of the head. This fituation, where we have
placed the trunk, facilitates the manner of letting
you fee the two eflential parts, which were un-
known before the author of ihe Memoirs to ferve
for an h'lftory of infeth. The firft part is that Lett. d.
opening, which you difcover at the beginning of
the trunk, which is the mouth. The fecond, j^^^^ ^
which is higher, and which reprefents a nipple,
is a tongue. Now for the trunk : when it ap-
pears in its place, and folded, as it is in the Bee,
which makes no ufe of it, and fuch as at firft you
view'd it, that is not the trunk •, 'tis only its cafe -,
the trunk is within it. It would therefore '^^^\^x.t\\l.

proper to uncover it, and make you acquainted Fig. 4.

T-. -I Lett. c.

E with

JO The Natural History

with its feveral parts : but you have fo exprefsif
forbidden me to enter into thele learned minute-
nefles, that I have no other method but to per-
fwade you to read the book, of which I have
given you an extrad:. If you are refolved to
take it on truft, you can't refufe your admira-
tion and acknowledgment to him, who, with fo
profound a fagacity, has difcovered to us all the
iprings of fo aftonifhing a machine. You will
tlkre fee a defcription of more than twenty parts,
of which it is composed, and almoft as compleat
an anatomy of this wonderful organ. In fine, as
you read it, you will fancy you fee a workman,
who takes to pieces a watch, which he himfelf
has made, who lays before you the feveral
pieces, makes you remark their fitnefs, their ad-
juftment, their ufes, the play of their fprings,
the pivots, and the pillars •, for all thefe are found
in the trunk of a Bee. I have formerly feen a
painting, which would fuit as well or better
our author, as him, whom it reprefented. There
v/as Ariftotle, with his pen in his hand be-
fore a table : over againft him was Nature per-
fonized, fpeaking to him, initrufting him, lift-
ing up her vail, to permit him to fee her, and
dcfcribe her.

CLAR. If you meet again with that picture,
I befpeak one copy of it.

EUGEN. I'hough I fliould caufe an origi-
nal to be made, you fliall have it, I have but
one word more about this trunk ; which is, that
it is not an hollowed tube from one end to the

other.

6f B E E S.

Othei*, as is commonly believed ; nor is it a tube*
which contains a pump, proper to fuck and ex-
trad the honey : 'tis a kind of tongue, which
moves like thofe animals, which lapp : it plunges
itfelf, and is buried in the honey-liquor, to make
it pafs upon its exterior furface, together with the
cafe of its trunk, from a canal, by which the ho-
ney is convey'd t but it is the trunk only, which
being a mufcular body, caufes by its different in-
flexions and vermicular motions, the liquor to
mount, and which pulhes it towards the throat.
We may reckon the Bee's fling among the exte-
rior parts. Though it is conceal'd, when the
animal would make no ufe of it, it appears but
roo often when vengeance and anger put it in
adion. Let us give ourfelves the pleafure of fee-
ing one with our eyes. I will feize a living Bee j
here is one j take it by its corcelet.

CLAR. I am your humble fervant : if it was
dead, well and good ; but as it is adive, and I
Very unexperr, I will take care of myfelf : hold
it yourfelf : put it into what difpofition you Ihall
judge mod proper : make it (ling you, ftab you,
if you pleafe, I fhall be a fympathizing fpeda-
trefs, but I pretend not to be expofed to its
ftrokes.

EUGEN. The ladies well know, that a lit-
tle cowardice don't mifbecome them : it is an
advantage, which they do not negled on oc-
cafion. ■

5 2 CLAR-

The Natural History

CLAR. I have never heard, that the bravery
of your Casfars or Alexanders was the molt
fhining qualification of a philofopher.

EUGEN. The repartee is lively ; I may
find fome occafion to retort it as we go on : but
i am of opinion to difpatch, firft of all, what I
have to fay about the fting of a Bee. You fee,
Clarifla, that in holding it as I do, between my
two fingers, I have nothing to apprehend from
it : it has liberty to darts its (ling •, it fpares not
to do fo, but it is to no purpofe to torment it-
felf, to twift its body on all fides, it can only
pierce the air. See how it behaves with this
glafs.

CLAR. I fee a lively image of choler and
fury.

EUGEN. I mufl: now let you fee this fling
in a ftate of reff. We need for that, only to
force it to come out, and fhew itfelf perfectly,
by pr^inrig the back of the Bee. Behold it at-
tended with two white bodies, which together
form a kind of box, in which the inilrument is
lodg'd, when it is in the body, that it may not
hurt the inward parts of the animal. This fmall
dart, which appears fo fine and thin, is only a
tunnel hollowed from one end to the other : I will
prefcntly convince you of it. Remark, that 1
prefs it towards its bafe, and you may fee, that in
prefTing it, I make a fmall drop of liquor, ex-
treamly tranfparenr, afcend towards tlie top. I
take off this -, fee another, which fucceeds it. You
I)ave have caufe to fufped, that this is that fatal

liquor.

of B E E S. 53

liquor, which poifons the wound made by the
fting. Fine as this inftrument is, it is not fo fim-
ple as one would fufpedt. This point, upon
which you have feen the little drop, is not fo but
with regard to our eyes : it is really blunt, and
makes the extremity of a canal, which we have
hitherto call'd the fting : but it is time to be un-
deceived. This canal is not the fting, but its
cafe : the real fting is within it : from the extre-
mity of this cafe it fhews itfelf, and at the fame
time darts its poifonous liquor. Let us proceed
from wonder to wonder. This fting, fo very
fine, is not fimple but double. I intend to fay,
that there are two, attached together, which a6l at
the fame time, or feparately, according to the . -
pleafure of the Bee. Their fubftance is horny
or (helly. To conclude, that I may thoroughly P^i|rfV.
terrify you, their extremity is cut like a faw, ?^'^;^-
whofe teeth reprefent the barb of an-^rrow,
which eafily enters, but can't be got out without
making terrible gaflies. It has fifteen or fixteen
on each fide. At the bafe of this fting, but
within the body, one finds the bladder, which
'holds the venom : the fame firings, which make Lett, c
the fting play, at the fame time prefs upon this
'bladder, to force from thence the deadly li-
quor, and dart it into the wound.

CLAK. This is likethofe favages, who fight
with poifoned arrows. I am forry, that fo bar-
barous a method of revenging themfelves ob-
liges me to retradt a good deal of that efteem,
'which I had for thefe animals.

E 3 ' EUGEN.

54 The Natural History

EUGEN. To niake you amends, they will
furnifh you with an ejfample, which you will in-
culcate on your children, that vengeance almoft
always returns upon him, who takes a brutal re^-
venge, in the heat of his paflion. When an ir-
ritated Bee has fixed his fting in our flefh, or
into fome other body prefented to it, as a glove ;
if one hurries it to depart, as hardly ever hap-
pens otherwife, it leaves its fting there, but not
that only ; the greatefl parts of its dependances
remained attached to it, as the bladder of ve-
nom, and leveral of the mufcular parts. In
flying from him, whom it has wounded, flie
tears out her own entrails, which cofts it dear,
mpre dear than a blow would coft a man, who
ihould immediately lofe his arm by it. In fine,
the wound, which it caufes to itfelf, is terrible
and mortal, and which it can't long furvive.
The Bee foon feels the fame pain it was defirous
to inflidl on others.

CLAR. This is a fad, which I will this day
regifter in my collefiion, and will not fail to in-
form my children of it.

EUGEN. You are worthy, ClarifTa, to be a
mother. I mean by this to fay a great deal, for
very few women merit that praife. It feems as
if malice furviv'd the revengeful Bee. A proof
prefents itfelf, which you will find pretty odd.
After the Bee is gone, having left the fatal dart
in the wound it has made, to die fomewhere
clfe, one would fay it has committed to this
4art, in parting, a provifion of irritated and
I cholcr

of B E E S. ^^

choleric fpirits, to finifli its vengeance. Tho'
the Bee may now be far off, the fting continues
to move in his flefh, who has been wounded : do
but fee how it inclines alternately to contrary
fides : it plunges itfelf more and more, and
drives to make the wound it has given flill
deeper.

CLAR. I dare not propofe to contradift
you, Eugenio : You are {o well prepared to an-
fwer all the objedlions I can put to you, that I am
refolved only toafk fimple queftions. I fhall there-
fore firft enquire of you, how you know, that
this little drop, which appears with the fting, is
a venom, which enflames and poifons the wound ?
Secondly, if this liquor is equally venomous at
all times ? Thirdly, if there are any prefent re-
medies againft this fting ? Fourthly, with what
defign, nature has given to the Bee a weapon
(6 cruel ?

EUGEN. You will imagine, Clarifla, that
all thefe queftions demand a long converfation.
This fliall be the fubjedt of the next we have to-
gether. I tell you beforehand, that I fhall be-
gin with informing you how we know, fo as not
to doubt of it, that this limpid liquor, which
flows from the fting of the Bees, is a real ve-
nom, and that which makes the wound fo pain-
ful. You will learn too by the manner, which
we have taken, to come at the certainty of this,
that philofophers know when it is neceflliry,
not only to defpife, but even to encounter pain.
E 4 And

56 The Natural History

And I hope too to anfwer your pleafantry, in
forcing you to agree, that philofophy has its
Casfars and Alexanders too, as well as war.

CLAR. I confider it as a hardy attempt ;
I am apprehenfive too, it will be a rafli one.
"We Ihall fee to morrow how you will extricate
yourfelf from it.

CON.

of B E E S. 57

CONVERSATION IV.

Of the i^enom of Bees : the wounds they make
ivith their flings : their private and piiblick
quarrels,

CLARISSA.

YO U are then going to prove to me, Euge-
nio, that philofophy is capable of raifing the
courage, fo as to defpife the greateft dangers, and
to undertake the moft arduous enterprizes : that
is, in a word, philofophers are fo many Csfars.
EUGEN. Can you think, Clariffa, that I
iliould have much trouble to find, among philo-
fophers, heroes in courage equal to thofe, whom
the hiftory of thofe conquerors prefent us with ?
Every age, and almoft every year, furnifhes us
with examples. Would you have one of the moft
recent and moft ftriking .? Compare the perform-
ances of the campaign of Charles XII. king of
Sweden, during the fevere froft of 1709, to the
battle of Pultowa exclufively, with thofe of our
Academicians, under the polar circle, to take the
meaibre of the earth. You will find in both the
fame fatigues, the fame courage to fupport them,
equal obftacles, and equal intrepidity to furmount
them ; great and bold defigns, and worthy of the
moft diftinguiflied valour : and in order to ex-
tricate them, men, whom neither hunger or thirft,

defarts.

58 The Natural History

defarts, or craggy rocks, the moft fevere colds,
or cruel beafts, could deter. To this I could
add a million of other examples, which would
not indeed be fo diftlnguillied, but which would
be more than fufficient to prove, that philofophy
knows how to conftitute a hero.

CLAR. I give up the fad, and will flick
only to the number. You will own, that fuch
men, as you have juft now mentioned, are foon
counted over.

EUGEN. So are likewife the Casfars and
the Condes : but agree with me, that there are
fituations, which refled an honour upon a brave
man, though inferior to thefe great names. You.
will give me a place among them, when I fhall
have told you the voluntary pains, by which I
arrived at the kno^vledge of the power and force
of the Bees poifon. I have already fuppofed it a
very limpid liquor, which renders painful thofe
wounds, which, otherwife, would be but fcarcely
felt. This then I muft demonftrate by a very
fimple experiment. I made it, at firft, upon
myfelf : and fome of our Academicians, and o-
ther lovers of natural knowledge, would have me
try it upon them. With a very fine pin, I
made a punfture on one of my fingers : before
I did fo, I took care to furnifh myfelf with a
Bee upon a needle : after I had pricked myfelf
with the pin, I fqueezed the venom from the
Bee 5 I forc'd the Bee to fhew itfelf, and the ve-
nom to come out. I then took on the point of
my pin a little drop of this liquor, colle(^ed at

the

of B E E S.

the extremity of its (ling : afterwards I caufed
the point thus dipped to enter into the wound,
where I kept it but a moment : that was long
enough to introduce the poifon ; which was no
Iboner done, than I felt a pain equal to that,
which is felt, when one is ftung by a Bee. The
fmart of the wound caufed by the enverwm'd
pin refembles the flinging of Bees, more acute,
or more moderate, according to the quantity of
venemous liquor, infus'd into the wound ; and,
perhaps , according to the condition of tiie
wound, that is, the largenefs of the veflels, that
have been open'd, and according to the greater
or lefs fenfibility, of the nervous fibres, which
have been wounded. I repeated this experiment,
one day, on one of our Academicians, who doubt-
ed of its effeft, or, at lead, of the degree of it*
The better to convince him, I was not fparing of
the liquor ; I caufed a great drop to be applied to
his wound, which I had taken from the fting of
an Humble-bee. The proof was ftronger than he
defired : although very courageous, and one of
our Ciefars, he could not feel the cutting pain of
this little wound, without a good deal of {lamp-
ing and fwearing at the experiment. After this,
which I have told you, I made another experi-
ment upon myfclf, repeated feveral times, and
on others likewife. Having drawn fome of the
poifon from the bladder of a Bee, with the head
of a pin, and put it on my tongue, I felt at firft
a kind of a fweetifh tafte, but which foon became
(harp and burning : I afterwards found fuch a

kind

59

6o The Natural H i s t o r y

kind of heat, as is caufed by the milky juice of a
thiftle. That part of my tongue, on which the
iittle drops had been applied, continued for fome
hours to feel, as if it had been flightly burned.
Sometimes it was only a little over-heated. Swam-
merdam, who made this experiment before me,
iays, that this liquor had fet his mouth all on
* fire; 'tis likely, that hfe had applied a flronger
dofe. Are you now convinced, Clariffa, that
when the Bees fling, 'tis this liquor, thus intro-
duced, that enflames, burns, and renders the
wounds painful ?

CLAR. I believe you as much, as if I had
felt it myfelf. We are perfedlly well expofed
here to make the experiment without chufing it.
Should that happen, I flmcy myfelf philofopher
enough to ftamp to fome tune.

EUGEN. Now to your fecond queftion.
Whether their flings are at all times equally pain-
ful ? I fliall inform you, that all other things be-
ing equal, there are fome times, when the wounds,
occafioned by Bees, are more fenfible than others.
Thofe, which happen in winter, when they arc
benum'd with cold, are not near fo painful, nor
for fo long a time, as thofe, which are given in
the fummer •, nor are they attended with fo many
accidents. It is likely, that the liquor is more
exalted, more fpirituous in fummer than winter.
BL^fides, the Bee has not, perhaps, fo great a
quantity of it in winter, or, it may be, has not
the force to make fo much of it come out. Not
only the different feafqns of the year diverfify the

different

of B E E S. 6i

different degrees of pain, but different perfons
are not equally fenfible of it. Some there are,
which mind thefe wounds as nothing, in compa-
rifon of what they caufe in others. I have a
fervant, who fcarce regards them at all. In
whatever place he is ftung, the place fcarce
fwells at all : the parts round the pundure rife
not like what they do in other perfons. There
is too a third caufe, which renders thefe punftures
Jefs dolorous : it is when they are repeated by the
fame animal : the laft are nothing in comparifon
of the firft. I happened one day to be ftung by
a wafp : I thought it worth the while to receive
the wound with a good grace ; I permitted him
to fting me at his own leifure : in fuch a cafe,
the Bee, draws his fting from the wound, fife
and entire ; and I had occafion , that the
wafp*s fting fhculd be fo likewife; for hav-
ing immediately feized it, and irritating of it,
I placed it on a fervant's hand, who had been
accuftom'd thereto. The "wound, which it in-
flicted on him, v/as but iictle painful. I took
the wafp again, and forced it to fting me a fccond
time ; I fcarce felt the fecond pundlure. In fine,
it was to no purpofe ; it would not be moved to
(ling a fourth time. The venemous liquor was
€xhaufted in the three firft efiTays.

CLAR. This proves very well, the great
fenfibility, caufed by the punflure, proceeds from
the venom introduc'd by the infecfl. But if I
fhould tell you, that I know an animal, for whom
this dagger and this venom are only fport and
pafs-time ; that the bear voluntarily fuftei-s him-
I felf

62 The Natural History

felf to be flung by the Bees, and that thofe
wounds are to him, but an agreeable tittilation.

EUGEN. Could I fufpeft you of having
read Pliny, I fiiould believe it is from him you
have this litde ftory, which, however, he tells
ibmewhat differently. He tells you, that the
bear, when too fat, goes with a defign to pro-
voke the Bees, lodged in the trunk of a tree ;
and that he caufes an infinity of pundtures to be
given him, efpecially on his fnout, which arfr
very falutary to him. But honeft Pliny has
many of thefe ftories, which would be better
placed in the voyage to the Severambes. There
is not, in all appearance, any animal, not except^*
ing even the bear, to v/hich fuch venom would
not give pain ; the bear can only have more or
lefs of it. It is certain, that this liquor is fo brifk
and penetrating, that one puncture of a Bee, if
well feafon'd, conveys it to the head, and the
head grows flupified with it. Every country^
and almoft every county, tells you a ftory of an
horfe, who having rubbed himfelf againft a
hive, and thrown it down, was attacked by thefe
angry animals, and died of it in lefs than a quar-*
ter, or half an hour at moft. A fimilar fa6t
has been told by Ariftode, and confirmed in our
time, (which was very lucky,) by witneiTes wor^
thy of credit. There have been authors, who
have determined the number of pun(5tures, which
would kill fo large an animal : feme have fixed
them tQ twenty. I know not, if the dofe of ve-
nom, contained in that number of pundbures,

may

of B E E S. 63

may fometimes be fufficient for the death of the
animal: but it is at lead certain, that there is a
dofe, which diftributed to the different parts of
the body, would caufe fuch pains, inflammations
and irritations, and, in fine, a fort of fever, un- ,
der which the mod robuft perfon muft fink.

CLAR. One can't refufe you, Eugenio, the
commendation of great courage. The voluntary
trial you have made of a Bee's fting, and its per-
nicious poifon, with the only view of knowing its
force, and to inform us of what we had reafon to
doubt of, merits certainly a place among the he-
roes of philofophy. But I fuppofe you to be
wife enough, to have taken a precaution, with
which you have not yet obliged us. When you
made thefe experiments, had you not fome balm
of Fierabrafs to apply to your wounds, to fl:op the
pain, the moment you thought it proper, that
you might not fuffer more than was ncceflary ?

EUGEN. You have reafon to think, Cla-
riflli, I did not play the brave, beyond what I
am : it is certain, had I known a remedy againft
this pain, I fhould have ufed it. I will tell you
too, that I did what I could to find one. A re-
medy againft thefe punftures was one of thofe
queftions you put to me yefierday, and which I
ought to inform you of. The late M. du Fay, of
tlie Academy of Sciences, upon the foundation of
fome experiments, made in England, flmcied, that
the oil of olives was a fpecifick againft the ftings
of bees : he had fo much the more confidence in
it, becaufe in England they afcribe to.this reme-

64 The Natural H i s t o R V

dy a virtue more powerful ; fince it is judged
proper to cure the bites of vipers. In fpite of
all the credit one is inclined to give to the vertu-
ofi of that nation, M. du Fay was minded to
make the experiment on himfelf He made it.
The opportunities of being flung by thefe ani-
mals are not difficult to be met with : he was
ftung on the nofe. "When the oil was fpread
over the little wound, the pain was appeafed ; it
returned no more, nor did any fwelling appear.
One day he told me the fa6b, knowing I had
more occafion than any body to try the ex-
periment of this new remedy. In fuch cafes
I had often proved the cffed of the oil of
fweet almonds ; and the fuccefs, which it had,
could not difpofe me to think well of that of the
oil of olives. However, I was tempted, at the
end of a few days, to give it more credence.

CLAR. You was in the right ; for why
fhould not you allow, that certain oils may have
virtues, which other oils have not ?

EUGEN. I do not at all doubt, that diffe-
rent oils may have different virtues ; but one may
lawfully doubt of fadh, where effcntial circum-
ftances are wanting. When they have not been ex-
amined in every cafe, that may make them
vary : you fhall fee a proof of it. One of my
fcrvants was likewife fiung on the nofe : as I was
prefent, I declined not to fupple the part with
oil of olives : he feemed to be well, and affured
me, that he felt no more pain, nor had the leafl
fwelling on his nofe. One would have thought,

from

of B E E S. 65

from thefe two experiments, join'd to thofe made
in Erigland, the reputation of the oil incontefta-
ble. I fhould have thought fo as well as you,
had I not known, how often certain experiments
require to be repeated and varied. The next day
I went upon an operation, that required I fhould
have feveral hands to affift me : it was one of
thofe, from which one feldom comes off, without
being flung ; it feemed to me to be very favou-
rable to repeat the trials of the oil : the affair was
to make Bees pafs from one hive to another. One
of my afTiftants received a pundure upon his fore-
head, between his eyes, I took out the fting, and
rubb*d it with oil of olives: he thought himfelf
eafed, but his joy was of no long continuance *,
after a quarter of an hour, he could fcarce open
his eyes •, the fwelling, communicated to both
eye-lids, kept them almoft clofed. I was myfelf
ftung five times, on the fingers and arms : you
may reafonably conclude, I did not fail to apply
this fpecifick ; but as the old proverb fays, I lofl
both my oil and my time : my fingers, hand and
arm remained fwelled, and were painful. This
remedy had no better effecft upon many others,
who had tried it,

CLAR. Why then did it fucceed fo well with
M. du Fay, and your fervant ?

EUGEN. I met with a folution of this dif-
ficulty the fame afternoon. The fame fervant*
who found himfelf fo well by the application of
the oil, was flung by more than a dozen Bees,
during our operations, on the fingers, hands and

F arms,

^^ The Natural History

arms, without complaining, or even without
giving himfe]f any concern about it, or any
fwdling attending the punfture, or having the
leaft recourfe to the oil. I have known people in
the country, who would not fo much as vouch-
lafe to put a glove on that hand, with which they
cut the combs in the infide of the hive, although
they knew they fhould be ftung more than once.
Thefe pundures, extreamly painful to other men,
were minded To little by them, that they did not
feem to think it worth while to confine their hand
for them, and make it lefs at liberty, by wearing
a glove. There are, perhaps, but too many re-
medies, which owe their reputation to fome

^ caufe like the former, where we employed the

oil •, that is, becaufe they have been given in cir-
curaftances, where they were of no fervice to
cure the hurt.

CLAR. Can the wounds, inflidled by Bees,
be the only ilj, againft which medicine has no
temedy, and apothecaries no plaifler ?

EUGEN. One finds fome in choice books,
as one does for the gout, the pain of the teeth,
corns upon the toes, (^c. whofe greateft virtue is,
to keep thofe, who vend them, from flarving.
Hov/ever, with regard to remedies, a man has
no right to deny, what he has never tried. I have
applied the juice of feveral plants, which have
been told us, by divers authors, againft this ve-
nom of Bees. I have tried urine, which is very
mnch cried up, as llkewife vinegar too. I have
light upon nothing, which, though in fome cir-
^' cum (lances

of B E E S. tj

cumftances fuccefsful, has not proved ufelefs iil
rhe end. What appears too much for a remedy
one is minded to prefer, is, that there is not one
of them, at the inftant it is applied, which has
not diminillied or appeafed the pain. Water
alone has produced this effcfb, but the pain al-
ways returns afterwards, attended with its confe-
quences. Shred parfley is the only thing I have
tried, which has procured fomc eafe, but with
fo [ittle efFed, that though I am one of thofe,
who feel thefe punftures very painful, I do not
think it worth while to have recourfe to it. In a
word, I know no remedy one can depend on.
By the by, I will give you one advice, in the
room of fomething better, which will be ufeful
to you in cafe of neceffity ; if not to cure you, at
leaft to hinder the troublefome confequences of
thefe wounds : it is, never to fail to pull out the
fting from the wound, as foon as vou feel your-
felf flung.

CLAR. Since you leave me without a reme-
dy againft the ftings of Bees, and that I am
abandoned by the phyficians, teli me, however,
for my comfort, what reafons could nature have,
to arm thefe terrible animals, to annoy us ?

EUC^N. It is not certain, that we are the
firft objeds of thefe animals vengeance. The
Bees have feveral other important occafions to
ferve themfeives with it, and have enemies of
feveral kinds. The fruit of their labours, their
wax and honey, excite the envy of many greedy
ajjd lazy infeds : they have alfo other enemies to

F 2 defeqii

68 The Natural History

defend themfelves againft, who are more fond
of eating them than their honey. It fometimes
happens, that other infedls are foolifh or rafh
enough to enter brutally into their hives ,
where they would deilroy and overturn every
thing, if our Bees, like a fquadron of HufTars,
did not fall upon them , and put either to
deatli or flight thofe rafh and inconfiderate crea-
tures. I have already inform'd you of a time,
in which the hufbands of our Queen-bee muft
be exterminated, and facrificed to the good of
the fociety. They are larger and ftronger than
the Working-bees : body to body, a Working-
bee would have but bad fport with a drone ; but
by means of its impoifon'd fling, it brings its de-
figns about. There is dill another circumftance,
wherein this fling may be of ufe to them. *Tis
in thofe quarrels they have either among them-
felves or foreigners, and which, fome time or
other, I fliall entertain you with.

CLAR. Why do you put it off to another time,
fince a fit opportunity now prefents itfelf .? I have
an extreme impatience to know what the duels
of Bees are, and to hear a recital of their general
battles.

EUGEN. It is eafy to fatisfy you. Don't
you fee at the foot of this hive thofe two Bees,
who flruggle and roll each other in the duU ?

CLAR. I have feen them a long while, but
I thought they were at play together, and amufing
themfelves.

^ EUGEN.

of B E E S. 69

EUGEN. This is not childrens play : thofe
are quarrels, that pafs the bounds of pleafantry,
and terminate mod commonly in death : 'tis, in
fliort, a duel in all its forms. In fine and hot
days, one may have often occafion to obferve
thcfe deadly combats among the Bees of the fame
hive. Sometimes the attacker and the attacked
go out of the hive, taking faft hold of each
other. Sometimes it is without the hive, that
one Bee will fall upon the other, which is flying : at
other times it falls upon one, in a flate of repofe,
or which is gently walking on the outfide of the
cafe of the hive. However the battle was begun,
when they are once join*d, they prefently fall to
the ground. They could not give each other fure
blows in air ; and it would be difficult to fupport
themfclves there, while they endeavoured to give
mortal wounds to each other. It is eafy to ob-
ferve, who will be thus engaged before a hive ;
you have aftually a proof of it before you.

CLx^R. Since this is a duel, let us floop
down, and obferve it at leifure.

EUGEN. Take notice, that thefe two comba-
tants put in pradlice, what two wreftlers would
do, whofe aim is to deprive their adverfary of ^
life. See how both one and the other ftrives to
gain that pofition, which is the mod advanta-
geous. See them both lying on the fame fide,
holding each other reciprocally in their claws,
held againfi head, back againfi back, and twilled
in fuch a fafliion, as to form a circle or an oval.
It is owing to the motion of their wings, that

F 3 they

70 The Natural History

they whirl about from time to time as you fee^

and fometimes put thei^ a foot diftance from

each other, but always even with the ground.

'late vr. Take care. Here is one, which has got the afcen-

'ig. I. dant over his enemy, and mounts upon his body :

all their movements, their flexions and different

pofitions have no other tendency, but to find a

foft place in their adverfaries body, where there

iling may cafily enter. Admire the readinefs,.

with which their flings are darted. The moft

famous gladiators have not their wrifts more at

command. I perceive this duel draws to an

bid. end. The death of a Bee will enfue. Obferve

-cu A. jiQ^ that of the two, which keeps the other pro-

ftrate under her, applies its tail upon the neck

of its enemy. There is an end. The one is

dead, and the vidtorious Bee towrs inair, toenr

Joy its vidory.

CLAR. I own, although I have not a cruel
turn of mind, I have taken a fingula.r pleafure in
feeing this duel.

EUGEN. Thefe combats would laft but aa
inflanr, if the Bees were lefs advantageoufly
armed ^ but in fpite of their fcales, with whicii
their flefh is covered, it is not however inaccef-
fible. If a Bee could pafs his fling between the
fcale, and that vacancy or ring, which it fome times
covers, by joining itfelf to the under fcale, it
would foon plunge it into the flelh. If the Bee,
which defends itfelf, fhould, ever fo little, flretcb
out ics neck, it becomes uncovered ; if its ene-
my's fling is then ready, it may wound it, as you

havQ

of B E E S. 71

fcave juft now feen. I have taken notice, that they
likewife mutually drive to prick each other to-
wards the bafe of their fling, it may be in the
anus.

CLAR. Don't they fometlmes attempt to
crofs each others (lings ? for all animals, which arc
armed for the defenfive, ordinarily oppofe arms
to arms •, oxen, horns againft horns ; dogs,
teeth againft teeth.

EUGEN. I would not deny, that this is their
intention. As to the reft, I happened one day
to make an obfervation, which decifively proves,
that a Bee may plunge his fting into the body
of another. I faw two fighting as they came
out of a hive. The combat pafied upon the ex-
terior part of the Hand. Ie was not long : I
immediately faw one of them vanquifhed and
expiring. I took it, examin*d it, and found, that
the other Bee's fting remained between the two
rings of the belly of this. But, I fuppofe, this
cafe is rare : for if it was common, every com-
bat would coft the two Bees their life. Thcfe batr
ties ar^ fometimes very long. I (aw one, that re-
quired a whole hour, for one to kill the other.
Sometimes both fatigued, and defpairing of a
compieat victory, retire, and each flies its own
way. When they have both known how to
avoid the ftrokes of the fting, the combat does
not terminate in death.

CLAR. The folly of fighting is tb:n in the
head of thefe animals, as well as in that of men.

EUGEN. What is true and real foJly in

man may be only mechanifm in beafts : it may,

G 4 perhaps.

The Natural History

perhaps, only be an impulfive force, which
would not proceed from their own choice, but
from the inftitution of nature, who has views of
her own.

CLAR, I could be glad to know, what rea-
fons nature had to inftrud: one Bee to infult ano-
ther, in cold blood, and make it draw its fword ;
or to fall, without the leaft warning given, up-
on another Bee, who fays nothing to it, and is
going about its bufinefs, in order to kill it with-
out other forms of procefs.

EUGEN. Repuls'd as we are in penetrating
into the views of nature, by the little fuccefs,
which we frequently meet with, one cannot help
returning to it whenever occafion offers itfelf If we
are allowed to guefs at the policy of the Bees, or
rather the intentions of nature, and to believe that
their quarrels are not founded on fuch frivolous
motives, as ours too often are -, one may think,
that a reafon fimilar to that, which determines
them to kill the males, determines them alfo to
kill other Bees. The Bees, thusprofcribed, are,
perhaps, lazy, gluttenous, who only add to their
number, and confume their food : perhaps they
are idiots, who know not how to form an alveO'
luSt according to the moft exact rules of geome-
try : or they may be old, fuch, whom age hath
rendered incapable of performing their offices, and
who only caufe an embarrafTment, among an ac-
tive and laborious people.

CLAR. I am of their opinion, in extermi-
nating and driving from their civil fociety the
lazy, the gluttons, and the ignoraRt, who know

not

of B E E S. 73

not how to do any thing : but with regard to
the old ones, I am utterly againft them •, I make
myfelf a party in a caufe, in which I hope to
be, one day, interefted. Is it a reafon to ceafe
to live, before the appointed time, becaufe but
little of life remains ? This polity appears to me
abominable : how can you reconcile it with na-
tural fentiments, which are the only motives from
whence brutes adl ? For fimple nature, which is
not yet perverted, direfts us rather to refped: old
age than to deftroy it. Apicide, as well as ho-
micide, appears to me an ad; contrary to na-
ture.

EUGEN. That is a queftion, Clariflfa, that
is not eafy to anfwer, to determine what is, and
what is not natural fentiment : that is, what is
moral good or evil. Happy for us, the Chriftian
religion has fettled our doubts in all neceffary
cafes ; but among thofe people, who are not en-
lightened by our religion, the mind muft be
often embarraffed to judge of what is good or
otherwife : experience furnifhes us with many ex-
amples. 'Tis commonly agreed, that nature in-
fpires us with a particular reverence for the dead.
To give them to be devoured by beafts, appears
to fome an ad againft nature, to others not.
We "bury them, and believe we abandon them to
worms. " The * Romans burnt them ; the * Cicero.
*' Egyptians embalmed them ; the Perfians wrap-
" ped them up in wax -, the Magi interred them
" nor, till they had caufed them to be torn by
" beafts j in Hircania, it was thought the moft
** honourable tomb a man could have to be eaten
I ** by

74 The Natural H i s t o r v

*' by eaten by a dog -, the rich maintained
" fome at their houfes, for this purpofe, and
*' there were fome, which were fed at the publick
'* charge.'* There are fome people, who eat
their dead fathers and mothers, from a principle
of piety. If there be in the world a fentiment,
that may pafs for natural, 'tis certainly paternal
love. Yet the people of Bengal throw their
children into the river, when they have more
born than tkey can maintain : others fell them,
and deliver them up to flavery. The Laced^mo-.
nians would kill thofe children, who they thought
would be a charge to the publick. The Chinefe
laws permit them to expofe them in the ftreets.
Another fentiment , which is equally one of
thofe, which nature dictates, is the refpeft of chil-
dren towards their fathers and mothers. Yet one
has feen people, who pretend to be civilized, a-
mongft whom it was a pious office, to k:ll. their
fathers and mothers, when come to a certain
age: this cuftom flill fjbfifts among the Hotten-r
tots. Why fhould we refufe to Bees a charit5f
equal to that of thefe people, who believe they
treat their aged parents very favourably, in {liort-
ning the duration of their lives •, thofe days, which,
they would otherwife pafs in pain and mifcry ? At
lead there is a probability, that it is for the good
of their fociety, which is the motive of their
actions, that the Bees kill thofe, whom they
know to be no longer in a condition to contribute
towards it.

CLAR,

of B E E S. js

CLAR. I am, it Ic^ems then, unacquainted
with natural fentiments. I lofe myfcif in this fub-
jed : all the anfwer I can make is, that I am
perfeflly convinced, that we mufl keep to thofe,
which our religion, laws and cuftoms have hand-
ed down to us : and that it is, to fearch too far,
to endeavour to know the motives, which prevail
on brutes, fince we are often at a lofs to give a
rcafon for thofe, which influence ourfelves. There-
fore let us leave this argument, and return to our
Bees. After having been fo lucky as to find my-
felf prefent at one of their duels, may I not flat-
ter myfelf to fee one of their general battles ?

EUGEN. I cannot promife you that j they
are not very frequent. It is poiTible to excite them
to it, but there muft be preparadons for it. In
the mean time, I am going to tell you what I
know, and what I have feen. *Tis fcarcely ever
but in fwarming time, that one fees thefe publick
rencounters. "When a colony of Bees, abandon-
ing their domeftick lares, goes in fearch of a
new habitation in fome foreign country j if it
ihould fall unluckily upon one already inhabited,
that is, upon a hive, which other Bees are in the
polfclTion of, ( it matters not whether it has been
long fince, or orJy feme few hours) the new comers
meet with their match. The proprietors being
in their own quarters, are ftrong, and not much
difpofed to divide their habitations ; they there-
fore defend their caftle, 'Tis then tha^c one oi
thefe general batdes is fought.

CLAR,

76 The Natural History

CLAR. This pretty nearly refembles the in-
vafion of the Huns and Vandals.

EUGEN. We often find in the adlions of
brutes comparifons between them and men,
which do not turn out to our honour. I re-
member one day, that being refolved to con-
fine a certain number of Bees, with their queen,
in a hive, which they found to be too little for
them, after a good many trials on both fides, of
theirs to depart, of mine to make them enter, at
lafb they efcaped, and with their conduftrefs
went to mix themfelves among a fwarm, which
had lately fettled itfelf in the neighbourhood, in
hopes, it (hould feem, to make but one people
with thofe, which were already there. Thefe laft
not finding themfelves difpofed to admit thefe
fi:rangers, receiv*d them very ill ; I had room to
believe they would be all maflTacred. This is
certain, that they had fcarcely introduced them-
felves, when there was a confiderable humming
heard in the hive, a proof, that every thing was
in great commotion there. This hive was like
thofe towns furprized by a rafh but too feeble
enemy, who feel by a hafty flight, what their te-
merity deferved. Immediately I faw Bees either
dead or dying, which other Bees brought out of
the hive. The field of battle, and the places
adjacent, offered nothing to the fight, but fcenes
of death. After an hour and a half, the time,
at which the Bees of the little hive took it into
their head to make themfelves mafters of the
great one, until five in the evening, the flaughter

was

of B E E S. 77

was great, and prefented me with a fpe(5tacle as
much diverfified as mortal. Sometimes I faw two
Bees proceed from the hive, one of which was
drawn by the other, who feized it wherever it
could, and try*d to mount upon its body ; when
it was fixed there, it feized the conquered Bee
by the neck, and ftrangled it with its teeth •, I fay
teeth, even in the literal fenfe. When the van-
quifh'd Bee had been bit, and grip'd near the an-
terior part of the body, fhe was dead, or dying :
the victor left it lifelefs in the duft, or ready to
expire there : then fhe abandoned it, but conti-
nued fettled near her, as if to enjoy her vidory,
in rubbing itfelf with its two hind legs, as a man
rubs his hands, when he has done fomething, with
which he is fatisfied. At other times I have fcen
them come out of their hive, holding the van-
quifhed Bee under their belly, and conveying the
dead far off; other Bees drew thofe, who were
expiring, from the hive, and cruelly difpatched
them before my eyes.

CLAR. Thefc are, I own, bafe, little ani-
mals -, their murdering, quarrelfome, infolent
humour hath given me fo j^reata diflike to them,
that, if it was not for their wax, which I have oc-
cafion for, I think I Ihould immediately turn
them out of my houfe.

EUGEN. Their wax ought to be no motive.
Do you believe, ClarifTa, you who value yourfelf
on a mod exadl juflice, that it would be permitted
you to keep fervants of a bad example, becaufe
you draw advantage from them .''

CLAR.

The Natural History

CLAR. Good! I fee your malice; Ybii
would fill my head with fcruples, that I may
lofe my wax. Let us put ofF to another time the
decifion of this cafe of confcience ; when we
/hall fee, whether your maxim, which is true from
man to man, is to be applied from man to brute.
Let us, at prefent, think the time is pad, which
we allotted for our converfation.

EUGEN. I even think, that we have gone
beyond it, and that I have broke into the regu-
larity of your employments. I will add onfr
word more, which will, probably, bring us to the
door of your apartment. We muft not con-
found thefe combats with another fort of quar-
rel, which never ends in death. I have often feen
three or four Bees after one ; they feized her by
the leg,each Bee on his own fide, they dragg'd her,
harrafs*d her, fometimes bit her body or her cor-
celet. I own, at firft, I had pity on the unhap*
py wretch, who was attacked with fo much cow-
ardice, and fuch fuperiority of numbers ; but
when I obferved the Bee, thus attacked by fo
many enemies, had an eafy method to free herfelf
from them, I underftood they had no defign on
its life. The combat was at an end, when the
creature, thus bit and tormented, put out its
;:runk : for immediately one^of the aggreflbrs came
to fuck it, by applying to it its own trunk, as did
the others in their turn ; fo that all thefe Bees
feemed to have no other end in their attack, than
to force her to difgorge the honey, which fhe had
cefufed them.

CLAR,

of fi E E S. 79

CLAR. Misfortune on misfortune! 'Tis not
enough then, that they commit treafon, and en-
gage in the moft deftrudive war, but they muft
tear the bread from each others mouths. Are
thefe the animals, of whofe praifes, the antients
and the moderns have been fo laviih ? thefe the
people, which your Virgil has fung in fuch tune-
ful verfe ? I fhould have been as well pleafed, if he
had celebrated the Caraibsand the Anthrcphagi.

EUGEN. I have already told you, that the
antients were in the wrong, topraife them without
bounds, and Virgil among the reft. They were
all of them but badly inform.ed. We have now
feen one part of what we have to reproach them
with, fuppofing them free agenti. Now we are
going to take a view of what they have of good»
admirable, and by fo much the more admirable,
as we would deprive them of intelligence, and
reduce them to pure mechanifm. You will find
their bad qualities compenfated by their good
ones. To convince you of it, we need only give
a detail of their birth, labour, induftry and poli-
ticks. And to give to their hiftory a fuitable or-
der, we will begin, in our next converfation, to
fpeak of the fruitfulnefs of our Mother- bee, the
pr<;liminarics thereof; and, at the lame time,
will give you inconteftable proofs of the fex of the
three fpecies of Bees,

CON-

8o The Natural History

CONVERSATION V.

Of the generation of Bees, and the fruitfulnefs
of the Mother-bee,

CLARISSA.

WOULD you perfuade me then, that no
animal proceeds from corruption ?

EUGEN. Yes, doubtlefs, I would perfwade
you to it •, and fee you renounce for good this
old error, which fubfifts only among the popu-
lace, and which men of true learning have ba-
nifhed for ever.

CLAR. It is becaufe it is old and out of
doors, that I chufe to protect it.

EUGEN. Prodigious generofity !

CLAR. Pleafantry apart , I believe this
change of opinion is not owing to the prefent
mode. Tell me, from whence proceed thofc
worms, which fpring from foods long kept, from
ftanding waters, from cheefe, and from fluffs
locked up in chefls ?

EUGEN. From a father and mother, as we
do.

CLAR. You kill me! What will you pre-
tend, that a worm, in a very hard and well clofed
nut, was generated there by its father and mo-
ther?

EUGEN.

of B E E S. 8i

EUGEN. No doubt of it. Only allow ge*
Reration to be the caufe of infedls ; it is a fiadt
now owned for true and capable of proof : it is a
fubjecl I fhall not pretend to maintain in its ut-
moft extent. I fhall only fpeak of our Bees ;
and endeavour to give you the moft juft ideas of
their birth. But as before men fow good grain,
they are accuflomed to root out pernicious weeds ;
fo before I acquaint you with the generation of
Bees, it is neccflary to inform you, what they
have believed, and what they ought to believe
no Jonger. I am going to fet before you the opi-
nion of the ancients ; afterwards I will inform
you what we ought to adhere to. The antients,
who treated infeds as imperfed and contemptible
animals, granted them, at the fame time, a pre-
rogative, which, had it been true, would have
raifed them far above us : that was, to be pro-
duced two different ways, of generation and
corruption. They believed in the firft cafe, the
fperme ought to be fecundated by the male ; and
in the other, a certain plaftic virtue, the effedl of
corruption, or rather the child of their own ima-
gination, was to them inftead of father and mo-
ther. The privilege of this double birth was
granted principally to flies. They had feen flies
coupled together ; they had likewife feen them
proceed, if I may fo fay, from the bofom of
matter, as thofe which owe their binh to flag-
nating water, which proceed from the galls of
trees, or from thofi nuts, of which you jull now
fpoke to me, or from fl:uffs locked up in chefts.

G They

82 The Natural Hi story

They never gave themfeves the trouble to ob-
ferve their eggs had not been laid there. They
fuppofed that to be true, which they but ill ob-
fervM, which but too often happens. On this a
iyftem was torm*d, which could not fail of being
ridiculous. They pretended, that from a bull's
corrupted flefh were produced Bees : That a lyon,
in a ftate of corruption, furnifhed the moft coura-
geous, as thofe, which owed their origin to a cow,
were more gentle and tradlable : That a meer calf
could only furnifh very languid ones. They
afcribed to a dead horfe the privilege of engen-
dring wafps and hornets -, to an afs that of
beetles, and to certain trees the produftion of
other infc(5ls. They at laft proceed fo far, as to
give to dirt and mud an engendring faculty. I
am aflonifh'd, that they did not fay all at once,
that an ox might fpring from a cock of putrid
hay, a flag from the leaves of trees, a wolf from
dead flefh : It would not have cofl them any thing
more.

CLA.R. You are in a pafTion, Eugenio^
againfl the antients : If they did not fay fo, it
was certainly, becaufe they were aware of the
abfurdity.

EUGEN. This I doubt of; fince they have
faid flill more. The Egyptians, in thofe golden
ages, when arts and fciences flourifh'd among
them, did they not pretend, that their anceftors
fprung immediately from the mud of the Nile?
But to keep only to our Bees ; has not Ariflotle
told us, that it was an opinon generally followed

in

of B E: E S* 83

in his time, that Bees produced neither eggs, nor
maggots ? *Tis the fame, which Virgil has pre-
ferr*d *, he tells us they difdain the pleafures of
love, and that the pains of produdlion are to them
unknown ; that it is from plants tlvey gather theif
young. Some have told us, that they went to
fearch upon flowers a certain matter they carried
to their hives, which, after having been made
proper to become a feed, would produce maggots,
which in time would turn into Bees. Difputes
likewife have been raifed, from what kind of
plant the Bees collefted this wonderful matter.
Some would have it was from the flowers of
cerinthus, which is our balm, others from olive
trees, and others again from a kind of reed.

CLAR. This is too much for once : I give
up the antients. To feek for infants ready made
from trees ! I fhould never have fufpeflcd them
to have carried their fyftem of the generation of
infe<5ls to fo child ifh an abfurdity.

EUGEN. If the philofophers have made
great advancements, when they were in a right
way, they have made as great when they loft
themfelves. But at laft the time was come, in
which, for the prefcrvation of reafon, this liberty
of imagination ought to be curb'd. Defcartes
put a flop to its impetuofity, in fhewing us how
to examine the mofl received ideas, and, of them,
to adopt none, which were not clear and evident.
Could you, at this time, be of the fentiment of
Alexander of Montfort, who, in his book of
The fpring-Wne of Beesy fays, the king is form'd
G 2 from

84 The Natural H 1 s t o r y

from a juice, which the Bees extraft from flowers:
That the ordinary Bees are fometimes produc'd
from honey, fometimes from gum.

CLAR. You infenfibly condemn my fa-
vourite author. Liger, in his Country-houfe^ which
I confider as an abridgment of all good houfe-
wifery there, tells us *' In order to make Bees
" by art, one has nothing to do but to kill an
" ox in the fummer, to fhut it up in a well-
" clos*d chamber, and to leave it to corrupt there
" in its fkin ; at the end of forty-five days,
*' there will proceed from it an infinity of Bees."
Docs not this opinion in an author I like, and
have a confidence in, merit fome favour from
you ?

EUGEN. Pay no complaifance to any bad
reafonings ; of which there will always be too
much in the world. That is not the only old-
woman's tale one reads in that book. Let us
put another fable, related by the fame writer,
upon the fubjed of the generation of Bees, on
the fame toot. He tells you, that to procure
filk-worms by art, you mull feed a cow with
young with mulberry-leaves, *till flie has calv'd,
and continue to feed her and the calf likewife
with the fime leaves ; " At laft, fays he, cut
*' the calf into pieces, without taking any thing
** off of her, not even the hoof of her feet, ex-
" pofe the fame to be corrupted by the air, in a
" granary ; from thence will iflue forth true
" filk-worms.'* I have all my life admir'd

with

of B E E S. ^5

with what cafe people fwallow fables, as well to
relate as to believe them.

CLAR. You open my eyes, and I begin to
be more and more fenfible of the folly of thefe
fyftems. How can there then, at this time of
day, be people, who call themfelves philofophers,
and who, notwithftanding, are fo fond of thefe
old opinions ?

EUGEN. 'Tis becaufc truth is a fun, which
fliines not to all the world ; every body, that
wou'd, can't fee it. There are fome perfons, over
whom their prejudices domineer fo much, and
fo furmounted with thick darknefs, that the
light cannot pierce through them, ^ye have
an inftance of it in a book printed at Paris in 1720,
where the Author, who otherwife lays down very
good rules for the management of Bees, has fub-
join'd a dilTertation upon their production, m
which he pretends to eftablifh, by reafons and
obfervations, that the crude wax, which the Bees
bring home on their legs, becomes vivified in the
hive : That as the maggots of certain flies ('tis
his own comparifon) fpring from putrid flefh, fo
the maggots, which are to become Bees, take their
birth from this wax, which the warmth of the
hive had corrupted. This author tells his ftory,
as if he himfelf had been an eye-witnefs of it.

CLAR. You prove to me, what I have often
heard, that the hiftory of the progrefs of fciences
is, at the fame time, the hiftory of errors, and,
one may fay, of the extravagancies of the huma^
underftanding.

G 2 EUGEN.

86 The Natural History

EUGEN. That is what ought to make the
progrefs of fcience very dear, and very defirablc
to us, fince its only aim is to introduce truth,
and to reafon wife and circumfpeft. There has
not been more agreement about the fex of Bees,
than their generation. Some have thought, that
the kings were males, others that they were fe-
males i fome have regarded only the common
Bees as males, others as fo many females. Others
have pretended, that they mutually coupled to-
gether. An Englifh author, one Butler, in his
Female Monarchy, is among thofe, who would
have it, that queens produce queens, and com-
mon Bees are the mothers of common Bees. He
makes the drones produc'd from ordinary Bees.
Others have confider'd thefe drones as contributing
nothing to the generation of Bees in a hive ;
others, on the contrary, will have it, they are
females. Some have even thought, that the kings
have ov/'d their birth to the drones : whereas
Pliny makes thefe drones imperfeft Bees, pro-
duced by others, who are fuperannuated. In fhort,
thefe different accounts, with regard to the fex
or the no fex of Bees have been made, and they
have all found their abettors.

CLAR. I am no longer furprizM at it.
When one has not truth for one's guide, ail paths
appear right.

EUGEN. As for us, laying afule all thefe
different fcntlments, which thwart and deflroy
each other, let us keep nature in view, as far as
ihe permits us. I have had a perfedl view of

the

of B E E S. 87

the generation of Bees, and can give you an ac-
count of it. I will t€ll nothing but what has
pafTed under my eyes, and through my hands,
nothing which you may not fee here, at lead in
part, if fortune favours us. Before I relate how
and by what means they are produc'd, I ought
as an exadt and faithful hiftorian, firft to treat of
what regards their common mother, what puts
her in a condition folely to produce a numerous
people, to the numbers of thirty or forty thoufand
in a year. Towards the middle of May or the be-
ginning of June, when a new fwarm quits the hive
it was born in, to look in the trunk of a tree, or
fome empty hive, a more commodious habita-
tion -, this new fwarm is then compos'd of one
queen at leafl", of a number of drones or males,
v/hich march by hundreds, and of working Bees,
which move by feveral thoufands. Scarcely has
the colony arrived at its new habitation, when
the working Bees labour with the utmofl dili-
gence, fome to build the alveoli, others to feek
materials neceffary for life and building. There
is no time to lofe, lodging muft be had •, they
muft immediately provide for their new efla-
blifhment. Sometimes in lefs than four and
twenty hours they have made combs, more than
twenty inches long, and between feven or eight
wide : Thus one fwarm makes more wax in the
firfl fifteen days, than they do in all the reft of
• the year. In the firft days, every one beftirs
itfelf, with ardour, to thofe labours, for which
nature has intended it: The working Bees for
G 4 the

88 The Natural History

the gathering of honey and wax, for the pubhck
edifices i the queen, to give fucceflbrs to thefe
new inhabitants, which they are incapable of
giving to themfeJves. Tliere are only the drones,
who have nothing elfe to do, but to wait the good
plea fu re of the queen.

CLAR. This feems to me to be a very
humbling office for the males.

EUGEN. It muft be own'd, that among
the Bees, the males make no diftinguilh'd figure.
I have told you, that when a new fwarm takes
the fields, it takes along with it one queen at
lead, that is as much as to fay, that there are
fometimes two, three, four, and even more.
If there is none, the fwarm will never fettle ; if,
as it often happens, there are many, that too is a
great inconvenience ; but in this cafe the fuper-
numerary queens only lofe their lives : For, to
cftablifh the good and peace of the monarchy,
there requires but one •, the reft are put to death.
I will inform you of this maffacre, as we go on.
The remaining quefton is, to know how this
queen behaves to become a mother i how flie
a(5ts with her hundreds of husbands ; how Ihe
conducts in her numerous feraglio ?

CLAR. I impatiently exped the particulars j
I imagine the gallant anecdotes of the Mother-
Bee would make a very entertaining hiftoi-y.
Having examined, as you have often done, thefe
with fo penetrating an eye, I make no doubt
you have furpriz'd the queen throwing her hand^
kerchief.

EUGEN,

of B E E S. 89

EUGEN. You have room, however, to
doubt of it : For it is in this feraglio, as in that
of the Orientals, there are none but the fovereign
and the fervants of it, who can know what pafles
within. I have tried all forts of methods to
penetrate into that of the Bees, and to difcover
its myfteries : they have always been religioufly
concealed from me, becaufe it is in the bottom
of the hive, that this queen performs the defigns
of nature. Perhaps you think, that fhame and
modefty engage her thus to hide herfelf. There
is nothing of that -, and you will fee by and by,
that fhame is a virtue, which was given her
gratis by the antients •, and that fhe lefs deferves
CO be praifed on that fcore, than any animal I am
acquainted with. 1 can't then tell you, if, amongfl
this great number of males, one only is worthy
to be honour'd with the queen's favours, or if
many have a fhare in her good graces. I am
entirely ignorant of this, and don't at all attempt
to guefs i but that which I know for certain is,
that fhe demeans herfelf for the propagation of
her fpecies after the fame manner, and by the
fame methods, that other animals do. I pro-«
cur'd a proof of this, by no means equivocal.
I had, for this, recourfe to two very fimple ex-
pedients. The f^rfl is anatomy, which gave mc
a view of the interior parts, as well of the fe-
males, as the males, compared with thofe of the
Working-bees. The fecond is the method I
found out, to oblige the Mother-bee to fubmit

herl^lf before me, and with my own eyes law

her

90 .The Natural History

her perform the duties, which nature requires of
her ; and to adt, in my prefence, with one fpoufe
taken at random, what Ihe does with one, or
more, of her own choofing. I will begin with
the anatomy, and will make it before you, that
you may have no doubt or fcruple, on that ac-
count. Don't you fee this ? It is a pregnant
queen, which was ready to lay, and perhaps did
fo, when fhe was taken and ftrangled.

CLAR. From whence comes, Eugenius,
this Mother-bee ? How did you catch her ?

EUGEN. I conceal'd her, to give you the
pleafure of a furprize. I yefterday communicated
to your gardener the fecret of catching the Mother-
bee. It is true, this fecret has coft you a whole
hive : But I would have this queen, to prove to
you the inconteftable marks of her fex -, to let
you fee, that this king of the antients is a queen,
and the more fo for her fecundity. Let us now
open anatomically the belly of this here, and
obferve what will firft prefent itfelf. Affift your
fight with my glafs, and judge.

CLAR. It is not at all doubtful. What a
prodigious number of eggs ! It is pretty ftrange,
that when it is fo eafy to know the fex of a
Bee, men have, for fo many ages, reafon'd
wrong, on a faft fo very obvious. Was it that
there was no anatomy in Ariftotle's time ? A
moderate fight fuffices ; even your glafs is of no
fervice.

EUGEN. The antients liked arguments
better than experiments, A perfon diftinguifhed

himfelf

of B E E S. 91

himfelf in their times, by reafoning true or falfe -,
but men are now diftinguifhM by experiments.
*ris in purfuance of this maxim of the moderns,
that Swammerdam has given us a very good cut of
thefe eggs, or rather of thefe ovaria ; for that is
the name he has judicioufly given to thefe two
bundles of eggs. See here. I am going topiateV.
give you a particular account of them. The^^S »•
ovarium for a Bee is a collection of veffels •, for Lett,
all thefe eggs, that you fee in fo great a number, *^^' ^^*
were not placed there at random ; they are con-
tained in feveral inteftines, or tranfparent bowels,
of fo great finenefs, that they can*t be perceived
but by the means of a very good glafs. I will
now convince you of it. Take notice, that in i.ett. d,
raifing with the point of a pin one thread of
thofe eggs, they don't feparate ; but are con-
tinued from end to end. All thefe veflels, which Lett. b.
together compofe the two bundles of diftind: eggs,
derive their origin from the fame place, and
terminate in the fame common canal. WhenLett. te.
one opens a Mother-bee, when her laying time is
far diftant, as I have open'd many in the winter,
and other feafons of the year ; you fee nothing
in the room of thefe ovaria, but bundles of
threads finer than thofe of a filk-worm. By
means of a very good glafs, one may however
perceive fome little inequalities, fome little knots,
which feem to end taper. But when the Bee,
as this before us, is in her full laying time, her
tody feems to be filled with nothing but a pro-
digious number of different firings of eggs,

which

92 The Natural History

which reach from the upper part of the bo^y

Plate V. quite down to the hinder. Obferve, that thefe

Fig. I- eggs, which are found in this Jower part, near

' the common canal, are long, and fuch as thofe,

which you'll find depofited in the alveoli of the

wax : and the more you trace them towards the

top, the more they diminifh, that is, they arc

lefs formed.

CLAR. Methinks I find a fault in this draw-
ing of Swammerdam ; all thefe ftrings of eggs arc
Lett. E. colleded and united, in one of thefe two ovaria^
Lett. c. as they are in the Bee you hold ; but in the other
ovarium they are difperfed.

EUGEN. That is not a fault ; 'twas the au-
thor's defign in the graving. He intended, that
one of thefe two ovaria fhould give the idea of
a mother ready to lay ; and the other of one, at a
farther diftance from her time ; and in this here,
he has feparatcd the threads to render them more
Lett c. obvious. There are then the two ovaria well
diftinguifhed. Let us now fee the rout, which
Letters ^^^^^ ^gg^ take, to come out. Thefe two great
T E, T E. veflels are conduits, into which the eggs fall at
their leaving the ovaria ; from thence they unite
Lett. m. themfelves in this great cana],which Swammerdam
confiders as the matrix. This other fpherical
• °" body, adhering to the matrix, is thought to con-
tain the vlfcous liquor, with which every egg
ought to be lubricated, in falling from the body
of the infeft, in order to be attached to the bot-
Lcttnnn. tom of the alveolus. Thefe two great mufcles
ferve for the play of the fting, and the bladder

of

of B E E S. 93

of venom. Here is the veflel, that conveys Lett. v.
the venom into it. At laft the dreadful Lett. s.
(ling, curve, and greater than thofe of the j
Working-bees, and the two parts, which ferve
it for a cafe. Lett.pr

CLAR. What is the ufe of that great blad-
der I perceive between the two ovaria ? Lett. x.

EUGEN. Swammerdam looks upon it as the
pulmonary bladder, which, in this animal, per-
forms the office of lungs, that is, a refervoir of
air, which in the Bees comprefs or dilates ac-
cording as it needs.

CLAR. Although this anatomy is very well
executed, very delicate and ingenious, yet I
doubt, whether it would fully fatisfy thofe wo-
men, who would be more curious than I am, and
defirous of knowing more.

EUGEN. 1 am apprized of what thefe cu-
rious ladies would know with regard to anatomy :
If they were here, I would tell them, in order to
make nicer difcoveries, they muft have recourfe
to analogy. 'Tis likely it is with the Bee, as
with the female butterfly. Malphigi has very
well difcovered and defcribed what I mean. He
pretends to have found, in a female butterfly, a
veficula in the form of a pearl, and that this
pearl is a refervoir, which contains the fecundify-
ing matter, which the male had depofited : that
this matter is conveyed into the ovarium by a ca-
nal of communication : that, when there, it
moiftens the eggs, and vivifies them as they pafs
the ovarium : and that without this precaution,

the

94

The Natural History

the eggs would be laid unfruitful, as thofe of
hens, which lay without the interpofition of a
cock.

CLAR. You have fuppofed in me a define
of knowing that, which, perhaps, I have not.
You are lucky, that I am not difpofed to quar-
rel. As to the difcovery, it appears to me one
of great penetration, and gives me a very high
idea of the fagacity of this Malphigi. So that I
make no doubt, but he has carried his enquiries
fo far, as to count how many eggs there are in
the belly of a Bee.

EUGEN. It is not him, 'cisSwammerdam,
who is not at all inferior to him, who has under-
taken the calculation. His eftimation is, that
each ovarmn has more than a hundred and fifty
veffels deftinM to contain the eggs : that each
vcfiel contained feventeen eggs, which are vifible *,
and confequently that the two ovaria of a Mo-
ther-Bee, ready to lay, contain five thoufand one
hundred vifible eggs. This being fo, one will
have no difficulty to believe, that a Bee may pro-
duce, in feven or eight weeks, ten or twelve
thoufand Bees or more ; for one eafily conceives,
that the number of thofe, which are not vifible,
which will grow large, during the time the others
will be laid, and which take their place in the
ovaria \ that the number of thefe eggs, I fay,
which efcape our fight, on account of their fmall-
nefs, are by far fuperior to thofe other. After
having (hewn and proved to you, undeniably, as
I fuppofe, that the Queen-bee is a very fruitful
I mother i

of B E E S. 95

mother j we muft now let you fee, that the drones
are the males, and that the Working- bees are of
no fex : that they hold in this feraglio the fame
place, that the black eunuchs do, in that of
the fovcreigns of Afia : that they are only there
as domefticks, deftinM to all the work within
doors -, but are excluded from the privilege of re-
pairing thofe chafms, which death makes every
day in the ftate. To have a full and entire con-
vidlion with regard to thefe drones, I am going
to feize one, open it before you, and by the
comparifon I will enable you to make of their
interior parts, with thofe of the Mother-bee, you
will be a judge of the demonftration of our proofs.
If the examination of the interior parts of a Mo-
ther-bee has been fufficient to let us fee, that Ihe
alone was able to give befng to fo many thoufand
Bees, who are born every year in one hive, the
examination of the interior parts of the drones
will not be lefs certain to convince us, that they
are allotted to render the eggs fruitful, and that
they are the males. When one has difcovered,piatcV.
as I Ihall prefently, the interior parts of a drone's ^'S- 2» 3-
body, it will be found, that the cavity of it is
almoft wholly filled with veflels, and refervoirs,
whofe ule ferves only to prepare and contain the
liquor, proper to vivify the eggs. The parts
you fee, which, with regard to the place where
they are lodg*d, are of a confiderable fize, and
which are whiter than milk, owe their colour to
the liquor, which they contain. None of thefe
parts bear any refemblance to thofe you have feen,

in

96 The Natural History

in the body of the female ; nor will you fee any
likenefs to them, in thofe of the Working-bees.
I fhall not enter into a farther detail on the fub-
jeft of thofe parts. If fancy, or curiofity takes
you to know them more exadJy, I refer you to
the author, who has furnifhed me with all my
knowledge.

CLAR. I know as much, on this article, as

I am defirous of knowing. Now open the body

of a Working- bee, that I may have no doubt of

the three different fpecies.

Plate XL EUGEN. Here is one. You fee here the

f 'S- 3- canal for aliments : a firft ftomach, which con-

Lctc> V

Lett" V. tains the honey : a fccond ftomach, and the in-
Lett K. teftines filled with crude wax : but beyond this,
you obferve no part analagous to the ovaria, nor
any thing, that refembles, or that one can even
fufpedl to be eggs : moreovt^r, you fee no part,
which has the appearance of being that of the
males or drones.

CLAR. That is true. I fhall however raife
oneobjedion. How are you fu re, that there is
in one hive one only female ; that what you call
drones, are all males ; and that the Working-
bees are, without exception, of neither fex : to
conclude, that the Bees are all, each in their kind,
fuch as you have open'd } It appears to me very
difHcult to verify this exadlly.

EUGEN. The certainty of it is very fimple
and eafy. You have only to devote, as I have
done, an entire hive ; to deftroy all its people,
either by fmoak, or water, and then to examine

every

of B E E S. 97

every particular Bee : it is not even necelTary to
open them ; 'twill fuffice to prefs them between
your two fingers : one can eafily make the cha-
raderiftic parts of the fex appear in thofe, which
have any -, and the default of that appearance will
indicate thofe, which have none.

CLAR. What poflibility is there of refifting
fo great an evidence ? After what I have feen,
there is no room for difpute ; one muft furrender.

EUGEN. To take advantage of the good
difpofition you are in, I pafs to the recital of the
Mother- bee*s anlours. A Mother- bee, who is
the only one of her fex found in the hive, as fhe
is at certain times found there, with feven or
eight hundred, and fometimes a thoufand drones,
feems to be there in the midft of a very numerous
feraglio of males. They have however pretend-
ed, that fhe admits none of them to any intima-
cies with her. It is true, that, hitherto, no per-
fon has feen her feck their union, or, at leaft, no
perfon has writ, that he has feen it. But this is
one of thofe cafes, wherein a negative proof can-
not have much force : for without afcribing mo-
defty to this Bee, there is no reafon to im.agine,
that Ihe quits the interior part of the hive, where
fhe likes to pafs her time, and that fhe endea-
vours to expofe herfelf to the fpedVators eyes,
when fhe would permit a male to render her
eggs fruitful. The queen of * Achem is in the* Gemelli
fame cafe with the queen of the Bees, that is, to^^''^^"'
have a feraglio of men at her command. If then
one of thofe travellers, who traverfe the world to

H inftrua:

9§ The Natural History

inftrucfl themfelves in the manners and cuftoms
of different people, fhould keep himfelf in the
fuburbs of the city of Achem, in hopes, that this
queen will come to feek him in the fields, with
fome one of her favourites, to make him a fpec-
tator of what fecrets pafs between them, he
would, probably, wait a great while to no pur-
pofe : and if he fliould take it in his head to con-
clude, that men attend this queen, like your fmall
Bologna dogs, only for the pleafure of being
look'd at, I fancy he would not find many rea-
ders fo fimple as to believe his relation. Let
us make the fame inference with refpe(5t to the
Bees. We have it not in our power to be wit-
neffes of all their aftions. Our eyes are not
formed to fee through their waxen combs, cove-
red with feveral layers of common Bees. But we
are certain, it is behind thefe combs, that the myf-
tery of fecundation is carried on. Being thus in-
ftruded of the place, where the operation is per-
formed, nothing more remains, but to know
the time and the manner. The time is eafy to be
known. At the beginning of fpring, open a
hive, you will not find there one fingle male :
from the middle of May to the end of June,
you will find hundreds of them : from thence to
the following fpring you look for them in vain :
the time therefore of fecundation can be no other,
but when there are males, that is, about fix.
weeks, taken in the months of May and June.
With regard to the manner how things pals to
caufe this fecundation, 'tis what I myfelf have

fccn,

of B E E S.

feen, and of which I will give you an exad ac-
count. I found the fecret to force a Mother-bee
to adb before me, in the fame manner as fhe does
in the bottom of her hive.

CLAR. Hold, Eugenio : your virtuofi may
have the liberty of feeing, what is improper for
the ladies to hear.

EUGEN. There are ways of talking to the
underftanding, without fhocking the ears ; thefe
ways I intend to make ufe of Towards the be-
ginning of May, I took a mother, who had al-
ready given birth to a great number of Bees, and
who was going to give it to feveral more. I put
her into one of thofe glafles, which we make ufe
of for powder, where I fhut her up with feven
or eight males. I was curious to obferve how
they would behave with her, or fhe with them.
They v/ere taken from the fame hive, and were
fome of her hulbands. They treated her, howe-
ver, with an indifference I did notexped:. Near
upon two hours I left them together, in which
time nothing pafifed between them : each conti-
nued on its own fide, in a perfedl inadion, as
people, who would never be acquainted,

CLAR. It feems as if this experiment is not
much to the advantage of what you would per-
fuade me to.

EUGEN. When one makes experiments of
this nature, it is equally advantageous to know
what makes them fail, as what fucceed. Thii
lad did not fucceed for the following reafons*
In order to get this Queen-bee, I had plunged

H 2 the

99

The Natural History

the whole hive into water, and, by this means,
had taken out the queen almoft drowned. Re-
turn*d therefore in fo fmall a time, from the
gates of death, it is not at all to be wonder'd
at, that Ihe had not thofe paflions, which are the
effedts of full and perfed health. Befide, (he was
in the middle of her laying time, when all ani-
mals of both (kxes, have no mutual defires. Add
to this, fhe was not a young mother i the con-
dition of her wings proved her age, as ours is
known by the wrinkles on our foreheads : her
wings were notched, and the edges of them
iliivered away. The obfervations I was defirous
of making demanded therefore, that I fliould
fhut up with fome males a female, which, as yet,
had no communication, or very little with them.
Towards the middle of June they brought me
one, which I had reafon to believe was fuch as
I wanted. She had been found, that morning,
near a hive, which had fwarmcd the nieht before.
For, as I have already told you, there are fome
times fupernumerary queens amongfl the fwarms :
this I fpeak of, was one of the fwarm, who, 'tis
likely, had fived her life by flight. The good
condition of her wings, and her colour, made
me conclude, that fhe was yet young ; and the
bulk of her body, not fo great as that of a fe-
male ready to lay, feemed to prove, that fhe had
no other eggs, but fuch as were extreamly Imall.
I fhut her up in the glafs, where I put likewifc a
male with her, which I had ordered to be taken
from one of my old hives. I difcovered the cha-
' " ~" ' ra(5teF

of B E E S.^

racfterof this young queen, as foon as fhe had been
put to the proof. I had never feen any but queens,
accuftomed to be treated, every inftant, by the
Working-bees, to receive from them prefents of
honey, thoufands of carefles, and a thoufand lit-
tle marks of efteem, of every kind. Thus I
faw, with fome furprize, that all the deference,
which common Bees have for the mother, the
fame this young queen had for the drones, I had
put to her. Not fatisfied to come near him,
ihe delayed not to put out her trunk, fometimes
fuccefTively to Jick different parts of the male's
body, at other times to offer him honey : fhe
turned round about him, continually carefTing
him, either with her trunk or legs. The drone
ftupidly fubmitted to fo many indearments, as if
they had been his due, nor feemed at all moved
by them. It feemed, as if it had been goodnefs
in him to fuffer himfelf to be carefs'd : however,
at the end of a quarter of an hour, he feemed to
to be a little aninvited ; and when the female,
placed in fight, full over againfl him, had brufh-
ed, with her thighs, the head of this infenfible,
and had foftly fet at play her antenna ; the male
was determined, at length, to anfwer her ad-
vances, by fimilar ones, of the fame nature. The
female redoubled her vivacity, and placed herfelf
in thofe pofitions, which agree not very well with
the idea which has been attempted to be given us
of her modefty : it is to make ufe of a weak
term, to ftile thefc pofitions only immodeft; they
approached to fomething fuperior, unknown to

H 3 tis.

The Natural History

us, a fuperiority, which overthrows the genera
order of nature, by lubjedling the more noble
fpecies to the other. All thefe indearments
were by no means unufeful to this pafiionate
queen ; her indolent fpoufe became more aftive ;
he was animated more and more. One /night
fee, as I did diftindlly, that many of thofe
organs, which you obferved within him, when
I open'd the male, appear'd without him. The
\yhole tranfadion continued three or four hours,
during which he found time for repofe, and re-
peated a6ts of love. At length the drone fell
into one, which to the queen feemed to be of too
long a duration. She was defirous to draw him
from his lethargy ; flie feized him, with her
teeth, by the corcelet j flie cheer*d him a little ;
fometi.mes, in order to refrefli him more, fhe
put her head under his body ; but fo many marks
of her repeated regard were unufeful •, he was
dead.

CLAR. How 1 what do you fay.''
EUGEN. I fay he was dead, nor is he the
only one I have feen expire in thefe critical mo-
ments. I fancy fo immediate a death in fuch cir-
cumliances may appear to you fufpicious, or, at
leaft, an extraordinary event, but the confe-
quences were fo. When T knew this little ani-
mal was abfolutely deprived of life, I only thought
of confoling the widow, and I fimcied I could
not better fucceed in this, than to prefent her ano-
ther fpoufe young and vigorous.

CLAR.

of B E E S. 103

CLAR. That is to fay, that you reafon'd
on the account of this Bee, agreeably to the ma-
licious principles, which men are po{Tefs*d with
in regard to our fex. Could a philofopher of
your cafl: have any taint of vulgar prejudices ?

EUGEN. Grant me more juftice. I thought
of no inference injurious to the ladies ; I was
only defirous to treat this Bee like a brute; but
to my great aftonifhment, fhe behav'd like a vir-
tuous wife. The living did not at all confole her
for the dead. She remain*d all the reft of the
day fix'd to the body of her unfortunate fpoufe,
continuing the fame cares, and loading him with
the fame carefTes, which fhe had conferred durino-
life. The widow of Maufolus could not better
difcharge her duty.

CLAR. You begin to Intereft me for this
tender queen. I am curious to know her deftiny.

EUGEN". You fhall foon be fatisfied ; night
being come, I drew from the glafs the two
fpoufes, the living and the dead, and Ihut up in
their room a hundred common Bees, to keep our
queen warm, during the night. The next morn-
ing, I prefented her with a new hufband. I
beftowed likewife another on another queen,
which they had brought me to repeat the experi-
ment. The two females behaved in the fame
manner, in which the firft had done the day be-
fore with a male in perfedl health.

CLAR. This fpoils all. Was then one
night fufEcient to caufe your Artemifia to forget
her Maufolus ?

H 4 EUGEN.

104 The Natural H i s t or y

EUGEN. What is approv'd among us, let
us not charge as a crime to her. We find no-
thing blameable, that a young widow fhould
admit new engagements, after her year of widow-
hood. One night with a Bee may be equivalent
to one of our years. Time ought to be meafur*d
according to the duration of life. An animal,
which has but three or or four years to live, can-
not admit fo long interval between two adlions,
as that, which has fixty or feventy. Befides, from
all you have feen, and from all I have told you,
we have a right to conclude that, in the hive the
Mother-bee ads as that did in the glafs ; and,
confequently, that Bees are produced like other
animals, and not from corruption.

CLAR. That appears to me extreamly true.
But I think it no lefs ftrange, that this queen
ihould gratify the defires of her fex, in a manner
fo oppofite to natural order.

EUGEN. This inverfion of nature ought
not to furprize you ; it is even neceffary in this
cafe : For when it has been once eftablifh*d, that
a female fhould cohabit with a thoufand males,
the confequcnce ought to be, that thefe males
Ihould be fleepy, and to be awaked only by her;
that Ihe fhould be free to chufe among them all
him, whom fhe would honour with her favours.
You eafily conceive what confufion, what a ter-
rible fituation it would be for a woman, to find
herfelf in the midft and at the mercy of a crowd
of adive, petulant hufbands, who would all be
maflers the fame moment.

CLAR.

of B E E S. IC5

CLAR. You are in the right ; that is eafily
admitted. The imagination requires no afiiftance,
to prefent to itfelf a juft image of the diforders,
which would refuk from thence.

EUGEN. You now know, Clarifla, how
the Mother- bee becomes fruitful ; you know what
puts her in a ftate to people the world with fo
numerous a pofterity. We fhall fee the next
time we meet here, how fhe acquits herfelf of
this important and laborious office. That is, we
will talk of her laying, and, on that occafion,
of the homage and refpedls, which are paid her
by the other Bees.

CON-

lo6 The Natural History

CONVERSATION VI.

Of the Mother-bee' i laying her eggs, and the
homage paid her,

EUGENI O.

I Congratulate myfelf, Clarifla, on Ihewing
you, this day, the manner of the Mother-
bee's laying her eggs, and, it may be, in giving
you a fight of her. The feafon being favourable
(for the ftrongell time of her laying falls out
about the end of May, and the beginning of the
next month) I hope we fnall take the queen in the
taft, and meet her, while fhe goes from cell to
cell, planting an egg in each, and fowing, as I
may call it, her pofterity. This is an operation
of great importance : 'Tis not the queen only,
that is interefted -, it concerns the whole hive ;
'tis the affair of the whole people, and the fafety
of the ftate.

CLAR. Though the birth of the Dauphin
were the fubjed, you could not makeufe of more
emphatic words.

EUGEN. The parity is with regard to the
public interefl, but in reality, the difference in
fad is very great. In the laft cafe, queens give
but one fuccefTor to the head of the empire •, in
the other, the Queen-bee ought to produce a
whole people together with their head.

CLAR.

of BEES. 107

CLAR. That is, that flie lays both the
monarch and monarchy.

EUGEN. That is exaflly true. Call to mind
what I have already told you, that when a fwarm
with a queen at their head, falls upon an empty
hive, the Working-bees, that inftant, apply
themfelves to labour -, that they have nothing
more at heart than building their alveoli ; that .
they engage in this work with zeal and a pro-
digious aftivity : A comb of wax, twenty inches
long, and feven or eight wide, is the work of
four and twenty hours. Their principal aim is
not only to have cells, in which they may de-
pofite their honey, which makes them then re-
double their aflivity •, a ftronger motive fcems
to animate them •, they feem to know, that
their queen is in hade to lay her eggs, and that
one cell is neceflary for each particular one. I
will not, at this tim.e, defcribe to you, the man-
ner, in which the Bees build their cells or alveoli ;
that liiall be an ample fubjeft of entertainment
for another day. Let us fitisfy ourfelves now,
to fee through this glafs hive, a Mother- bee in
that office, which diftinguifhes the females from
the males.

CLAR. What do I fee, Eugenic ? Our
hive is in a very different ftate from what it was
three days ago. It feems to be only a hive begun,
whereas it was, in our lafl converfation, an old
f)ne and well ftock'd. Has any misfortune
happen'd to it ?

EUGEN.

>o8 The Natural History

EUGEN. I was the author of all the mif-
chief. The laft time we parted, I went to pre-
pare that hive for the defign 1 had form'd, which
was to give you a fight of the Mother-bee laying
her eggs. To accomplifh that, I caus'd all the
Bees, which were in this, to pafs into another
hive, by means of fmoke. I took out the combs,
and after I had clean*d and perfum*d the infide,
I prefented it to a young fwarm, which was in
the fields, and in quefl for lodging •, thefe made
no great difficulty to enter. Scarcely have pafTed
twice four and twenty hours, fince the fwarm
has been lodg'd in this hive, and fince it has been
at work here, and, probably, the queen lodg*d
fome eggs. Let us ftoop down near this glafs
fquare, and fix our fight on thefe new combs,
which are not yet in fufficient number for one to
obfcure the other. I make no doubt but, with a
Jittle patience, we fhall fee the queen enter into
thefe empty cells, which you find before you,
and of which the greateft number is defl:in*d for
eggs.

CLAR. I fhall keep my eye upon them.
But as we have nothing to do, and wait for a
fight of this queen, I will beg the folution of a
difficulty, which embarraflfes me. This fwarm,
which we now fee at work, and which has not
quitted its hive, wherein it received its birth
above two days, and which cannot date its
exiftence but a litde time before ; how is it thi
iflfue of the queen's body, who, in all appearance,
was born at the fame time with it ? How can

one

, of B E E S. 109

one fay, that this queen is the mother of her
people ?

EUGEN. We ought not to fay fo at pre-
fent. This is not the time to make ufe of this
expreffion. To give you a jufter notion, you muft
know, that a hive is a continued circle of living
and dead Bees. As we ought to fix a point to
this circle, to trace the life of this people from
their birth to their death, I fet out from a fwarm,
that is, from the departure of a colony to found
a new hive. This date appears to me the moft
commodious. The Bees deflin*d for this tranf-
migration are not only thofe, which were lafl:
born ; there are fome old ones too, which mix
themfelves with the new ones : one part is of
the preceeding year, another part, as you ob-
ferv*d, began to exift but a few days before. But
the queen is always one of thefe laft, and by con-
fequence a young miOther. "When the Romans
fent out colonies to repeople thofe countries,which
they had ravag'd ; they were compofed of people
of all ages, to the end that by the vivacity of the
young, temper*d by the prudence and caution
of the old, there fhould refult a fpirit of wifdom,
vigilance and good government.

CLAR. You hurry on the relation of a fad,
which I find a little difficult to believe. You
thought, perhaps, that in embellifhing it, with a
fine comparifon, I fhould not fo nearly attend to
it. However it appears difficult, that you fliould
be able to diftinguifh fo nicely the different ages
of Bees, thofe of the lafl year and thofe of this.
I All

1 10 The Natural History

All that I fee, feem to me to be alike. I don*t
fuppofe, that you would have me underftand, that
you know how to diftinguifh the traces and
wrinkles, which time imprefles on the features of
a Bee.

EUGEN. Pardon me. That is nearly what
I would fay. I have promis'd you, ClarifTa, that
I would tell you nothing falfe, would exaggerate
nothing, with regard to fafls : as to the expreflion,
I afford myfelf a little more licence. You know
me fufficiently to take my promife as a fure war-
rant for the truth of my recitals. If the expe-
riments and obfervations, on which fafls are
founded, were a delicate fort of legerdemain,
which depended on a flight of hand, the twink-
ling of an eye, a fwift and rapid moment of
time, you would have a proper foundation, not
to truft me without caution, and I myfelf fhould
not draw any confequences, but with the greateft
circumfpc6lion. But thefe, which I have made
on the Bees are fo evident, and I may fay fo
palpable, that it would be but an ill-plac*d merit
to fpeak of them with timidity. Whoever has
been accuftom'd to fee the Bees of the prefent
year, and thofe of the preceding, well knows,
that the firil are brown, and have white hair,
and the other their hair red, and their wings
lefs brown : thefe colours are peculiar to different
ages. Among thofe, who put themfelves in the
train of a new queen, one obferves thefe two co-
lours, and the different fliades, that are between
them. Join to this obfervation that of the ftate

of

of B E E S. Ill

of their wings, which are found and Intire in youth,
and which, in more advanced age, are broken
and notch'd through hard fervice. To conclude,
if thofe, which remain in the old hive, are ex-
amined, one there obferves fome young, fome
old, and fome of a middle age. The fwarm
then is compofed of Bees of all ages, and there
remain thofe of every age in the hive. Thofe,
which happen to be at the door when the queen
takes her leave, fly along with her, and compofe
that troop form*d by chance, which we call a
fwarm.

CLAR. One muft fay then, according to
you, to fpeak with exadlnefs, that a Mother-bee,
which conducts her fwarm abroad, is no more
than their filler ; that fhe is a young filler, at-
tended by elder and younger brothers, who all
have one common mother, which they have left,
in quefl of a more commodious habitation in a
foreign country. That this queen will become a
mother in her turn, and in her turn will like-
wife be abandoned by one part of her children,
who will go elfewhere to feek their fortunes in
difincumbring the houfe.

EUGEN. You are perfedly right. You
need only add, that before this laft tranfmigration,
and during the time the young queen multiplies,
by a continual laying, the number of her fubjefls,
fo far as to oblige them to divide themfelves, fhe
may with juftice be called the mother of her
people ; or, at leafl, of that part of her people,
which fpring from her, in the fame hive.

I CLAR.

112 The Natural History

CLAR. O, Eugenio! is not that yonder the
mother, fo much expeded, who advances in the
middle of a croud of courtiers ? Let's fpeak low,
for fear of frightning her.

EUGEN. No need to ufe this caution, for
it is not Ihe. I cannot tell you, what this little
groupe of Bees do there, which you took for the
queen and her court ; but I plainly fee it is not
her.

CLAR. That being fo, to fill up the time,
which will be loft in filence, I am going to pro-
pofe to you queftions fuitable to the prefent fub-
jedt. This Bee, which we wait for with fo much
patience, and which adually lays at the bottom
of the hive, does not, certainly, lay eggs un-
fruitful. What time has fhe taken to give them
life ? Was it while flie was yet in her natal
hiVe ; or fince her leaving that and fettlement
here ? Was her marriage (to make ufe of that
expreflion) celebrated before flie had placed her-
felf at the head of the troop, which flie ought
to conduft abroad, or in the repofe, which her
new habitation gives her \ In a word, what was
her age, when flie commenc*d a mother }

EUGEN. A young mother is in a condition
to lead a fwarm from the hive,whereflie was born,
four or five days after flie has appear'd in it with
wings ; that is to fay, after flie has quitted her
nympha-ftate (I fliall explain to you fome other
time what that nympha-ftate means) and when
ftie has rcfolved on her journey, her eggs have
been already fecundated. Thus, in the fpace of

four"

cf B E E S. 113

four or five days, her fex difcovers itfelf, and fhe
makes ufe of it. I have a good many proofs,
which concur to eftablifii this faft. I have found
fwarms, among which there was not fo much as a
fingle male. In a hive, where a fwarm has fet-
tled itfelf not more than four and twenty hours,
I have frequently obferved combs, in whofe cells
1 have {een eggs.

CLAR. What do I fee ? What means this
tumult.'' Is it the queen, v/ho advances ?

EUGEN. It may be her. Let us wait a
moment- no it is not her.

CLAR. Let us then afk queftions, for it is
in this manner, that I delight to inftruft myfelf. I
here fee feveral alveoli but half formed, and as it
were abandoned by the Bees •, that to m.e has the
appearance of wax put to bad purpofe. Is it
that joy for the queen's lying in has turn'd the
head ofjher little people ? or do they forget, from
time to time, that confummate geometry you
afcribe to them ?

EUGEN. That which you treat as an un-
finifh'd work, is one of the mod admirable marks
of forefighr, which our little animals give. There
are fome times, when they are in the utmoft hur-
ry of work, when they know their queen is in as
great a hurry to lay. In this cafe they beflow
on their nev/ cells but part of the depth they
ought to have-, tKey leave them imperfe(5V, and
defer the finilhing of them, 'till they have traced
out the number of thofe, which are necefiary for
the time prefent. You do not fee here the cells

1 of

1 14 The Natural History

of the drones, nor the royal cells. The reafon
is, that the Working-bees, which are of no fex,
fcem to know what pafies in the body of their
fovereign, and even what pafles there as a confe-
quence of her fex. They know, if fhe is made
fruitful, if her eggs will be numerous j they know
fhe will produce many thoufand workers like
rhemfelves, feveral hundreds of males, and three
or four, and fometimes more than fifteen or
twenty females : they know, that the females are
larger than the males, the males bigger than the
workers : that the queen will not lay any male
eggs, 'till fhe has produced a great number of
workers; nor females, *till after thofc of the
males. And as they are fenfible of all this, they
build alveoli proportionably to the number and
lize of the fubjeds, and according to the times,,
in which they are to be produced.

CLAR. You beitow on them a pretty deal
of fcience.

EUGEN. I fhall hereafter let you fee, that
one can't rcfufe it to them.

CL A R . Ho, for once, fee there fhe is f

EUGEN. That is not flie yet'. But in wait-
ing till Ihe appears, I fhall take notice of a word
youjuft now mention'd, to remove an error of
the ancients. You afk'd me, if it was joy for
the queen's lying-in, that turn'd the head of thefc
little ptople.'' Some authors have given us the
time, in which the queen lays her eggs, for a
time offeaftingand rejoicing, during which there
is an abfoiute vacation in the hive. They are
* miftaken.

of B E E S. nt.

miftaken. If it was fo, thefe little people would
be very happy -, joy would be almofl always the .
confequence. For this mother lays nioft months in
the year. However, they would run a chance
of being ftarved to death, by indulging them-
felves too much in joy. In the greateft monar-
chies, while the queen gives a prefumptive heir
to the (late, the artifans are employed in their
(hops in their ordinary labours ; the people know
nothing of what palTes of importance in the pa-
lace of the king, where he ads, as if he knew no-
thing of the matter. It is juft the fame, in each
monarchy of the Bees : the publick labours are
not at all interrupted during the queen*s laying
her eggs : honey and materials for wax are
brought to the hive ; building and finifliing their
cells go on as ufiial. Your patience, Clarifla,
will not be long put to the proof, for the queen,
with all her train, advances this way. I leave
you the pleafure, to diftingui(b, by your felf,
the various employments, in which the fubjefls
of this little court engage themfelves.

CLAR. There fne is ; I fee her, this fo much Flate VI.
defired queen, in the centre of ten or twelve Bees, ^^' ^*
whofurround her. I know her by her bulk, her
fliort wings, which make her a kind of mante-
let i I admire her gravity, and, as I may lay,
the majefty, with which Ihe conducts her fteps.
She enters into a cell, where fhe goes, no doubt,
to depofite an egg.

I z EUGEN.

1 16 'the Natural H i s T o r y

EUGEN. She only enters for that purpofe.
But take notice it is at two different times, and in
two different manners. She at firfl enters head
foremoft, and, after fhe has ftay'd thc;re fome
moments, fhe comes out again. She enters now,
for the firft time, in order to retire, which is to
examine, if the cell be empty, clean, and rhaC
there be nothing, which may be hurtful to the
precious depofitum, which fhe is going to com*
mit to it : the fecond time will be to lay her egg
there.

CLAR. How, fhe comes cut already! an
egg then is foon depofited ? h appears to me to
be the work of a moment. See there flie goes
Pl.uc vr. ^^ another cell. Obferve, Eugenio^ how all
Fig. 2. thefe Bees place themfelves in a circle round their
queen ; how they all have their heads turned to^
wards her ; how they contemplate her, and give
her demonftrations with their trunk ; one would
lay, that they endeavour to make their court,
and render themfelves agreeable to their fove-
reign ; that they prefent to her their homage and
refpet5t.

EUGEN. One might fay fo, and I really
believe we may truly fay it.

CLAR. Ho, fee what is more remarkable I
There is one of them, that licks her ; another
Lett. A. which gently rubs and cleans her ; this here pre-
fents her honey with the extremity of its trunk.
Yet our queen advances not. Is fhe repofmg
herfdf.^'

EUGEN.

of EE E S. 117

EUGEN. 'Tis very likely, for fhe com-
Tnonly does fo, after having laid five or fix eggs
together.

CLAR. Good! obferve thofe Bees, whore-
double their zeal. There is one, that licks her ex-
treamefl: rings : hah! the little pretty animals!
This is a charming fight, and very fenfibly touches
me-, for nothing afFedts me more, than the ten-
der concern of children for their mother, or fub-
jeds towards their fovereign. What I would
defire at prefent to know is, if thefe twelve Bees,
which compofe the court of the queen-mother,
who follow her every where with fo much love,
are chofen by the queen, or deputed on the part
of the people ; or if they are the firfl:, that offer
themfelves, at the moment the queen lays, and
"whofe office -it is to exercife the chief employ-
ments of the <crown.

EUGEN. That as what I fhall not amufe
myfelf by guefiing at, but inftead of lofing our-
fclves in thefe frivolous conjectures, let us endea-
vour to eradicate thofe, which has been tranfmitted
to us. It has been pretended, that the Bees
^made a curtain of their bodies, to cover the queen
while Ihe was laying : that they were well ap-
prized of what they had to fuffer, if Ihe was
not concealed, during an operation, which ought
to be hid in darknefs. To conclude, they were
defirous of honouring her all along with a virtue
ihe lefs deferves than any animal. I have given
you proofs of it, and you have juft feen fome
^ffedlsof it.

I 3 CLAR.

1 18 The Natural History

CLAR. J will atteft, whenever you pleafe,
that there is not, in nature, a little aninrial, more
unedifying.

EUGEN. However, let us juftify the an-
tients as far as we can. One part of their mif-
takes does not always rife from their imagination,
which endeavoured to divert itfelf, and amufe
us alfo with pretty tales : it often proceeded from
objeds ill feen, or from thofe whofe ufe was but
ill gueffed at. The praife of modefty, which
they were pleafed to beftow on Bees, took place
from hence, that they had often fcen them in
groupes, as hanging in maffes, or garland-wife :
they took'thefe maffes of Bees for curtains, which
concealed thofe operations, which ufually pafs
in the dark. But from whom would they con-
ceal their queens? By whom would this queen
commonly be feen, but by Bees fimilar to thofe,
which would conceal her ? In fine, if there was
any indecency in a Bee to lay eggs, all this would
be faved, when the part, from whence they pro--
ceed, is hid in the cell. There might happen to
be Bees difpofed in the form of a curtain, whilft
the mother laid her eggs •, but it is not becaufe
fhe laid, they are difpofed in this manner ; it is
to take their reft, as you faw in our firft conver-
fation. Since we are upon the fubjeft of carefies
and homages, which the Bees pay their queen,
I muft tell you all I know on this particular.
Firft of all, don't fuppofe, that the fame cere-
mony always takes place, when the queen lays ;
that (he always has twelve Bees for her afllftants ;

that

of B E E S. 119

that it is always the fame, which prefents her
with honey, that brufhes, that licks her, ^c.
The ceremony is not fo regulated, that it does
not often change. I have fometimes feen queens,
ready to lay, which were not attended with more
than' four or five Bees. There are other occafions,
befides thofe of laying her eggs, in which the
Bees pay to their queen their moft tender de-
voirs; for example, in publick calamities. I
will give you a relation touching one of thei'e
occafions, of which I was both witnefs and au-
thor, and which gave me, at that time, a fin-
gular pleafure. Willing to be certain, if there
were two mothers in one fwarm, I divided it into
two parts, which I caus'd to enter into two different
hives, which I kept near to receive them in. If
this fwarm had one mother, and but one, as 'tis
frequently afferted, this mother muft needs be
found in one of my two hives, and not in the
other ; which accordingly happened. I was de-
firous of feeing from this experiment, how the
Bees, which have a queen, behave, and thofe
which have none. But this is not the fubject at
prefent. I will only inform you what paCed with
relation to the queen, in the midft of the difor-
der and confufion, during her removal, and that ..
of part of the fwarm, from one hive into another.
After having obferved for about half a quarter of
an hour the hive, in which the queen was, ( you
take for granted, that all thofe hives, from
whence I took my obfervation, were glazed on
all fides ) and after the grand agitation of the

I 4 Bees,

I20 The Natural History

Bses, /hut up with her, was a httle cahTi'd, it
was that very day, wherein for the firft time I
had ever feen a Queen-bee, who marched at the
bottom of the hive with a flow pace, and was
alone ; Ihe feemed to me fo ncgledtcd by the
other, that I was tempted to conclude, all that
had been faid of their court to her, and of the
train, wherewith fhs v/as atttended, was more the
effed of imagination than obfcrvation. This de-
ferted queen theretore, continuing to walk alone,
came to one of the glafs-fquares, along which Ihe
mounted, to come to one of thofc large maffes
of Bees, which had formed themfeives on the
upper part. A JittJe time after Ihe again fhewed
herfelf at the bottom, all this while being very
much deferred : after having been mounted a fe-
cond time, and concealed herfelf, during fome
moments, from my fight, among a colledlion of
Bees, fhe returned a third time to the bottom.
But then twelve or fifteen Bees furrounded her,
and feemed to do fo in order to compofe her
train. In the firfl: attacks of any great trouble or
confufion, one thinks only for one's felf Should
any one find himfclf in a great hall, well filled
with company, whofe fall fhould be fudden and
total, he would forget at that very inftant, what-
ever was moft dear. The Bres clapt tumultuoufly
into a hive, which had been turned feveral ways,
at feveral times, found themfeives in the like cafe.
In the firft moment each thought only of itfelf ;
but when they came to themfeives, they then be-
gun to think of that mother they had either for-
gotten

of B E E S. 12 1

gotten or neglefled. The mother, with her little
train, placed herfclf again among a clufler of
B^es, where fhe difappeared. She did not continue
there long,without being feen again at the bottom.
Scarce was fhe come there, when about a dozen
Bees attended her: others made hafte to advance
towards her : thefe laft placed themfelves on two
files, on each fide, while the mother continued
her march ; others, who met her, flill furround-
ed her. Her court every moment grew more nu-
merous. Immediately a circle of more than
thirty Bees was formed round her. The ranks
of thofe in front open*d, in proportion as was
necefTary to leave her a free pafTage. Some ad-
vanced nearer the queen than others, and licked
her with their trunks. Others flretched out theirs,
and in that manner prefented them to her, in of-
fering honey. I fometimes faw her flop to fuck
the offer'd ncdar. Sometimes likewife, in her
march, fhe fuck'd the trunk of fome other Bee.
All this behaviour lafted feveral hours, during
which time, I frequently faw the Mother-bee,
and always with a train, which feemed defirous
to confer honours or good offices upon her. In
fome cafes, however, this mother feemed a lit-
tle negledled. But their cares and afTiduities were
fo frequently paid her, that one ought to confider
as certain a great part of what has been affirmed
concerning thofe appearances of refpedt, which
other Bees pay to their queen.

CLAR.

122 The Natural History

CLAR. What you fay, and what I have
feen, leave me no room to doubt of it : on the
contrary it prefects me with a very pleafing
image. I flill think I fee this queen majeftick
in her mantelet, in the pains of child-birth -, fur-
rounded with all her court-ladies, ftirring to eafe
and comfort her under thofe pains. I admired how
one prefenrs her with a honey caudle, in what
manner another combs and cleans her , and how
others load her with kilTes, try all means to pleafe
her, and, in fine, offer her their continual fer-
vices. But while I reafon at random, behold our
queen there, who again regales me v/ith her pre-
fence. She is going to enter, head foremoft, in-
to an alveolus^ and after flie has left that, without
depofiting any thing, fhe pafles to another.

EUGEN. I have already prepofleffed you
upon the choice Ihe makes of the places deftined
to receive her eggs. The firft vifit the queen
makes to an alveolus is to examine it, to fee if
nothing be wanting there, if it is well made and »
c!os*d, and if her eggs will be fafe there. There
is likewife another reafon, which is well known
to us, which makes her pafs by an empty cell,
without flopping : it is when it is too large or too
little for the egg, which flie is going to lay.

CLAR. Can they be too large or too little ?
You have reprefented to me thefe Btes as geo-
meters of the fiift clafs, capable of reading
ledures to your Newtons or Varignons : how can
they be out in their meafures ^

EUGEN.

of B E E S. 123

EUGEN. Have you already forgot, that
three forts of alveoli are required in a hive, of
which thofe, that are the lead, are deftin'd for the
eggs of common Bees, thofe, which are bigger,
for the males, and the largeft of all, and of a fi-
gure different from the reft, for thofe, which will
turn out queens. The Bees don't give them
thefe proportions at hazard. Thefe proportions
have relation to the number and quantity of eggs,
which their queen will lay ; and the queen, on
her part, to anfwer this forefighr, will not fail to
place her eggs in cells correfpondent to their
bulk : fo that when fiie perceives the egg fhe is
going to lay, is for a Working-bee, (he chufes
the leaft cell ; if it is for a drone, a larger ♦, if
for a female or a queen, fhe carries it into one
of thofe grand alveoli^ which I have reprefented
as the palace of the queens.

CLAR. You give to our Mother-bee a
knowledge, for which I fhould have paid a good
price, and that very willingly, in the firft years
of my marriage. You pretend fhe knov/s, if
what fhe is going to produce, will be male or
female, or a Bee of no fex.

EUGEN. I make no doubt of it, fince fhe
is never deceived in depofiting her eggs in diffe-
rent places, convenient for them •, fince there is
no faying fhe is conduded thither by her eyes,
nor any of her exterior fenfes, we muft, in fpite
of ourfelves, agree, that thefe Queen-btes have
an inward fenfe, by v/hich they j'ldge, and which
is refused to us.

CLAR.

124 The Natural H i s T o r y

CLAR. Should we not have fome pretext ta
complain of nature, which inftrudj fo well a
fimple Bee, fince flie leaves us ignorant of the
kx of the infant we are to bring into the
world ?

EUGEN. Brutes are favoured with many
other advantages, of which we fliould have room
to be jealous, if they were not all more than
compenfited by one, that is peculiar to us, and
which raifis our condition to a rank far fuperior
to that of other beings : this advantage, this ex-
clufive privilege is reafon, v.'.hich teaches us to
know the Author of the bkffings we enjoy, and
to pay him our acknowledgments..

CLAR. You fkip over the difficulty, in a
Chriftian like manner ; one can't but be obliged
to you for the favour of the inftrudion. Not to
fatigue you with too long a converfation, I will
reduce to one fimple queftion, what I now defire
to know of you with regard to this Mother-bee,
How many eggs does flie lay in one day ?

EUGEN. There are times, when fhe paflcs
fome days, and without doubt many together,
without laying : but it is not in fpring time ;
for then is the height of her laying. 1 can't juftly
tell you the number of eggs, which fhe emits
when (he lays the moft ; but one may judge how
many fhe lays in that feafon, and the calculation
may be drawn from the number of Bees, of
which a fwarm is compofed. Suppofe a fwarm
born towards the end of March, and to take its
flight about the twentieth or twenty-fifth of May.
* Not with.

of B E E S. 125

Notwkhftanding their departure, the hive often
remains as much or more peopled, than it was
at the beginning of March. The fwarm, with-
out confidering it as a robuft one, may be com-
pofed of more than twenty thoufind Bees. The
mother then has laid more than twelve thoufand
eggs, in lefs.than two months, fuppofing the
two months compleat. If we take a medium,
we divide by fixty days the twelve thoufand
eggs laid during the two months, and find the
Mother- bee to have laid, every day, about two
hundred. This prodigious fecundity is not only
given to our Mother- bee •, feveral infefts furpafs
her in that ; but that of the Bee is attended with
one fingularity, that deferves remark j it is, that
the Bee keeps in her body, and for a long time,
thofe impregnated eggs, or (which better agrees
•with the difcoveries of Malphigi, and caufes the
fame eifed) fhe there, for feveral mionths, and
without alteration, retains, I fay, that living,
penetrating matter, truited with her by the male,
and intended to enliven the eggs, at the time ot
their exclufion. Whichever of thefe two fenti-
ments is true, the fame wonder fubfifts. You
may remember I told you, that the males of one
hive live but fix weeks with the mother ; that,
after the expiration of that time, they are put to
death without quarter. And yet the mother,
who, from the miOnch of June, has been deprived
of all her males, fails not to produce feveral im-
pregnated eggs, during the reft of the fammer,
and the beginning of autumn ; but the fpring fol-
lowing.

126 The Natural History

lowing, and before the birth of the new drones,
will chiefly be the time, that llie will lay eggs
enough to furnifli a fwarm. Thefe laft eggs
then ought to be impregnated, nine or ten
months, before they were laid. It is very par-
ticular, that while thcfe eggs, which are not
cjeded with the embryo's they include, before
nine or ten months after they have received life,
are not yet produced more perfeft than thofe,
which, though impregnated at the fame time, are
laid feveral months after, and during all the in-
termediate time.

CLAR. I comprehend but obfcurely the
wonder you would have me underftand. Can't
you make it more obvious to me ?

EUGEN. A comparifon will fuffice. I fliall
take it from animals, well known and familiar
to you. When, in fpring, you couple your
nightingales to make them lay, if, after the firft
eggs, you feparate the male from the female •,
and, notwithftanding this divorce, the female,
fhut up by herfelf, in a cage, ftiould continue to
lay feveral eggs, during the courfe of the year ; if
that after fhe pafTcd the winter in the fame widow-
hood, fhe fliould begin the fpring following to
give you more, and all thefe Ihould be impreg-
nated, and file itili a widow, you would cry a
prodigy. It is this very prodigy, which ceafes to
be one amongft the Bees.

CLAR. I comprehend you.

EUGEN.

of B E E S. 12;

EUGEN. Since you would have our conver-
fition end here, fuffer me to make a fmall reca-
pitulation. I have now told you, that Iwarms
are compofed of Bees of all ages, both old and
young. I have fliewn you, how one may know
the age of thefe Bees : at what time the queen
may be rendered fruitful : that the antients were
miftaken, in fancying the time of laying to be
a time of joy, during which all labour ceas'd in
the hives. You have feen the queen lay; you
have been witnefs of the refpeds, homage and
fervices, which the other Bees pay her on that oc-
cafion. I have inform*d you that there are other
circumftances, wherein they pay her the fame:
that the workers don't endeavour to conceal their
queen, during her time of laying, as was com-
monly thought; the reafons, which fhehasto pre-
fer fome cells to others, to depofite her eggs in :
in fine, how many fhe lays in a day, the greatcft
part of which are not excluded, till a great while
after their impregnation. The natural order wilt
lead us to difcourfe, on the firft occafion, of thofe
eggs ; in what manner the Mother- bee dcpofites
them in the alveoli^ and the maggots, that pro-
ceed from then-!.

CON-

128 The Natural History

CONVERSATION VII.

Of the eggs : the birth end nouripme?it of the
maggots^ and the tijjue they f pin.

CLARISSA.

YO U fee, Eugenio, that I am come firft to
the hive. You may judge, by my dili-
gence, of the inclination you have given me to un-
derhand the wonders, which thefe admirable Bees
prefent us with. I was defirous to try, in your
abfence, if I could not difcover fome eggs, and
give you the pleafure of finding me ready in-
ftrudled. But they are plung'd fo deep in their
cells, and thefe cells defended by an army of Bees
fo noify and brifk, that for this quarter of an
hour, fmce I have been employ*d on this comb,
v/here we yefterday faw the queen lay, I have
not yet been able to fee them, but very con-
fufedly.

EUGEN. There requires fome little appli-
cation in our obfervations, if we are minded to
fpare ourfelves a good deal of trouble, and fee'
diftindly what we are defirous of feeing. It is
not by thus obferving at a diftance, and through
a glafs, that you can fee, as you ought, the Bees
eggs. Here is a piece of a cake of wax, which
I order'd to be cut this morning from one of
the hives. I was pretty certain I fliould find eggs

in

of B E E S. 129

in it. I cut off from this comb, this cell, I pre- Plate vr.
fent you with, or rather this half of a cell. I ^^' ^'
cut it longwife, that you may there fee the egg
in the fame place and ficuation, in which the Bee
depofited it. This little white body, attached to Lett. a.
the bottom of the cell, like a nail, is the egg.
Let us firft examine its form.

CLAR. I fancy that will not be difficult,
fince thefc eggs appear to me like thofe pickled
cucumbers, whofe tafte you fo much commended.

EUGEN. This comparifon gives a jufter idea
of your fpleen than the form of the egg : It does
not fix in the mind any determin'd figure, which
reprefents to us the different dimenfions, which
are proper to all bodies ; ic does not inftrudl us con-
cerning the exteriorappearances, which charafterize
the thing one would be acquainted with. Should
you afk a perfon what a wolf is ? would you be
well inform'd, if the anfwer was, it is an animal
reprefenting a dog.

■ CLAR. Not much, truly. Teach me there-
fore to make a defcription according to rule.

EUGEN. *Tis a fcience born with every
perfon, who has judgment. It is your own fault,
if you don't ufe it right. A Bse*s egg is five or Plate VI.
fix times more long than broad ; its two extre- '^' '^'
mities are rounded, but one of the two is much
more fo than the other : 'tis that, by which the
egg is not faftned : it is a little bending, which
crave you the notion of a pickled cucumber : its
colour is of a bluifh white, fomething refembling
an opal : The cod, which ferves it for a cover-

K ing.

130 The Natural History

ing, is like that of feveral other infedts, a flexible
member ; it is its felf fo : one may bend it almoft
in two, and make it take again its firft figure.
CLAR. Bend an egg ! that is plcafant.
EUGEN. PJeafant as it is, 'tis no lefs true,
and equally true, that it may be done without
injuring the embrio. To the naked eye, aided
by a tolerable magnifying glafs, this egg appears
cxtreamly fmooth •, but feen through a micre-
fcope, which magnifies very much, you will
perceive fome work, which you wou'd think on
its furface, and which, perhaps, is in the infide.
I have feen ftreight ftrokes refembling very long
lozanges. As to the manner it is placM in, it is
Plate VI. as fingular, as its flexibility. The Bee faftens it
■^^'g- 3- by the fmaller end, to an angle at the bottom of

Lctc A.

the alveolus^ and the mofl: ufual fituation flie gives
it, is to be parallel to the horizon.

CLAR. Parallel to the horizon ! a very learn-
ed word. It is lucky that the view of the object
aiTifts me to conceive it. I conceive likewife this
manner of placing an egg is pretty Angular. If
my poultry fliould fo ftick their eggs againfl: the
wall, I fliould have fomething to laugh at.

EUGEN. If it was their cuftom, and in
confequence of a natural inft:in6t, you would not
think it fo advifeable to laugh at it ; your curiofity
would only carry you to know the reafon of it.
1 can only guefs at that, which determines the
Bees to aft fo. I fhall inform you of it in its
proper time. Let us purfue the fate of our eggs.
I have given you to underftand, the Mother- bee
. - leaves

of B E E S. .131

lleaves but one egg in every cell. *Tis however
a rule with exceptions j and the cafe, in which
it admits it, is eafy to be leen. If a mother prefsM
to lay, finds not as many empty cells, as Die has
eggs ready to be ejtcluded ; or if the Bees have
not fufficiently advanc'd their work to afford a
cell to each of thefe, fhe has nothing elfe to do
than to depofite feveral in one. She fometimes
lays there two, fometimes three, I have feen as
many as four -, but all thefe fupernumerary eggs
are abfolutely loft : they are clappM there only to
eafe the mother, who could defer the time ro
longer. One cell can be of fervice ro bring up
no more than one maggot. The time comes, in
which the infeft, at its exclufion from the egg,
;ind under the figure of an nymph, will fill the
whole cell. Two eggs, and, confcquently, three
or morcj would be lodg*d there, but little at eiife.
The Bees, who know this, as well as they know
every other thing that is neceflary for them, and"
whofe higheft intereft it is topreferve the life of
the maggots, go from cell to cell, to remove the
fupernumerary ones, and to leave no more than
one egg in every cell. I am afTur'd of this by
rriy ow^^ eyes : an experiment, of which I will
fpare you the detail, convinc'd me of it. Whether
the eggs thus taken away by the Bees are de-
ftroy'd, or whether they are placed elfewhere,
in order to preferve the embryos, I am not able
to inform you. But one circumft'ance, which
ought not to be emitted, is the deference, which
they pay to thofe eggs, from whence queens are
AAt)'jA K 2 'to

132 The Natural H i s t o r V

to be produc'd. The Queen-bee, who is welt
appriz'd of what fhe is going to lay, never fails
Plate IX. of placing them in thofe large alveoli^ which we
Lcft-^A A "^"^^ the royal cells : there is no fear, that Ihe will
put more than one there ; fhe confiders them of
more importance than to treat them as the po-
pulace. You have now feen an egg laid, and put
in a place proper to give birth to a Bee. You
exped, doubtlefs, to know how it willbehatch*d.
This is likewife one of thofe articles, concerning,
which men have entertained very falfe ideas.
The greateft part of authors, who have wrote of
Bees, without having nicely examin*d them, have
pretended they hatch*d their eggs, depofited in
their cells, after the manner of birds. Some have
beftow'd this office on the males ; fome have
even call'd them by no other name than that of
the hatching Bees. Vandergroen, in a work, which
has Ehis> title, The Low-country-Gardener, directs,
that when a fwarm has left a hive, one Ihould
throw it down, and vifit all the combs ', and he
prefcribes, with a very Jharp knife^ to cut off the
head of every hatching Bee, and likewife the heads of
thofe, who are not yet parted from their cells.

CLAR. This burlefque precept gives me no
great idea of your Flcmifh gardener.

EUGEN. Other authors have charg*d the

Working-bees with the care of hatching the

eggs : But all thefe different opinions are erroneous.

CLAR. Is it, however, necefliiry they fhould

be hatch*d ?

EUGEN.

of B E E S. 133

EUGEN. It is not necefTary they fhould.
Nature knows how to come at her ends by diffe-
rent ways. The turtle, the oftrich, the crocodile,
and all the numerous tribe of fiflies, don*t hatch
at all. The general rule amongft infedls, is to
leave their eggs to the difpofition of the air, and
the warmth of the Sun. The Bees eggs require
nothing, towards their hatching, but the warmth
difperfed through the hive. This is no moderate
warmth -, it approaches very near, and fometimes
exceeds that, which a hen can beftow on her
•chickens, on whom (he conftantly fits.

CLAR. How was you able to colle(5l thefe
two kinds of heat in order to compare them ?

EUGEN. By means of a thermometer ; and
I found that both one and the other exceeded, by
two degrees, the heat we felt in our hotted fum-
mers, as were thofe of 1706, and 1707. Thus
i)oth the eggs of hens and Bees undergo the fame
degree of heat ; but not for the fame time. The
-firft for one and twenty days ; but the Bees not
above three or four at moft. In two or three
days, a Bee*s egg is laid and hatch'd : and as they
are laid fucceffively, they are hatch'd fo too
during all the months of the year, excepting
winter. I can't give you a fight how the eggs
are hatch'd, nor how the young one comes out of
it -, there are fome moments, which one has not
in one's own power. You will, at prefent fatisfy
yourfelf with hearing an account of it, which
will not, however, make fo ftrong an imprcfllon,
as if the objed was prefent.

K 3 CLAR.

The Natural History

CLAR. Inftead of an .obje6t to aid my ima-
gination, I will reprefent to myfelf, during your
difcourfe, my little chickens quitting their eggs,
and from thence will draw a comparifon, with
your Bees leaving their eggs.

EUGEN. Take heed, Clariffa, and do not
compare things fo difTimilar together. Nature
does not here iefs obferve the fame laws, than fhc
does in the produdion of large animals. It is
an article, which well deferves to be explain'd to
you at large, becaufe it will difpofe you to com-
prehend an important metamorphofis, which the
Bees undergo, prefently after their birth. Large
animals are born, either from an egg inclos'd in
the belly of their dam, if we give our aflent to
the opinions of great numbers of anatomifts, or
frcm an egg hatch'd out of their bellies, which
caufcs the fir 11 to be call'd viviparous^ the others
.oviparous. Both in the one cafe and in the other,
ihey proceed from the perfecSt egg. Nature feems
to have made made greater preparations for them,
than for us. She has made them pafs (at leaft the
greateft number of winged infeds we are acr-
quainted v/ith) through feveral ftatcs, before flie
brings them to perfection : She caufes them to
be three fpecies of animals fucce0ively, which,
by their exterior figure, feem to have no relation
one to the other. Let us examine a butterfly.
It is at firil contain'd in an egg ;. ,but how docs it
get cut of it ? It is not a butterfly •, 'tis a worm,
which outwardly relembles it in nothing j a
worm, which we call axaterpillar, which crawls,
I ':• V broufes

of B E E S.

broufds the herbage, has ftrong grinders, a pro-
digious ftomach, a great number of legs, which
fpins, and make itfelf a cod, with great art.
After certain days, prefixed by nature, this worm
ciianges figure and becomes what we call faba, or
chryialis, and nymph, in other infers. The
animal does not take this form, *till it has put off
its fkin, its legs, the exterior covering of its head,
its cranium, its grinders, its fpinning-bag, and
its prodigious ftomach, with part of its lungs.
In this ftate it covers itfelf with a hard and
ftrong membrane , which enclofes it round,
without affording it the liberty of any of its
limbs: thus pack'd and bundled up, it paffes a
very remarkable time, fome more, others lefs,
fome more than a year, without taking any food
and in a total inadion. During this lethargy, is
made an infenfible tranfpiration of the fuperflu-
ous humours, which occafions a folidity to the
interior parts of the chryfalis -, and, at laft, from
this body, between a living and dead animal, an
animal comes forth, who retains nothing more of
its firft figure. The firft crawlM •, this flies ; the
firft broLis'd the herbage, and trail'd itfelf clumfily
on the ground •, this inhabits only the region of
the air, lives on honey, on dew, and juice, ex-
travafuted from flowers. When a worm, it had
grinders to break its food -, now a butterfly, it
has only a trunk to fuck. The worm was per-
fecftly ignorant of the pleafures of love; it had
no knowledge of its fex. The butterfly fcems to
have no other reliHi, and to be only born to pro-
'"" ''• K 4 pagate

The Natural H I s T or y

pagate its fpecies. The old philofophers reafon'd
very much on thcfe changes, and often very ill.
Some of them took thefe changes for compleat
metamorphofes, others confidered the ftate of the
ftzha, or chry falls ^ as a real death, and the return
of the animal into a butterfly, as a perfedb refur-
redion. There is nothing more oppofite to
truth, and even to reafon, than thefe contrary
opinions. The filk-worm, take it when you
will, be it worm, or chryfalis^ or butterfly, ne-
ver ceafed to live, or to be the fame animal :
the only difference to be remarked in thefe diffe-
rent ftates is, that it had, when a worm, parts,
which muft be unufeful to it, when a butterfly ;
they are dryed up and deftroyed, when the worm
has taken the form of a chryfalis : the other parts
are neceflary to the butterfly, as wings, and a
trunk ; the parts of generation being of no ufe
to it when a worm, began not to expand thcm-
felves, but when the time of ufing them drew
near.

CLAR. Thofe parts, which are deftroyed
in the middle age of the infe6t, the others, which
fucceed them, for the ufes of a new kind of life,
appear to me very lingular.

EUGEN. What aftoniflies you in thefe kind
of animals, takes place in us, without giving
you any wonder. How many parts become un-
ufeful to a child juft ready for birth .^ The thy-
mus, the forarn enovale, parts, which, I fuppofe, you
are not well acquainted with, the umbilical ftring,
which you are a better judge of, and feveral
I more.

of B E E S. 137

more, are effaced and dilappear after birth :
other parts, unknown to our early infancy, un-
fold themfclves in time. This change, to call it
fo, of the parts, is made in great number, and
in a fhorter time in infefls, which renders it more
remarkable. This likewife has given a handle to
fome authors, to confider the caterpillar or fi Ik-
worm, as an animal different from the butterfly,
and to fancy, that the butterfly is a foetus nouriflied
and brought up in the body of the worm : it is
however eafy to fhew the contrary. A foetus
may be loft in the belly of its mother, without
her receiving any hurt. The mother fubfifted -,
nothing was wanting to make her a compleat
animal before the formation of the foetus ; and the
foetus, after its birth, leaves the mother as per-
fe6t as fhe was before ; becaufe the mother and
the foetus are two perfeft animals, which have each
one heart, lungs, a brain, and all the parts ne-
ceffary to life. It is not the fame with a worm
and its butterfly. Let us draw our example from
the filk-worm. If you have recourfe to anato-
my, and open a filk-worm, while it is in its ver-
micular ftate, you will fee it has diftindly a
heart, or a long artery, which performs its of-
fice, the fpinal marrow, a brain, a great number
of mufcles, lungs, or to fpeak morejuftly, over-
tures that fupply their place. Open a fimilar
animal, when a cbryfalis^ open it when a but-
terfly, you will always find there the fame brain,
the fame fpinal marrow, the fame mufcles, and
part of the lungs. Ail thefe parts, eflTential to

life

138 The Natural History

JIfe and motion, are one, each repa;-ately, or in
5 number necefTary for an aniii^al. Tijere are
not then two animals, for one of theie would
want a heart , a brain, mufcles, lungs, (s^c.
wiiich cannot be fuppofed.
,,rJCLAH. This reafoning appears convincing.
You ufiravel, Eugenio, myfteries, wholly un-
known to mc. I brought up in my youth, nay,
I w.a? already a pr^tfy big girl, I brought up, I
fay, filk-wormjS, ,1 fed them and. made them
fpin. What I have now heard makes me blufh
at that ftupidity, j.n wh.ich I liiw them pafsfrom
the fbate of a worm to that of a ebryfalisy and
from jthat to a b;itter6y, without the lead notice
of what was wonderful in thcfe changes. I was
only touched with thofe pretty cods or balls, with
the filk yellow, or white, which they fpun for me.
I was a child, which one may be at every age •, I
only then faw the fuperhcies of things. The little
difcernment I had fuffer'd me to. fee no wonder
in a fubjed, which every way offers itfelf 'Tis
a misfortune for youth, when it finds nobody to
teach ic to behold objedbs, as they O'Jght to be
feen. My family will be the? better for your
ieflures.

EUGEN. You will likewife inform theni,
POr will you , be; a lofer by fo doing, that the
■Creator has diffufed fo many marks of his omni-
potence upon the earth ; that if reafon is given
us to know him, *tis in his works we ought to
fcek that knowledge :*tis there we find that light,
toy which we difcover-him', which pervades, whiqh

aftoni flies

of BEE 3. 139

*ftoni{hes us, by which we are convinced, and
which leads us to adore him, and which makes
us pafs from adoration to love. What think you
now of thofe perfons, who defpife, or treat as
childiih trifles, the ftudy of natural hiftory, and
cfpecially that of fmall animals ; who imagine,
(for there are ftill fuch, as you once was, they are
in their inflmcy, they judge only from fuperficies,)
who imagine, I fay, that the lefs a body is, the.
lefs attention it deferves : that it is more noble to
ftudy an elephant than a pifmire; a horfe, on
which we ride, than a worm we tread on : as if
Omnipotence was lefs con fpicuous in a little worm,
that breaths, that moves, that eats, digefts, and
produces its likenefs, than in a tyger or rhinoce-
ros, which do nothing more? Thefe fort of men,
<loubtlefs, raeafure the power of the Creator, by
the foot, the inch, or the line.

CLAR. The moft indulgent thing I can do
for them, is to pity them. If I know myfelf, I
Ihould never leave thefe refleflions ; and we
fhould make great advances in them. However
we muft put an end to them. I know at pre-
fent, and pretty well too, the raetamorphofes of
infedls, and to what they are reducible. Let us
apply this knowledge to Bees, and trace them
through their three ftates.

EUGEN. The three ftates of a Bee, after it
has left its egg, are thofc of a maggot, then a
nymph, then a Bee.

CLAR.

140 The Natural History

CLAR. You owe me an illuflration of the
ilifFerence between a nymph and a chryfalis.

EUGEN. *Tis true. When a fubjeft is treat-
ed, which we are full of, one precipitately makes
life of terms proper to that fubjedt, or art, which we
difcourfe of; and that often, without perceiving,
that the perfons fpoken to are not obliged to
underftand the language, if I may fo fpeak, of
the country they are tranfported to. It is a vi-
vacity, or rather a fault I am fubjed to ; but I
take it for granted, you will remind me of it as
often as it will be neceflary.

CLAR. Depend upon me, and be afiured I
fnall not fuffer any term to pafs, that I don't well
underftand. You may have already took notice
of this.

EUGEN. Till thefe laft ages, the natura-
lifts have often indifferently made ufe of thefe
two terms, n^mphe and chryfalis , to exprefs
what is called in a filk-worm faha. But now
the meaning of thefe words is fix'd. Chryfalis is
faid of the change of the worm into zfaha^ when
after it has fpun its cod, the worm quits its fkin,
remains :bent, becomes almoft reduced to a pap,
and covers itfelf with a new membrane, which
grows dry and folid : this membrane preferves it,
as if it was in a box, it is all incrufted with it :
the filk-worm and all the caterpillars take the fi-
gure of a chryfalis. We term that (late of in-
ledls, in which they are furrounded, by a very
fine, tranfparent, flexible membrane, and which

permits

of BEE S. 141

permits us to fee the whole form of the future Plate VI.
infedt in its nympha-flate. This is the manner, ^^' ^*
among other animals, of flies and Bees. But the
Bee, before it is a n-jniph,. is a maggot, and as
fuch we will now confider it. Let us retake our
divided comb, that we may place the obje<fl be-
fore our eyes. I have already told you, that the lb. Fig 3.
egg exifts not but three or four days, after which
there comes out a maggot, which falls to the
bottom of its cell. You fee. its fall cannot be
very confiderable, and can hardly hurt it : it
cannot incommode it fo much as its Ihell would
do, which by its cracks might give it pain, if it
had been fixed to its fide in the firfl moments of
its exiftence, 'Tis this, perhaps, which deter-
mined the Mother- bee to fix this egg at a certain
height. The maggot is long: fee here a fmallpig. 10
drawing I have found among my papers, which P^^tc^'^-
will give you a juft notion of its figure. When
it is a little grown, it keeps itfelf continually
rolled up like a ring, and its head touches its Fig. 6.
back. As it is flefhy and fit, the middle of
this ring becomes plump and filled up by the
flefli of its belly. If we had come at a time to
fee one of them quit its egg, you might have
obferv'd, as I have often done, that it keeps itfelf
conftantly at the bottom of its cell. When it has
attained its full fize, it refembles, at firfl view,
thofe great, white worms, which one often finds
in the trunks of rotten trees. This here h un-
provided of its legs, they would have been ufelefs
to it, fince it muft pafs its whole vermicular ftate,

roll'd

142 The Natural fit i s iPo r y

rollM up, and without change of place. In pro-
poi'tion as it grows, it becomes white, apptoach-
ing to the colour of milk ; it is' >ery weak and
benumb'd, which one may know by its flow and
Plate VI. feeble motions, when it is taken fi-om' it, cell. Its'

Jig. 7.

head refembles a: little tha^ of a filk-worm ; if
has, like it, an upper and under lip, and at the
^"' ^ ^' two corners of its mouth, two hooks fcaly and
moveable, which ftop the entrance of it in Uniting
together. Thefe two hooks anlWef to the two
teeth of the filk-worm. HoweVer, the maggot
6f the Bee is not to be fed but by a kind of pulp.
For what purpofe has nature given it fcaly teeth ?'
I know not. One nhay however guefs, that they
will be neceflary to it, when the time of fpinning
fs come; forthere is a tiriie, wherein they fpin.
Before I quit the head, I fhould make you ob-

Lctt. L L. ^^t've two little globes, which are as white as the*
feli, but more fhining ; they are eyeS, or rather
t^b windows of chryflal, which cover thofe fip-^
teen or fixteen thoufand eyes, which you have kctt
in a Bee in cur fccond converfation. An impor-
tant part, and that not very well knOwn, is itsf

Lett. E. fpinning bag, placed under its mouth, that is, an
inftrument like to that, with which filk-worm^
fpin their pretty cods or balls. Though this mag-
got be very well fed, and they fuffer it not to
want, it does not appear, that it daubs its ahetif
ty any excrements. All its nourifhment turns'
into its proper fubftance j which is the caufe, in
fivourabie feafons^ that it acquirQs\all its growth,-
m./five or Iix days.

CLAR«.

''^' of B E! E S. 143

'-GLAR. All that you have told me is very
curious ; I have heard it with pleafufe : but I
think myfelf obhged to interrupt yon, to make
you remark, that you have had little regard to
my ignorance, and that you pafs too (lightly over
twoarticleSj which would require a little more il-
luftration. The firft is that fpinning bag, and
the talent of fpinning, which you beftow, per-
haps, out of pure generofity, on your maggots V
for I never heard, that arty found either filk or cod
in the hives ; that to me is new. The fecond i?,
that you have brought this poor, little afiimal, td
the laft term of its growth, Without taking thd
leaft morfel. You told me indeed that pap was
given it ; but may one know what fort of pap
that is, who are its nurfes, how do they give it a
bill-full? J'--;' \- -^^

EUGEN. T am going to explain it to you.'
Let us begin by the nourilhment of the maggot,
and how it takes it. Laid at the bottom' cif its'phte VI
tell, according to this figure, it lies more foftly^^S ^•
there than one would fufpetfl. One fees there "ir
pretty thick layer of a kind of jelly or pap, fom'e-
thing whitifh : it makes, as one may fay, the betf^
On wTiich the maggot is roll'd '; dr more juftly,
the back of its feat. This fame riiatter, on which '
the maggot repofes itfelf, rs likewifc that, where-
by it is nourilhed : it would be incapable to go
in queft of it : it would not be in its power to
draw itfelf out of its lodge, but muft continue
there in qui^t : it will be always abundantly pro-
.J-i.' . ■ vided

144 'r^^ Natural History

vided there with every thing necefTary. The
Working- bees are the nurfes, which nature has
provided for thofe maggots ; Ihe has beftowed
an afFeftion for them, on which one may more
furely depend, than, among men, one can for that
of the nurfes, which mothers chufe for their chil-
dren. Several hours of the day, a Bee is feen
to enter, head foremoft, into the cell, where the
maggot is, and there continue fome time : what
ihe does there can't be obferved, but we are at
lead fure, that it furnifhes the maggot with that
matter, wherewith it Ihould be nouriflied, and
that it renews its provifion. After this Bee is
gone, fometimes one is feen, or feveral, fuccef-
fively, and at different times, that put their head
into the entry of the cell, as if to fee whether the
maggot there lodged has every thing it wants :
a fingle view fuffices them, for that often they
pafs forward in an inftant, and 'tis not fome-
•^ times till they have examined feveral cells, one

after another, that they enter into one, which
they have known not to be fufficiently provided.
When a Bee continues fome moments in the mag-
got's cell, it is, without doubt, there to dif-
gorge that kind of pap or jelly, againft which
the body of the maggot is fupported, and with
which it is furrounded. When that is done, the
little one wants nothing but to turn its head,
open its mouth, and fwallow j it has no occafion
for a bill-full.

CLAR,

of B E E S. 145

CLAR. I am pleafed with the fituation of
your maggot. Our new-born children would
ipare us a good deal of trouble, if we could get
rid of them in laying them upon a heap of pap,
which one fhould have a care only to keep up in
proper quantity, and acquiefce, after that, in
their diTcretion. 'Tis then that a body may fay,
very juftly, that nurfes have a good time of it.
Excufe me this trivial fiying •, you are free to re-
turn me another. Let us now fee what this pap
is, with which the Bees nourifli their young.

EUGEN. You are not aware, that one ob-
fervation, of which you lliould be curious, is firft
due to you. That is the manner thofe eggs and
maggots are treated with, from whence queens
are expeded. I have already told you, that thefe
privileg'd eggs are depofited in much the largefl:
alveoli : that thefe are fo many palaces, which have
been raifed to receive thefe important and valuable
Bees, which are the hope of the (late. Tis
not enough, that psrfonsofa fjperior rank fnould
be diftinguifhed by the number of their fervants,
by the magnificence of their caftJes ; they ought
to live too in an abundance and fuperfluity, which
is lefs a fign of their imruoderate defires, than of
that fplendor, which fnould always attend on the
fupreme rank.

CLAR. That is what was faid of the wifcll
of all kings, that he fupported his wifdom with
magnificence.

L EUGEN.

146 The Natural H 1 s t o r r

EUGEN. You will lay the fame of our
queen. Not only the workers are at a greater
expence of wax, to build her a royal cell, than.
they are at in building a hundred, or a hundred
and fifcy common ones ; they bellow likewife food
on her to excefs, and far beyond what is neceffary :
a great deal of it is left, which dries in the cell,
after the time of making ufe of it is over. I'he
kitchen too furniflies for her different ragouts. I
have tailed of her pap ; it was a kind of feafoned
ragout, a litde fugar'd, mixed with fomething,
hot and acid. This fauce, perhaps, appears odd
to you ; but every one has his tafle. If they be-
llow, on the queen, food without meafure, and
with a fort of profufenefs, it is not fo with the
other maggots •, their morfels are number'd. Their
nurfes proportion their pap in fuch a manner,
and with fo much ceconomy, that when the
time is come, wherein they have no need to eat
any more,, there remains nothing. Their care for
thefe young embryo's is not confined to the pro-
portioning the quantity of their food, but likewife
to the accommodating its quality to its age. The
pap is made lighter and more delicate for the
young; 'tis fcrongerand more fubflantial, in pro-
portion as they grow and become more vigorous,.
CLAR. You mud certainly have pafTed your
life in a hive, to know thefe things.

EUGEN. That is not neceffary. It was
fufficient to talle this liquor at feveral times. I
have taken fome of it in the cell of a young Bee,
and found it wholly infipid, and like pafle.

When

of B E E S.

When I tailed that of the maggots, beyond the
middle fize, I found ic not fo infipid ; it had a
fmall relifh of fugar or honey. The matter taken
from the cells of the oldeft maggots had a tafle
of honey very plain and fenfible. In fine, in
the cells of thofe near their term, that is, near
the time when they were to leave off thefe fort of
aliment, the jelly had a ftrong tafte of fugar,
without the infipidnefs of honey, but only a little
tartnefs. The differences, which the tafte fur-
nifhes, are not the only ones, which are found
prepared for the nourifhment of their different
ages i attentive eyes can difcover others. The
nourifhment of the young maggots more refem-
bles pap, and is whitifh : that of the more aged
is more like jelly, more tranfparent, and its
whitenefs difappears : it fometimes borders upon
the yellow, at other times on the green. It
feems as if it were by degrees, that the Bees con-
du6l the maggots to be in a condition to feed
thenifelves with real honey, of which they are
to make ufe, when in the form of Bees. As to
the origin of this food, I was not able to learn it :
I can't tell you whether the Bee gathers it, as flie
does honey and wax. Swammerdam, who had
obferved and ftudied it, leaves us nothing pofi-
tive concerning it. He propofes a conjedure,
v/hich he himfelf foon after deftroys, to hint ano-
ther, which I would willingly affentto. He thinks,
that the honey, and I would add the crude wax,
which the Bees' have lodged in their bodies, re-
ceives there a preparation, by which it becomes a
L 2 fort

'47

148 The Natural H i s T o R Y

fort of pap, which is the nourifhment of the
maggots : in digefting this more or lefs, they
give to it the feveral degrees of infipidity, or the
fugar'd tafte, which we found in it. This fup-
pofes them to have a very peculiar faculty.
When wc have taken food into our ftomach, we
have no longer any power over it ^ tlie only re-
membrance left is what intemperance or gluttony
may occafion. But it feems the Bee feels the
degrees of digeftion, through which the food
pafies, and that flie has it in her power to work
it up to fuch a degree, more or lefs perfeft, as fhe
iliall judge proper, to form that pap, which we
have found fo different in its tafte.

CLAR. I fhould never have imagined, that
tiie tafte could have been of fo great fervice in
philofophy. You have talted the venom of the
J6ee, the pap and jelly of the maggots. What
have you tafied befides ?

EUGEN. Swammerdam carried his curiofi-
t'y farrher than I. Thofe maggots, which are
white, fat, and in good plight, tempted his ap-
petite. He was determined to know, by his
own experience, what tafte they had : he tells us
he found it very difagrecable, refembling that
of the pancreatic juice of fifhes.

CLAR. Pancreatic juice ! there is a word' for
a female ear.

EUGEN, I mean a tafte like rufty bacon*

CLAR. That is better underftood, but
makes the food not more delicate.

EUGEN.

of B E E S. 149

EUGEN. After the maggot then has livM five
or fix days, fome times a little longer, according
as the feafbn is more or lefs fivourablc, fhe pre-
pares for her change into a nympha.

CLAR. Could not you have tailed too cf
a nympha^ without boafting?

EUGEN. You feem to be gay, Clarifla,
and to have forgot the obligation you have to the
perfon, who firft eat a frefli oyfter •, you, who
had thought, a little while ago, to ered a ftatue
to him. But let us leave off plea fantry, and finifh
our hiftcry. I have hardly any thing more to
fay to you about them to day. When the
Bees find, that the maggot has its full growth,
they leave off^ bringing it food : they know in
has no more need of it, and that it is time to
difpofe itfelf to one of the moft laborious opera-
tions, wherein its life will be in danger. For
the change of the maggot into a chryfalis or
nympha^ is a pafiage as dangerous, as child-birth
among us. The Bees, who have fupported the
young maggot 'till now, have ftill a laft fervice
to pay her, in which they never fail : it is that
of fhutting her up in her little lodge, and to block
up the entry into it exactly with wax, to the end
it may not be expos'd to vifits, which can't but
incommode it, and that it fhould not have any
communication with the exterior air. That being
done, and hav;ng no other fervices to pay her,
they leave her to chance •, 'tis her bufinefs to look
after the refb. The reft is noihing more than to
hang her cell with filk. Yoa will be no more
I^ 3 incliii'd

I ^o The Natural H i s r o r v

inclin'd than I to believe her vanity puts her
upon this expence. We muft then believe, that
the bed of wax, which was proper for the
maggot, is not fo to the nytnpha. Our folitary
forefees, that the fkin, which will cover her after
her metamorphofis, will be more delicate than
that, which cover'd her when a maggot, and that
it is not to be expos'd,when it is new and exceflive
tender, to the touch of its cell's partition. As
there is now no more of that pap, which fecur'd
the maggot from this inconvenience, nature has
inftrufled it to guard itfelf by another method.
'Tis in hanging its alveolus with a foft, dry, and
confident matter, which hindei*s the wax from
penetrating to her. Nature, in giving her this
forefight, has provided her at the fame time
with the way of coming at it. She has beltow'd
on her a provifion of filky matter, which flie fpins
cut of her body, and with a proper inftrument to
draw it into a thread, like that of a filk-worra.
Plate VI. *Ti3 that inftrument, which we call a fpinning-bag,
1 ea/fi. ^"*^ which I fhew'd you in the firft defign. The
111 ken thread, which our maggot fpins, is ex-
tremely fine and clofc : it is hung againft all the
interior fides of the cell •, it falls in with the angles •,
it ferves, as one may fay, for a lining to the
whole alveolus \ it is composM of filky threads
very near, and which interfed each other. I
Ihall not wait *till you demand proof of a fadl
to you unknown, and which you can't be tempted
X.0 believe. There is, however, nothing fo eafy
as to be convinc'd of it : you need only gently

melt.

of B E E S.

•melt, by a fire, the wax of an alveolus thus
ilopp*d up, or to break it with feme care ; the wax
feparates, and falls, and the filky tapillry, which
is fironger than the wax, remains intire j it re-
mains like a thin membrane, beyond which one
fees the maggot, or its nympha. Tliis membrane
or pellicule is compos'd of many membranes
clapp'd on, one over the other ; one may tcl}
twenty of them. The reafon of fo great a num-
ber of linings ought to be knov/n. When a
worm has hung its cell, and is become a Jipn-fha,
and then a Bee, and when this Bee has pierced the
partition with which the others had block'd up its
cell, the workers come that inftant to clean the
place^ take av/ay the filth, the old veftments, or,
in term.s of art, the exuvice of the maggot, and
thofe of the nympha ; but they don't dcftroy the
tapiftry. The alveohis thus brought to its former
cleannefs may ferve to bring up another maggot;
the Mother-bee comes there to depofit another
egg: the fecond maggot, which inhabits this
cell, there fpins, like the fird. The fame cell
may therefore be hung v/ith a new lining of filk,
many times in a year. It is the fim.e cell, which
has ferv'd for the habitation of feveral magg.ots,
and which, confequently, hath received feveral
filky linings. The cell, which has had mofl: of
them, far from being lefs in value, is fbronger
and more folid than the other -, it is Icfs liable to
be broke, than thofe which are only compos'd of
wax. The tapifrry fupports and ftrengthens the
walls. Some authors pretend, that ihefe cells
L 4 were

'5^

:^2 The Natural H i s t o r y

were hung with the old fkins left off by the Bees,
in the time of their metamorphofis: but they
are miftaken, and have laid down this affertion,
becaufe they were ignorant, that our maggots had
the art of fpinning filk. What I have told you,
only regards the common cells ; as for thofe,
deftin'd to receive the queens, they are treated
with more diftindion -, they never ferve but once :
when the Mother-bee has left it, the others come
to dellroy it that inftant ; they leave only the
foundations, on which they build hexagon cells.

CL AR. See then our little maggot well clos*d
and cover'd in its apartment, and very commo-
dious in its furniture ; we may leave it there.
You will inform me, the firft opportunity, how
it changes into a nympha.

EUGEN. This article will not keep us long •
we may likewife fee irspaflage from a nympha into
a Bee, and the firft excurfion of it when a Bee,

CON-

of B E E S.

CONVERSATION VIII.

Change of the ?naggots into their nywpha-ftatey
and of the 7iymphcz into Bees. Prolongation,
at will, of the life of infeBs. Ihe firfi
iffuing of the infant Bee from the hive,

CLARISSA.

SINCE our laft converfation, Eugenio, I
have had my head fo fill'd with the ideas of
the chryfalis, eggs, maggots, and metamorphofis,
that I know not where I am. I dream of nothino-
but their pap and jelly. This morning too I
carried the diflraflion fo far, as to afk of m,y
child's nurfe, how my little ?iympha did ; I call'd
its cradle an alveolus, and its clouts exwvus. I
took it in my head to be difpleas'd, becaufe the
little innocent did not pay me refpedl and homage.
In fine, 1 had fuch a confufion of new ideas in
my brains, that ran counter to thofe of the an-
tients, that I had lik'd to have lofi all patience,
and bid adieu to the cbfervation of Eees, for
the remains of my life. Yet my curiofity has
led me hither again. I am determined, at all
hazards, to go through it ; and though I (hould
become a nympha myfelf, refolve to know how a
nympha becomes a Bee.

EUGEN. Without becoming either nympha
pr chryfalis, you fhall know, when ever you

pleafe.

153

I j;4 The Natural History

pleafe, how to diftinguifh between your old and
new acquaintance. Wherefore I fhall make no
difficulty to relate the laft accident of maggots,
from whence they are to become Bees. V/hen
the covering of wax is once put upon a cell,
the maggot there inclos'd, of whatfoever fort it
be, whether female, v/orker or drone, has no far-
ther need of any foreign affiftance ; it is big
enough to look after itfclf. It unrolls idclf, be-
comes longer, fpJns filk, hangs its chamber with
it, and, at length, transforms itfclr into a
Plate V. ^ympha -, that is, it quits its flcin of a maggot.
Fig S- and cloaths itfelf with another much finer, for
that is the refult of this firft Metamorphofis.
This nympha is, at firft, extremely white ; after-
wards its eyes take a tindure of red, which be-
comes more and more vifible •, greyifh hairs ap-
pear upon its body, and on itscorcelet. When
all the parts of the nympha have acquii'd, by an
infenfible tranfpiration, the confidence proper for
a Bee, then it is in a condition to appear abroad.
It begins by putting off^ its fine covering, that
kind of white and tranfparent veil, which held all
its exterior parts bound up, and which conftituted
it a nympha. Afterwards it makes ufe of its
teeth, to pierce and throw down this waxen par-
tition, with which the Bees had enclos'd the
entry of its cell. You have fcen, that the maggot
pierces its egg two or three days after it was laid ;
that it takes food for five or fix ; but the nympha
continues fifteen or thereabout enclos'd. Thus
we con^.pute one and twenty days in fiivourable

feafons^

of B E E S.

feafons, betwixt the laying of the mother and
the birth of the Bee. In cold weather the pro-
cefs is longer, and fliorter in warm.

CLAR. Have you a good reafon to give me
upon this difference of growth, which you make
depend, more or lefs, upon heat ? All the ani-
mals I am acquainted with have a fix'd time,
which does not depend on the variety of feafons,
for the carrying of their young, or hatching
their eggs : it is invariably the fame, be it winter
or fummer.

EUGEN. I could give you, inflead of rea-
fons, many examples of animals, whofe growth
is more accelerated in warm weather than in cold.
I could even carry you much farther, in letting
you fee from inconteftable experiments, that we
can prolong or fhorten, at will, the life of infeds,
without any other myftery, than diftributing to
them the feafons at our own pleafure. But this
would be a deviation, which would lead us too
far from our fubjedl.

CLAR. How ! prolong the life of animals
at pleafure?

EUGEN. Yes. An infed, for example,
who, according to the courfe of nature, could
not live but fix weeks, or two months, I can
make live three or four years, it may be more ;
I know not how long.

CLAR. Ho, you excite my curiofity too
much. This is no deviation •, I am defirous of
immediately knowing this fecret.

EUGEN.

^5S

156 The Natural History

EUGEN. I muft fatisfy you then. To
make the thing more plain, I will again have re-
courfe to a filk-worm, which is fo well known
to you, as well as its progrefs. That will ferve
as an example for all other infedls. The egg
of a filk-worm is feldom hatch'd, till mul-
berry leaves begin to appear -, but you have
fometimes happer-ed to have tardy eggs ,
Vv^hich have been preceded by thefe leaves :
you had nothing to do then, but to clap
tlicm into your bofom, and the warmth of your
body hafteneth the birth of the worms. From its
birth to its change into :i faha or chry/alis, is about
three weeks. During that time, the animal takes
nourifhment, and receives all its growth. The
whole progrefs of this growth may be check'd, by
keeping the animal in cold air, and accelerated
by putting it into warm ; but that will make no
great alteration. So that is not this the period,
wherein we have it in our power to prolong its
days beyond the intention of nature •, to make it
live five or fix times, it may be, a hundred more
than it naturally would ? The worm, while it con-
tinues fo, is under a neceffity to augment its fize>
by the addition of foreign matter, or food ; to
give to its parts more ftrength and confidence, that
• they may arrive at that ftate, which we call chry-
falis, which is ftationary between an encreafe and
decreafe. '1 is there we can feize its life, fix or
abridge it without doing it any injury.

CLAR. "Without doing it any injury! "I
can cafily conceive you do it no injury in prolong-
ing

Oi

of B E E S. 157

ing its life ; but it fcems difHcuIt to comprehend
that you do none in fhortning it. As for myfelf,
I fhould think a good deal was done to me,
Hiould any one have it in his thought to abridge
my life of a fingle day -, and I allure you I would
cry out murder againft any one, who fhould at-
tempt it.

EUGEN. I fee clearly, Clariffa, that I mud
give you a more diftind idea of life than you
have at prefent. What is life ? It is, according to
the defign of nature, a continual revolution of
thoughts and adlions, of degrees of growth and
a decreafe •, for which there muft be a certain
time. However rapid, however fudden our fen-
timents and thoughts appear, both the one and
the other may be ^much accelerated. What
would there be wanting to any perfon in
the fame duration, or, to fpeak more juftly, in
the fame value of life, who, by fome miracle,
could have, in few months, the fame increafe or
decreafe of body, and the fame train of thoughts
and fentiments, which he would not naturally
have had but in the courfe of a common life ?
Aflliredly with regard to the body and thoughts,
nothing would be wanting to him ; his life,
though of the fhorteft, would be as compleat, as
if it had obtained its natural courfe. A father,
who could condudl, and that in few weeks, his
children from their birth to compfcat age, would
he be an unnatural father? efpecinlly if in thefe
few weeks, he had the talent of adorning their
underllanding with all thofe advantages not at-
2 tainable

158 The Natural History

tainable in lefs than feven or eight years of ap-
plication.

CLAR. You cmbarrafs me.

EUGEN. 'Tis the fame in an infeft, which we
draw from its ftate of a chryfalis^ fooner than it
fhould have quinced it : we make it run, in few
weeks, through the fame train of degreer, that it
would not have pafTed over but in many months.
That is done in expofing it to a degree of heat,
which hafliens its growth : juft as when I caufe,
in my ftove, and in the middle of winter, the
chryfalis to difclofe and expand itfelf, which other-
wife would not have been till the month of June
or July following. Thus much for the life of
infects when abridged ; let us proceed to their
extended life. The worm never changes into a
chryfalis^ but when it has no more room to grow.
The butterfly is then wholly formed -, it has only
need of a tranfpiration to free it from its fuper-
fluous humours, of thofe humours, in which it
was, as it were, drowned, and in a drowfmefs,
which, in parr, intercepted the courfe of the ani-
mal fpirits, and fuffered not the mufcles and
nerves of the exterior members to have that
ftiffnefs ncceflliry to motion. This tranfpiration
can*t be excited but by heat •, when that is great-
er, it becomes more quick, and more flow, when
lefs. From thence the developing of the but-
terfly becomes more or lefs quick. If this tranf-
piration v/as ftopp'd fliort, you clearly fee, that
there would be no more expanfion, and the ani-
mal would necefi^arily remain under the figure of
a chryfalis : It would be conlfandy fo, till a new

heat

of B E E S.

heat Hiould caufe its tranfpiratlon. I mufl now
prove this reafoning by an experiment. You
know, from tlie birth of the filk-worm, to the
death of its butterfly, is about fix weeks -, it is
during this time, that nature makes it run thro' all
the revolutions of its life. It grows as long as it is a
worm : while it is a butterfly at liberty, it is at its
highefb period -, after that it can*t but decreafe.
The interval between thefc two ftates is what I
have mentioned, that of a chryfalis. Hinder this
chry falls from tranfpiring, you flop the whole
machine, as you would ftop a watch, by fixing
the balance. Since it is heat, that caufes fermen-
tation within the chryfalis, and this fermentation
provokes tranfpiratlon, carry your chryfalis into a
place, where it will be deprived of this heat, as,
for example, into a cool cave, or an ice-houfe,
there will be no longer either fermentation or
tranfpiratlon, at lead in the cave it will be infi-
nitely diminifhed, in the ice-houfe totally Itopt.
I was led to think in this manner, by obferving
the progrefs of nature with regard to infed:s.
There are feveral infcds, and, among them, a
beautiful and remarkable caterpillar, which lives
upon fennel, which, if it turns into a chryfalis in
the month of July, becomes a butterfly in thir-
teen days after. But if it is not in this fl:ate till
the end of Auguft, it pafl^es the winter, :ind con-
tinues fo for nine or ten months together. It was
eafy to conclude from hence, that in order to ftop
or retard the change oi a. chryfalis into a butterfly,
nothing was required but to prolong its winter.
This is what I have done. It is now three years,
2 fince

^^9

i6o The Natural History

fince I have kept in my vault fome of thefe ' iri
the form of a chryfalis, who are yet very lively*
and would not have lived but one or two months,
if I had fuffered nature to operate.

CLAR. This experiment is not only curious,
but appears to me to be very interefting. I don't
doubt but you will procure to yourfelf fome con-
fiderable advantage from hence, and hope you
will permit mc to fhare with you. If it was only
to live in a cave to enjoy immortality, I could
eafily refolve on doing fo, and know a pretty
many honeft people, who would think this a very
eafy condition.

EUGEN. I was afraid, Clariffa, that your
imagination would readily feize this flattering
idea of immortality ; but I defire you to give up
this hope : a privilege like this is not made for us.
A hundred good reafons, as well moral as natu-
ral, might be produced •, I fhall confine myfelf
to one of the laft fort. One of the principles in
all animals is blood. Our blood, like that of all
' large animals, is of a nature very different from
that of infefls, if we would chufe to give the
fame name to theirs. Our blood thickens, and coa-
gulates i immediately after it has ceafed to circu-
late, and is once coagulated, we are perfedlly
dead, becaufe no heat is capable of liquifying it,
and reftoring to it its primary quality •, without
reckoning, with regard to us, that there is no
more return for the foul, when once feparated
from the body. The blood of infects, on the con-
trary, would become dry, would diflipatc and

evaporate

of B E E S. i6t

evaporate, fooner than coagulate. When it is
well enclofed, and out of the power of all evapo-
ration, it continues itfelf a long while, during
which it preferves itfelf in a ftate of fluidity,
and ready to flow anew, when the air and heat
fhall fet the machine in motion.

CLAR. 'Tis a great pity, that blood fo hap-
pily conftituted fnould be given to infecfls, pre-
ferably to reafonable animals.

EUGEN. Whether it be a real advantage to
them, and whether they be in a condition to pro-
fit, by thefe two, three or four years, and per-
haps many more we could give them, is the
thing to be knov/n. Firft of all, take notice, it
is not while the animal is a worm, nor when it
is a perfedb butterfly, that is to fay, while it has
the enjoyment of life, that we can confer that
good oflice : it only is, when it becomes chryfa-
lis or nympba. Now the fl:ate of chryfalis or
nympha is a lethargy, during which, life muft be
perfectly indifferent to the infcd, becaufe it nei-
ther performs, or can perform any animal func-
tions. This lethargy can be compared to no-
thing better than our fleep. What ufe would it
be to us, to live two, three or four hundred years
in a profound deep ?

CLAR, I fhould not fail to find charms even
here. The whole world is eager to fee the ac-
complifhment of their wiflies, and I more than
any body. If I could, for infl:ance, this day
deep only for a hundred years together, I fliould,
at my waking, have the pleafure to And grand
M children.

1 62 The Natural History

chflilren, a pretty and numerous pofterity, ho-
nourable alliances, good employments in my fa-
mily, perhaps lome one of my grandfons marlhal
of France, or governor of a province. It is
laid, that Alexander wifhed to wake after his
death : had he not his reafons ? What fatisfaftion
would he now have, in hearing the aftonifhing
report of his renown ? To fee, that when one is
inclin'd to carry the praife of a conqueror to exag^
geration^ nothing better can be found than to draw
rhe comparifon from him. How many things are
there in arts and fciences, that we are now ig-
norant of, and which will be better known a hun-
dred years hence,, if your academy continues its
improvements, as it has done fince its cftablilli-
ment ? How many new lights (hall we have, it
may be on the fubjed of Bees, which you are
yet ignorant of, and which you would give a good
deal to purchafc ^

EUGEN. Let us fee the reverfe of the me-
dal. The perfon, who fhould this day, go to
fleep for an age, leaving a numerous pofterity,
noble, rich, virtuous, raifed to the higheft em-
ployments, might, at his waking, find an indi-
gent family, children who died in mifery, fome
dillionoured or dragging on a ihameful nobility
in vice and indolence. It might be almoft wilhed^
that Alexander could rife again, to receive the re-
ward of his ambinous folly, in hearing, that an
this time, for good reafons, all people of fenfe
Vv^ould^/w him an apartment in Bedlam. Should
Defcartes return, could he, without being piqued,

fee,

of B E E S. , 163

fee, what terrible blows has been given to his fa-
vourite vortices, his three contefted elements,
and abundance of other phyfical and metj.phyfi-
cal ideas, which cofi him fo many wakeful
nights and fo much application ? And as for us, let
us not flatter ourfelves, that our fucceffors will
not find fome great fault in our philofophy. How
many fyfl:ems, which, at this day make the glory
of their inventors, will caufe pity, in three or
four hundred years hence, to our defcendants ? I
would, for a moment, give into this agreeable
chimerical idea, which, at firft, foothed your
imagination. I fuppofe, that the lengthening
life, by long fleeps, was found out, and that the
offer was propofed to you : you would make,
before you accepted, fome refledbions, you have
not yet made. Would you dare to plunge
yourfelf into a fleep, for a courfe of years, du-
ring which, you would be expofed to perifh by
a thoufand accidents, againft v/hich you could
not be in a condition to defend yourfelf i by fires,
inundations, murders, the ccnfciquences of war,
the grecdinefs of your heirs, the negligence of
thofe, who ought to watch for your fL'curity ? I
ftill go farther. Suppofe you are lucky enough
to avoid all thefe misfortunes, and to v/ake fafe
and found, at the end of an age ; what would
you find in the world ^ A new wond, not one
jot better than the old •, people, unknown to you,
and who would not give themfelves much trouble
to gain your acquaintance : your eftate divided
arr.ong your heirs, who won't be in a humour to
M 2 pare

1 64 The Natural History

part with it. You were rich at your going to
fleep, but will wake poor.

CLAR. You make me tremble ; I had much
- rather die. Let us therefore amufe ourfelves no
longer with this dangerous chimera. You would
therefore do well not to fpeak to me of thofe ex-
periments, which only leave a fid regret to fee
my hopes vanifh as foon as formed.

EUGEN. Experiments of pure curiofity
have their charms ; but when they lead to fome-
thing ufeful, the profit is double : that fometimes
happens, when we think the leaft of it. Such
are thofe we have made on the life of infecfbs.

CLAR. I can*t fee the advantage, which a
cbryfalii, carefully preferved, three or four years,
in an ice-houfe, or a vault, can give us. Is it a
remedy againft fome diftemper .''

EUGEN. This experiment will inform us
how to eat eggs frefli all the winter, and in thofe
times when your own hens and thofe of your
neighbours have done laying. That is fome fmall
advantage towards good houfewifery in the
country.

CLAR. Surely no ; but it is a paradox, at
which 1 Ihould fmile, if any other but yourfelf
had propofed it. What affinity is there between
a chryfalis and a frefli egg }

EUGEN. I don't propofe, that you fliould
compare them together 5 my defign is only ta
tell you, that the art of preferving a chryjalis has
led me to preferve eggs for years, and always as
frefh as they were that day they were laid. To

draw

of B E E S. 165

draw you from that embaraflTment, into which my
propofition has thrown you, pleafe to remember,
that the chryfalis is not preferved for feveral years,
but by flopping its tranfpiration. A hen's egg,
like that of another bird, is almoft a chryfalis. By
flopping its tranfpiration, you will preferve it, as
one would a chryfalis. To prove it, let us ob-
ferve what pafTes in an egg, in proportion as it
corrupts in air, or receives its fermentation under
a hen. Notwithftanding the compad texture of
its fhelly covering, the egg tranfpires daily -, and
the more it tranfpires the fooner it is fpoilt.
Every body knows, that in a frefh €gg, dreffed or
not, the fubftance of the egg very fenfibly fills its
Ihell, and, on the contrary, there remains a void
in an old one, by fo much the more fenfible as
the egg is ftaler. This vacancy is the meafure of
that quantity of liquids, which tranfpircd through
the fhell. "When you hold it between your eye
and the light, if you perceive it has a vacancy
in the upper part, you fay it is not frefh, and
you fay right. The modern philofophers have
found the method of difcovering the canals, thro'
which an egg tranfpires : they have feen thofe air
duds, which have a communication through the
egg to the exterior air. The peafants of fome
of the provinces of the kingdom ad as if they
underflood this part of natural philofophy. They
preferve thofe eggs,which their hens laid in autumn,
to fend them to Paris in winter. They keep them
in tubs, furrounded on all fides with afhes, cfofe
preffcd. They keep them alfo in water, which
M 3 has

1 66 The Natural History

has nearly the fame efFecl; but neither the wafer
or the afhes abfolutely ftop all tranfpiration •, they
only make it more flow. The egg continually
finds more or lefs of the diffipation made in its
liquor. Whoever then coajd communicate the
fecret to flop it entirely, would, at the fame time,
give you that of preferving your eggs through
years, and perhaps through ages.

CLAR. I would fettle on the perfon, who
could furnifh me with that fecret, a perpetual rent
of two frefh eggs every morning.

EUGEN. My fortune is made. Take pots,
fill them with nev/ laid eggs, and pour over them
inutton fit meked. Only take care, that this fat
be not too warm to fcald the eggs ; it will run
into all the hollows, that are between, will fur-
round them perfeclly on al! fides, and guard them
from all communication with tliQ outward air. By
fo fimple a method you may preferve them for
years. 1 have actually fome by me, which I have
kept for two years. A fortnight ago I ate two,
which had no lault to be found with them.

CLAR. I will this very day give orders, that
your rent jhall b^ exadly paid, and to-morrow I
will make a prefent of this fecret to all my
neighbours. It is time to return to our Bee,
which we have left in its litde prifon. Tell me
how fne extricates herfelf from it.

EUGEN. As foon asihe nympba had got rid

of her fkin, flie comniences a perfed Bee. Her

firft care is to perforate the wall, with which

they have cloiftered her up. At firll fhe makfs

2 wk

of B E E S. 167

ufe of one of her teeth, to make a hole about the
middle. This being made, flie employs her
two teeth to dig down the wax, and make it hum-
ble ; the opening by degrees makes it more
large : at length, in about three hours, when the
recent Bee is vigorous, and the feafon favourable,
it makes the opening large enough to admit its
coming out. The Bees lefs ftrong, and in days
not very warm, are fometimes half a day in do-
ing this. This work is jikewife above the
ftrength of fome, who die in their cell, after hav-
ing made an opening, through which only their
head or part ot it is able to pafs.

CLAR. Ha ! What becomes then of that
tender love, thofe officious cares, that charitable
vigilance of the Bees towards their young?

EUGEN. That is what I cannot tell you.
I own it would coft them little to help thefe poor
little creatures, in a work very laborious for their
weak condition. It v/as natural to imagine, that
the Working-bee would open that prifon, which
they had m.ade. Swammerdam believed, as
you wasdifpofed to imagine •, however Swammer.
dam was miftaken. The young Bee has no fuc-
cour to expect from his companions -, his deftiny
at that time wholly depends on its own ftrength :
'tis an inevitable misfortune, it that fhould fiii in
time of need : but at length when the Bee has
made a fuflizient opening, it puts through its
head, then its two nrft legs, which it fixes on
the edges of the hole, and by the means or which
it draws itfelf forward. Scon after its other legs
M 4 are

The Natural History

are ready to come out in their turn, and then it
is not long before it difengages its whole body.
This labour over, it appears a perfed Bee in full
fight ; it fupports itfelf on its fix legs, pretty
near the cell it has quitted. Irs wings unfold
themfelves and grow ftrong : its body and all the
exterior parts are yet wet ♦, but although the
warm air of the hive, would not be fufficient to
dry them foon, they would not long continue
wet. The Bees, which perceive this recent com-
panion, approach near j they feem to take notice
of her, by their good offices, and the joy they
exprefs to fee her. Two or three place themfelves
round the new comer ; they lick and clean her on
all fides, with their trunks j fome among them
even prefent it with honey.

CLAR. Here is a good deal of oddnefs.
How! a Bee, to whom, but juft now, they
would not vouchfafe to lend the leall help, but
let it miferably perifh at its door, becaufe it had
not ftrength to open it -, this Bee happily extri-
cates itfelf from its danger : fee it, in a moment,
ililuted, carefiTed, and loaded with prefents ? This
forgetfulnefs and this fuccefllve return of brother-
ly friend fhip has a good deal the air of one of
nature's fports.

EUGEN. Let us not ufe this cxprefljon, the
fport of nature, which has no fignification ; for
nature neither fports or trifles ; (he inviolably pur-
fues the laws impofed on her by her Creator.
But let us agree to place this among the number
of thofe things, which we are condemned to be
I ignorant

of B E E S. 169

ignorant of. I have told you, that young Bees
may eafily be diftinguifhed by their colour -, that
of the old one is more red, that of the young
one greyifli. The rings of thefe lad are browner,
which become more diftincl as the animal grows
old ; the hairs of the young are white, thofe of
the old ones red : the Bee juft produced has a
great belly ; if it is open'd, 'tis found full of the
laft honey (lie ate while a maggot. All the parts
of a young Bee are fcarcely fufEciently dried ; the
wings are hardly proper for motion, till it be-
comes a perfe(5l Bee, and knows all it has to do
for the reft of its life. Don't be aftonifhed, that
flie is fo well inftru(5ted, and fo early : its inftruc-
tion is derived from him, who made it.

CLAR. How happy fhould we be, if he,
who formed our children, had given them to
us perfectly inftrufted !

EUGEN. Take care, Clarifla, not to com-
plain unjuftly : he would have given you nothing
but machines, inftead of docile children, as yours
are: he would have deprived you of the moft
fenfible and the moft foothing of all pleafures,
that a mother can have, that of conducing them
yourlelf to virtue by your counfels and your
examples.

CLAR. I did not feek for a compliment,
but you will furnifh me with more than one occa-
fion not to be behind hand with you.

EUGEN. Our new-born Bee then perceives
itfelf made for fociety ; that (he ought to labour
to acquit herfelf of thofe cares they have taken

for

I JO The Natural History

for h'^r ; fiie walks fome time upon the combs,
by way of trial, then fhe difpofes herfelf to take
the open air. Other Bees, which are continually
coming out of the hive, fhew her where the
door is -, fhe never wants guides to dired: her the
way. Is ihe abroad ? behold her upon flowers ;
from them ibe knows how to extra tfl wax and ho-
ney. We have already feen her companions offer
her this ne£lar before her firft going abroad ; if
then llie goes to gather fome, foori i.fter, at the
bottom of flowers, 'tis lefs to nourifh irfelf with
than to begin to work, for the common good ;
to colltcl it, in order to convey it to thofe places
deflinM to receive it. What fairly proves, that
it is not for her own interefl, that fhe takes the
field, is, that fiie fometimes gathers only crude
wax. M. Maraldi affures us, that he has leen
Bees loaded with two large balls of wax, rcturn-
inp- to the hive, the fame day they became Bees :
it is thus, that a Bee is formed, and 'tis thus they
all are. The queens muft always be excepted.
Among Bees, as among us, kings and queens
are not formed of more precious material than the
bulk of the people ; they are all equal as they
come from his hands, who makes them ; but
whence once they come a rnong creatures hke them-
felves, things admit a change. The royal ma-
jcfV/ is, among Bees, of divine inflitution, as it
is amiOng men. That refpc6t and diflindion due
to them is a confcqucnce of it. I have already
prepared ycu, on a great number of thefe di-
flinotipns, but have not yet told you, that they

carry

of B E E S. 171

carry it fo far as to give to the royal maggot, in
its aheolusy a quite different pofition from the
others ; and that when a nympha^ it keeps this
pofition, of which I fliall fpeak more largely,
when we come to the royal alveoli. When this
Bee is become a queen, flie goes not, like others,
into the fields : her perfon is too choice to be ex-
pofed to the dangers, which may overtake her out
of the hive. She may take her walks through
all the ftreets of her kingdom •, fhe is certain of
finding every where magazines filled with food,
or Bees that will prefent her with fome. In waiting
till I can fhew you in the original. Bees, for the:
firft time, leaving their cells, you will fatisfy
yourfelf with this drawing, which will give you
a pretty juft notion of it. The cells marked Plate vi.
BB, are thofe the Bees have already quieted. ^^S- 8.
Thofe marked C C have their covering ftill on ;
the nymphs are yet inclofed within them. That
marked M gives you the view of a common
Bee, which has put ofi^ its fkin of a nymph,
which has gnawed thro* the covering of its cell,
and is preparing to leave it. R, S, is a royal
cell, from whence part of the wax has been taken,
or, if you pleafe, in which has been made a win-
dow, to difcover the nympha of a Mother-bee,
fuch as it appears in its alveolus. You fee how
much it difi^ers from others, in fituation and
lodging.

CLAR. Without doubt the drones too have
honourable privileges.

ei;gen.

172 The Natural History

EUGEN. They have not been forgotten in
the diftribution of honours ; they hold the place
of grandees in the ftare, but of thofe grandees of
fhew, whofe lot is very much bounded. Befides
the privilege of leading a foft and effeminate life,
and not working for the publick, a poor privi-
lege, and which will never pafs for a title of ho-
nour, they are diftinguifhed by greater alveoli^
than thofe of the Working-bees. This is ano-
ther drawing of part of a comb, which was in-
Flate VI. tended for the drones. The cells marked O, are
f'g- 9- open and empty ; all the reft arc clofed, which
yet contain the maggots or nymphas of the drones ;
Ibid. you fee their coverings are not flat, as are thofe
^^"■^^' of the other alveoli, but convex and fwelling
outwardly. I know no other diftinflions they
have. You now are pretty well informed, Cla-
riffa, of the birth of Bees. Confider, before we
pafs to other fubjedls, if you have any doubts, if
J have not forgot fomething you would willingly
know.

CLAR. 'Tis your bufinefs to fee, Eugenio,
that you have fulfilled your promife. If I re-
member right, you told me, a hive was a circle
of living and dead Bees ; and that to come at a
fixed point, you divided them from a fwarm. Ic
appears to me, that in order to finifh this revolu-
tion of a circle, you fhould carry me to a fwarm.
EUGEN. The obfervation is very judicious.
To anfwer it, call to mind what we fiid, in or-
der to connedt with what I (hall now fay. This
Bee, which we have ken lay her eggs, in our

fixth

of BEES. 173

fixth converfation, was newly come to a hive,
together with her fwarm. You have feen herde-
pofite her eggs in the alveoli. I have told you
how from thefe eggs maggots are produced ;
that thefe again take the form of nymphas^ and
thefe hkewife that of Bees. I told you when a
Mother-bee was arrived at the height of her lay-
ing, fhe emits two hundred eggs a day : thefe
eggs are to be hatched in nearly the fame propor-
tion : the hive therefore is daily growing more
populous, and in few weeks the number of inha-
bitants becomes fo great, that it cannot contain
them ; they muft be divided. This is what gives
occafion to fwarms. Thefe {warms might be the
fubjeft of our next converfation. Yet I think it
will be more conformable to the order I have laid
down, to difcourfe firft of all, of the aclions of
Bees, of their manner of living in their hives,
and their works •, in a word, of every thing, that
pafles between the arrival of one fwarm and the
departure of another. As a fwarm is liable to
have many queens, and as they begin no kind of
work in a new hive, till the number of queens is
reduced to one ; I will firll fpeak of the mafla-
cre of their fupernumerary queens ; and, not to
return, feveral times, to fo mournful a fubjed, I
(hall join to it that of the males and maggots.

CON-

1/4 The Natural tl i s T o r y

CONVERSATION IX.

Of the maffacre of the jupeniumei'ary qiiecm^
with that of the males and maggots,

E U G E N I O.

F you do not bring along with you, Clarifla^
a heart of brafs, you are gi-eatly to be pitied.
CLAR. Can you think, Eugenio, that one
has l^earts to change, as often as there may be OC'
cafion.

EUGEN. At leaft one ought to have fome-
thing to fortify ourfelves againft thofe fhocks,
which cruel obje6ls give a tender heart.

CLAR. I fhall find that afliftance within
myfelf Tragical and melancholy as thefe adven-
tures may be, which you have to relate, I am
ready to hear them, and prepared for every
event.

EUGEN, That is very a propos for you. I
am going to begin with what paffes in a hive, on
the account of a plurality of queens. You
already know when a Queen-bee has begun to
lay, fhe fometimes produces feven, eight, and
even twenty females. I, one day, found forty,
at leafl forty royal cells. It is not difficult to
comprehend the reafcn of this plurality. If
there was only one queen born in each hive, that
would not be a fufficient provifion for the mul-
tiplication

of B E E S.

tlplication of Bees. The fwarms would often
want a concludreis. A rhoufimd accidents may
deftroy the little maggot, from which a queen is
expeded, before it arrives at its metamorphofis
into a Bee. It would not th'srefore be fufficient,
that the modier fliould lay but one of thefc fe-
male eggs each year ; it is necefTary flic fhould
lay a fufficient number of them, to guard againit
accidents. There are therefore many of them
born ; and from hence it comes, that when a
fwarm is ready to depart, many of thefe female
Bees, which obferve they are too numerous, join
the colony, and follow it. The others, lefs di-
ligent, or more attach'd to the place of their
birth, continue there ^ it may be too, the plea-
fures of love detain them there.

CLAR. The antienfs were undoubtedly
ignorant of this multiplication of kings or queens,
fince I never heard of above one king of the
Bees.

EUGEN. All the antients, to begin with
Ariftotle, haveacknowledg'd fcveral kings. They
affirm, that it fomc times happens, that a fwarm
has two kings or two queens. They inform us of
what is done in fuch a cafe, which is not an un-
common one. Bjt, according to their cuH-om,
they have not been able to contain themfelves
wichin the bounds of fimple truth, but have added
to it a mixture of the falle marvellous. They well
knew, that it was neceifiry, that one of thefe
two kings fliould refign the kingdom to the other ;
but they have fnoken of the prefcrv'd king as a

king

175

176 The Natural History

king poflefsM of all the qualities which render
him worthy of that advantage, and as endowed
with an outward appearance proper to procure
him refpeft ; but they treat the rejeded king as
a wretched fly, unworthy of the fovereign power,
which he was ambitious of ufurping. They have
been very lavifti in beftowing on him the names
of ufurper and tyrant ; they have reprefented his
form as hideous and at the fame time contemp-
tible. It is after Ariftotle that Virgil has de-
fcribed both the one and the other, and averted,
that the forms of thofe two kings were very dif-
ferent, that one of them, viz. the good one, had
reddifh fcales, which fhone like plates of gold ;
that its figure was noble, whereas the other was
difagreeable to the fight j that it feem*d all over
dufty, with a large belly ; in fliorr, that it de-
ferved nothing but death.

CLAR. A poet, like Virgil, may be per-
njitted to amufe us with his agreeable ftories ; no
body can be deceiv'd by them : 'tis what is ex-
peded i poetry draws its ornaments from fi(Slion^';
but that a grave philofopher, as your Ariftotle
was, (hould give us fables for realities, is the
thing, that (hocks me. Of whom then can we
learn truth, if thefe fages join with the poets, to
impofe upon us ?

EUGEN. The time of fables is over. If
we fpeak of them, *tis only that thofe, who are
ignorant, fliould not confound them with true
fads. It is with this view, that I fhall tell you,
one cannot read without aftonifhment the ex-

tream

of B E E S. 177

tream with confidence, which Alexander de
Montforc fpeaks in his book, call'd, Thefpring-
time of the Bees^ of this rejeded Bee, afluring us,
that what he is going to fay, is the product of feve-
ral years obfervat ion. You fhall judge of the worth
of his obfervations by the advantage, that will
refulc from them. Ivlontfort calls this unhappy
Bee, the tyrant or quarrelfome prince. He fays,
his dufky colour, his large belly ^ his fwolen
legs, and languid gefiures, are figns of envy, am-
bition, gluttony, cozvardice, lazinejs. That this

quarrelfome -prince has a hoarfe accent^ which
ecchoes in every quarter, carejfing the new fouldery,
whom he endeavours to inebriate, and draw into
revolt agatnfi their fovereign. The quarrelfome
prince leaves the hive with a fwarjn, departs from
his king like a tray tor, or piece of counterfeit money ^
that dares not fbew itfelf. As foon as the fun /Ifmes
upon his head, his had qualities appear, and caufe
one part of his people to revolt.

CLAR. This jargon of Alexander de Mont-
fort, as well as his quarrelfome prince, appears
to me a mere fiction.

EUGEN. It is fo in reality. Charles Butler,
in his Female Monarchy, comes nearer the truth i
he will have it, that when the new queen has
taken pofleffion Q'i\\tx capilcl, and the empire has
been granted her, the fecond in rank is con-
demned to death, by a decree of the people,
and immediately this decree is executed. He
does not tell us, that he faw this execution ; but he
mentions terrible battles, which lafted in the hive

N. for

The Natural History

for two days together, where two ftrong fwarrrs
had enter'd, which did not end 'till one of the
two mothers was kill'd. But to fubftitute more
fimple and truer facfls, in the ftcad of thof?, uhich
are loaded with circumftances more imic^inary
than certain •, I fliall tell you a truth, iliata fwarm,
when it leaves a hive, has often two queens, and
fometimes three ; and there often remain behind
fevcral fupernumerary Bees in the hive. I am
capable of giving you an exa£t account of what
becomes both of the one and the other. What
t have to fay, is from ocular demonftration :
when a fwarm goes from the hive it was born in,
they are often feen to divide themfelves into two
bands, which fettle upon the branches of fome
neighbouring tree. This divifion is a fare fign,
that there are, at leali, two queens ; but then it
often happens, that there are more in one clufter
than the other. One will not be, fometimes,
bigger than one's fid, while the other fliall be as
large as the head. Whatever the caufe may be,
that the queen of the fmaller duller has drawn no
more Bees after her, her company in general are
not fliithful to her. The Bees love to live in nu-
merous focieties : the queens themfelves are not
pleas'd, when they have but few at their fervice ;
they feem to know the inconveniencies, that refult
from it. A fmall duller is not then of long
continuance -, the Bees detach themfelves from
it by little and little ; and when the troop is re-
duced to a fmall number, they, together with

their

of B E E S.

their queen, go to unite ciiemf^^lves with the
other. Then the fwarm has two mothers.

CLAR. I clearly fee, that we are near upon
the moment of the cataftrophe. I remember
there ought to be no more than one queen in each
hive, and that the other muft be facrificed to the
public repofe, and to that law, which requires there
fhould be but one monarch in one monarchy. I
fortify myfelf beforehand againlt thofe horrors
you are going to relate,

EUGEN. I would willingly fpare you the
recital of them. But the faithfulnefs of hillory
requires, that we fiiould fpeak both of the good
and the evil. When thefe lo, 20, 30, or 40
eggs, which the Queen- bee has laid, are become
female Bees, there are born^ at the fame time,
hundreds of males, and thoufands of v/orkcrs.
The whole hive becomes prodigioudy peopled.
If all equally purfued the fame end, and laboured
only for the public good, every thing would go
on perfeflly well. But the lazy, that is to fiy,
the drones, and the fupernumerary queens, think-
ing on nothing but amours, and living without
any advantage to the fociety, the magazines of
honey would be quickly exhaufted. To nourifh
fo many ufelefs mouths, the workers would not
be too numerous, with all their ftrcngth ; and
their only employment would be to feek food in
the fields, and continually to re-vidual the place.
During which time the alveoli, and other public
works would be negle^led. Befides, the reign-
ing qusen has not yet done laying \ fhe has need

N 2 of

179

The Natural RT i s t o r y

of other cells to depofite new eggs in. A fwarm,^
which carries with it two or three queens, does
not wholly difincumber the hive of all its fuper-
numeraries, becaufe we know there often are 30
or 40, which will be fo many mothers, and
which will foon take up all the aheoli. Death
alone can be the fafety of the hive.

CLAR. Would it not be more worthy of a
wife government civilly to defire them to i*etire,
or even to drive them out, if they are obftinate,
than to lay violent hands on perfons fo auguft as
queens ; as I am afraid will appear in a moment ?

EUGEN. I will fuppofe they fhould enter into
your companionate fentimcnts : where would the
poor unhappy creatures go ? Into fome corner,there
to languifli in mifery, and then die two or three
Heps from it? for every queen, that carries not a
Iwarm with her, has no retreat. She immediate-
ly b)ecomes a prey to uneafinefs, chagrin, or
birds, and above all to cold. The workers
know, that it is mofb expedient for thefe poor
unfortunate, to put an end, as foon as pofiible,
to a life, which can only end in a tragical death.
They kill them out of pity.

CLAR. It is great pity they were born f

EUGEN. As for them, in particular, it
would have certain been better they had never
feen the light -, but the general ceconomy of the
univerfe requires it Ihould be fo. It would not
be difficult to prove, that many animals, to
begin with ourfclves, are the prey of diftempers,
wars, murders, cruelty, and the avarice of our
2 fellows i

of BEES. i8i

fellows ; and that there are none, wholly free from
thefe accidents. In lliort, that we may re-
turn to our murder'd queens, I remember, that
-fix mothers were bought me one morning, found
dead upon the ftand of one hive, from which
the fwarm had parted the evening before. The
lot of thofe, who fave themfelves by following
the fwarm, is not more happy : one only is re-
ferved, the reft are facriliced to her fafety. The
,firft proof I had of it, was from a fwarm, which
Jeft their hive in June. The Bees, of which it
was compos'd, divided themfelves into two
•bands of unequal bulk, which quickly reunited.
The divifion, which was firft made, gave me
reafon to conclude there were two mothers -, but
,the confequence fhew'd me there were three.
Thus the numbers, v/hich a fwarm divides itfelf
into, are not always equal to the number ot
queens. I have learn*d from other obfervations,
that it does not always happen, that a fwarm,
which has two mothers, divides itfelf. J ,was
■curious to follow the fwarm I was fpeaking of.
It entred peaceably into its. new hive i two days
after, every thing appear'd very calm. I did not
perceive, in the hive, thofe battles, which are
there faid to be fought, when there are (cvcral
mothers. Next day, about three in the after-
noon, the air feeni*d to be fuller of Bees ; and
more out of the liive, and efpecially about the
door, than was cuftomary. I open'd one of the
fhutters, to obferve what pafled within, and was
.quickly fatisfy*d there had been fome commotion,
N 3 The

i82 The Natural History

The Bees had left the top of the hive, where they
had kept themfclves the firft day, and where they
had already built two fmall combs. I had room
to conclude, there had paffed fome bloody ex-
pedition. I exdmin'd the ground before the hive,
and there found feme dead, among which there
was a queen. All the day, in which this battle
was fought, the Bees did not work at all ; they
likewife pafled the whole night near the bottom
of the hive, without regaining the top : there
too I found them the morning afterwards : three
hours after I found another dead mother, near the
place where I faw the firft. This was the laft,
that was to die • thus order and peace were reftor*d
to the hive ; the Bees gain'd the upper part -, they
placed themfclves as they had done before, and as
they ought to do, and applied themfclves to work
in good earned. The fwarm, I mentioned, is
not the only one I have had, cut of which two
mothers have been kili'd. It is then inconteftable,
that there are times, in which the Bees cannot
luffer many females, and that one only is requir'd'
to the Bees of one fwarm.

CLAR. It would furely be worth your while,
to penetrate the reafons, that determine the Bees
in the choice they mak:^ of their queen. For
we have fecn till now fo much agreement among
them, that it is not probable they take a queen
at hazard, on whom the fafety and prefervation
of the ft ate depend.

EUGEN. I vvill not pofitively affirm it is
the coniequcnce of their reafoning and fettled
judgment, that they prcier certain Bees to others,
I to

of B E E S. 183

to confiifjte their fovereign •, but 'tis mofl: likely,
that fne, who is rais'd to that high rank, is the
mofl worthy. I do not however, nor is it necel-
fary that I fhould, pronounce this ferioufly, that
fhe is endow'd with every moral virtue, which
has been thought necelTary to her. Neither do
you think the mothers, which have been put to
death, deferv'd fo tragical an end, becaufe they had
that blacknefs of foul peculiar to ufurpers and
tyrants, and all the vices, that Alexander de
Montfort charges them with. What I think moft
probable is, that the queen, which is kept alive,
has, in the highefl: degree, the virtue, in which
they are moil interelled, namely that of laying
the mod eggs, and more than thole females would
have laid, that were facrificed to the public
tranquillity.

C L A R. I eafily conceive it not to be necef-
fary, that the Bees, which compofe a fwarm,
ready to fly, fhould come to an eleclion in form,
to give themfelves a head. Nor make I any
doubt but they would accept her, which Ihould
firll offer. A moment, it may be, decides ir.
I mean, that among the late born females,
Ihe, who is fufficiently aflive, and reftlefs to part
firft from the hive, may determine the Bees,
v/ho no longer like their old habitation, to pit
themfelves in her train, in the fearch of a new
lolging.

E U G E N. I am of your opinion. We may
however Hill add one circumflance, very capable
of determining a choice fo bounded in its views

N 4 as

184 The Natural History

as theirs may be. It feems the fovereignty may
be granted, as in our moft famous monarchies,
to the Bee, which, by its birth, can lay the bed
claim to it. The firft is (he, who has acquired
the moft vigour, who has been the fooneft
impregnated , and the moft ready to lay.
This title would be fufficient to merit a throne
among the Bees. I think I have even a proof
of it.

CL A R. Trifling as thofe motives may be,
■which lead them to the choice of a fovereign,
they will be always more reafonable than thofe of
a people, who fet their crown to fale.

E U G E N. I am not, any more than you,
djfpofed to approve that method of giving them-
felves fovereigns. Could you, however, fufpeft
the Bees to be captivated by the brightnefs of gold ?
Virgil has defcribed the King they have chofe,
as a perfon of grand air, and all ftiining with
gold ; and the abandon'd kings, as hideous
and of an ignoble figure. This figure is
not abfolutely foreign to probability. I
have always obfcrved the chofen queen 10 be
of a more reddilli colour, than the reft. This
colour was fufficient to create gold in a poet's
eyes, and perhaps may have the fame effedl on
the eyes of the Bees ; for thofe, who are put to
death, have always appear'd to me more brown,
and not fo large. So Ariftotle has affirm'd, that the
' eleded king Is red, the other black, that is more
brown. This conftant difference of colour may
a little juftify the exaggerations of Virgil, and

give

of B E E S. 185

give the Bees a motive for their choice, which
is determin'd as their eyes are affecfbed. How-
ever, this reddifli colour is not an advan-
tage beflow'd by nature, and given preferably to
fome rather than to others, to mark out fuperior
merit ; 'tis only a prerogative of age : the mo-
thers, like other Bees, become redder as they grow
older. When they are firft born, they are
browned : the nearer they are to their laying time,
the bigger and larger their bodies are, and the
more fhining. From hence it appears, that Hie,
who is preferv'd for queen, is the firft born and
the neareft laying, becaufe fhe has a higher
colour, and an air of grandeur fufficient to ftrike
the eyes of the other Bees. Thus royalty among
them would be due to prmogeniture, and the
reward of fruitfulnefs.

CLAR. The choice, which the Bees make of
their queen, leads me to fugged to you a
^ittle reafoning of mine, on this fubjed.
I like, that one Ihould reduce, as you do,
the actions of animals to their juft value. I
can't bear, that people fhould endeavour, as I,
every day fee thoufands do, to raife the intelli-
gence of beafts to an equality with ours, and conti-
nually compare us with them : this parallel has
always fhock'd me extrear;ly. In a difpute,
v/hich I have often had with Madam *** who, like
feveral other women, knows nothing better than
what fhe thinks •, this good lady, always in an ex-
tafy on the pretty manners of her dog, will
have it to adl from a reafon fimilar to her own.

If

1 86 The Natural History

If I offer to ccntradid her with politencfs, fhe
flrikes me dumb with this fine argument : This
mull be fo, becaufe neither you, nor myfelf, can
conceive how it can be otherwife. It is to no
purpofe to reply, that the bounds of our concep-
tion are not thofe of omnipotence •, and that if om-
nipotence could be bounded, there would be an end
of all argument. That beafts perform mechanically
that, which we can't perform but by the aflift-
ance of our reafon : and certainly, I don't, on
that account, lefs admire the author of nature.
I think it too great a rafhnefs for men, to ima-
gine, that every thing, which has a refemblance
of reafon, can't beeffefled but by a reafon fimilar
to theirs •, as it God was not fufficiently powerful
to accomplilh his own ends by a diverfity of
means.

EUGEN. If you would pleafe to take the
trouble oftener to give us arguments in your
own manner, our converfations would be much
the better for them.

CLAR. You are very obliging. Since we are
on the fubjed of the adions of Bees, I will pro-
pofe one queftion concerning the maflacre ot the
queens. Is it on the account of the Bees lately
fettled in their hives, that the mothers are put to
death ? How will that agree with the affeClionate
concern, which is well known they have for all
the mothers in general ? Js it not more likely,
that the two mothers, jealous of one another,
ihould fight each other ; and that the weakeft
fhould be the vidim .''

EUGEN.

of BEES. 187

EUGEN. That is what I could never fee.
What would make me think, that the two mo-
thers, though naturally very pacific, attack each
other, is, that they are arm'd with ftings, which
they have fcarcely any other occafions to make
ufe of i for they don't ufe them againfl: the Bses
of their own hive. However, in fpite of all
the refped, which thefe hift have for their queens,
in fpite of the love they tellify towards them,
there may be times and circumftances, in which
they don't hefitate to take away their lives. You
will prefently fee, that after they have taken in-
finite care of thofe maggots, that would become
Male-bees, there is a time, wherein they make a
dreadful carnage of them : this is an article, that
can't be better plac'd, than after this, which ws
h:ive been juft treating of. Let us refume our
phn, that we may not wander from it. We have
parted from a new lodg'd fwarm. If this fwarm
come into its hive, with feveral queens, I have told
you, that before they apply themfelves to work,
they proceed to the choice of their fovereign, and
that the other candidates are deflroy'd. The drones,
or males, who have followed this colony, are
treated with more indulgence. They remain
with this only queen •, they are fuffer'd to enjoy
the fweetsof life about Hx weeks, reckoning from
the day of their tranfmigration.

CLAR. The refpire, with which the drones
are flivour'd, appears to me an efted of pure
goodnefs on the part of the working-bees. I
do not know what good can accrue to them, to
maintain, for fo long a time, thefe idle crea-
tures.

i88 The Natural History

tures, which are of no fervice to the fociety.; I
liave not forgot, that one queen does not put her-
felf at the head of a fwarm, till after fhe has
taken care, in her old hive, to be in a condition
to lie in now j and that fhe actually does fo, the
day after her arrival there. Thefc males, there-
fore, are of no other fervice to her. Does flie
keep them as hufbands, ad honores^ for the dig-
nity and honour of her rank, and as the Eaftern
princes do their fultans ?

EUGEN. It is not probable, that this luxury,
or, rather, this debauch of mind, has intruded
itfelf among animals. It is true, when a queen
leaves her old hive, fne is already in a condition to
perpetuate her fpecies. But it is likely too, that the
prodigious number of eggs, that fhe has in her
body, requires the drones to flay fome time with
her. The Bees arc too good managers of their
labour and their provifion, to maintain, for fo
long a time, thofe lazy bellies, which con-
tribute nothing to the public good. What proves
it is, the diligence, with which they get rid of
them, when the time is come. 'Tis likely, this
time is noted to them by the perfed indifference,
with which the queen begins to treat thefe males.
The workers, who take notice cf it, then de-
clare the mofl cruel v/ar : for three or four days
they make a terrible butchery of them. Not-
withflanding the fuperiority, which they fcem to
have by their bulk, they can't hold out againft
the workers, who are arm'd with a poignard,
which conveys poifon into the wounds they make.

Befides,

of B E E S. 189

Befidcs, the number of thofe, who attack, are con-
fiderably more numerous than the attacked, and
rhey are not afham'd to join, two or three toge-
ther, againft one. While thefc days of carnage
laft, one fees them, from morning to night, in-
cenfed againft the males, which they draw from
their hives, dead or dying. During the fix
weeks the males continued in the hive, with the
queen, fhe fail'd not to Iny eggs of both fcxes.
The moment of their profcription come, there are
found males of all ages in the hive, and fome in
their cradle, which till then were nourifh'd with
the tendernefs of a mother, and fome there are
which be ftill in their egg. The law of the
ftate, which has pronounced the deftruftion of the
males, has no exception ; it extends equally to
thofe, who do not yet breath, as to thofe who do.
The whole fex muft be totally deftroy'd, and is
fo. Love changes into fury ; hate fucceeds ma-
ternal fondnefs -, the workers make a narrow fearch
in all the Alveoli. Whatever is a male maggot,
as well as that v/hich is only likely to be fo, all
is torn away, butchered, difperfed, and carried
off into the high v/ays ; the hive is cleanfed of
them, as it would be from a contagion. It be-
comes then a theatre of horror and of murders.
There are hives, in which, this carnage takes
place fooner •, others, where it is later, according
as the fwarms are, which have enter*d there.
One fees this in the months of June, July, and
Ausuft.

'o^

CLAR,

190 The Natural History

CLAR. We have fufpefled the queen to have
convey'd a criminal fting into the bofom of the
other queens, her rivals : could one have be-
liev'd her likevvife guilty of the death of her
hufbands ?

EUGEN. I have no reafon to think fo ; and,
if any thing could determine me to pronounce
her innocent of thefe terrible executions, it is,
that file is not at all interefled in them. The
drones are too great cowards and too indolent to
give her umbrage, or difpute her rank. You
know the funeral dues, which one of thefe
queens paid to one of her dead hufbands at my
houfe.

CLAR. I fliould rather have fufpecled her of
too much tendcrnefs than guilty of cruelty. We
are doubtlcfs come to the lad adt of the tragedy.
I hope you will now efface, by more agreeable
relations, the black and melancholy images, with
which my imagination has been filled.

EUGEN. You were willing to know, Cla-
rifla, the life of Bees j you order'd me to give
you a recital of it. To retrench the circumilances
proper to charadlerize them, would not be the
way to anfwer what you expefled from me. There
are flill wanting, to what I have juft now faid,
certain traits, which I ought not to omit. You
know the love of the common Bees to the mag-
gots born in their hive. I thought it would be curi-
ous to know, whether this love would be extended
towards thofe maggots, which took their birth
in another. To inform myfelf ofit, I one day,

convey*d

of B E E S. 19 r

conveyM into feveral hives, parts of combs, which
I had taken from others, and vvhofe cells were
filled with the eggs of maggots of every age, and
with nymphd's. The nymiphci's^ having no farther
need of the afliftance of the common Bees, be-
came Bees, in their new hives : they there pro-
cured for themfelves, in a moment, their freedom,
and augmented the number of their inhabitants.
But I did not fee the Bees of thefe hives take any
care of the foreign eggs and maggots ; they even
treated thefe laft with the utmofl barbarity -, they
tore them from their cells, and threw them away.
There are flill fome cafes, in which they treat the
maggots, born among them, in the fame man-
ner. It is, when a comb falls down, by fome
accident, or fome part of a comb, the Bees are
feen to colled themfelves together ; nor do they
fpare any of the maggots found in the open cells ;
they tear them out, kill them, and throw them
far off.

CLAR. In this there is not only an infuffera-
ble barbarity, but a crying injuftice. Why muft
thefe little innocents pay, with their life, the fol-
ly of their parents ? Are xhty guilty of the fall
of the combs, which, perhaps, fell, becaufe
they were ill fattened ?

EUGEN. I will not attempt to judify this
procedure ; but there is reafon to imagine, that the
maggots of the fallen combs would never furvive.
The cells of thefe combs, in their firft pofition,
had their axis almoft horizontal; but v/hen fallen
it became vertical. You give me to underftand,

that

192

The Natural History

that when we talk to ladies, we ought to ufe
clearer terms. I will do fo. The mod advan-
tageous pofition of our new-born infants is to
lie along : they would perifh in a little time, or,
at lead, would fucceed ill, if they were placed
in an upright pofture, and their legs loaded with
the weight of their little bodies. It is fo with
the maggots we fpeak of. In fine, (and this is
the moft ftrange adventure, and which caufes the
greateft horror with regard to cruelty,) it fome-
times happens, that the Bees of certain hives tear
the maggots from their alveoli, kill them, and
carry away their bodies, though no accident has
befallen the combs •, though we can fee no rea-
fons, that can determine them to pradlice thefe
cruel extremities, fo oppofite to the tender
affe6tion, which they commonly fhew for thofc
of their own hive. 'Tis juft as if mothers, for-
getting at once their natural tendernefs, fliould
butcher their children in cold blood.

CLAR. Are you refolved , Eugenio, to
make me quarrel with the Bees, to avenge your-
felf of the trouble I give you in telling me
their hiftory .?

EUGEN. I am not at all revengeful ; but
I would not be reproached to have left you igno-
rant of things eflential to be known. It was
my duty therefore to inform you of this barbarous
pradice. But a little to efface the blacknefs of
it, one can*t but think fuch a procedure is found-
ed on good reafons, luch as the Bees could in-
form us of, if they could plead their caufe before

us.

of B E E S.

us. Among others which I guefs at, the too
great fruitfulnefs of their queen may be one. I
have told you already, that part of the alveoli
are deftin'd to receive thofe eggs, which the queen
is to lay ; and the other for the crude wax and
honey they lay up in referve, as well for the daily
nourifhment of the Bees, whom their works in
the hive keep at home, as for rainy days and
winter, when they can't ftir abroad. But if a
queen is fo fruitful, as to take up all the alveoli
with her eggs, at a time, which invites them to
gather in their (lores, nothing remains to be done
between thefe two equally bad extremities ; name-
ly, to preferve the maggots, and expofe all the peo-
ple to the hazard of perifhing through want, in
negledling to make provifion for their fuftenance ;
or to facrifice thofe maggots, in order to employ
their cells, for laying up provifions to nourifli
the people againft a time of neceffity. Now the
latter of thefe is certainly more conformable to
the publick good.

CLAR. If this be the reafon, which influen-
ces them, I can't blame them ; for I agree with
tliem, the fcifety of one's country is the fupreme
law, to which the fafety of particulars ought to
give place.

EUGEN. I am the more inclined to judge in
their favour, becaufe I have remarked it to be on
thofe days, in which they could more eafily, and
in a fliort time^ make great collcdions of honty,
that I havefeen them make thefe bloody expeJiti-

O ons.

^93

194 The Natural History

ons. Now obferve another circumftance, where-
in they make a carnage of the maggots.

CLAR. Still another carnage !

EUGEN. This will be the laft, and which,
like the former, does not merit your reproaches
againft their cruelty. When their numbers are fo
great in the hive, that they find difficulty to
lodge themfelves there, and their queen no longer
lays thefe eggs, from which queens are to be pro-
duced, or thofe, which fhe has laid, have had ill
fuccefs 5 this is an unlucky event, and which
would embarrafs the hive, and is to be guarded
againft. I will not fay, that our Bees reafon and
forefee, but that they adt as if they did both.
Oblerving then, that they fliall be deftitute of a
queen to conduft their colony, they prevent, by
deftroying the maggots, the number of Bees from
multiplying too faft. It may be too better rea-
fons, than we are acquainted with, force them to
this cruelty. We are not fure thofe maggots, which
appear to us found, are not in a diftemper'd
ftate j and that the Bees, into which they would
be metamorphifed, would not be too weak. And
how many other reafons are there, which we know
not, and with which they are better acquainted than
we? You feem defirous of finilhing a converfa-
tion, which has lafted too long, and has given
pain to your fympathizing , compaffionate
heart.

CLAR. I have not fuffer'd it, but on condi-
tion, that you would efface, as foon as pofliblc,
by gay and pleafing fubjedls, thofe melancholy

ideas.

of B E E S. 195

ideas, with which you have filled my imagina-
tion,

EUGEN. I promife none but fuch, as will
be found in the order, which our hiftory in ge-
neral requires. But before we part, I mud in-
form you, that the two rules, which I laid down
as general among the Bees, namely, that there is
never to be found above one queen in one hive,
and that they kill all the males fix weeks after
their arrival there, admit of exceptions. I have
fometimes found two queens in one hive, but the
cafe is very rare. It may happen in one, where
the Bees, fuperior to their labour, fhall judge they
Ijave nothing to fear from this multiplicity. I
have myfelf put feveral into hives, where they
have, atfirfl, been well received, and even carefled
and maintained for feveral days ; but their end
has always been fatal. With regard to the males,
it fometimes, though rarely, happens, that the
workers do not kill them all, at the prefixed
time : whether they defpairing of fucceeding,
confent to a peace •, or whether a confidence fof
the weaknefs of their queens prevails with them,
to leave them alive. Then thefe males pafs the
autumn in the hive, and, at leaft, part of the
winter. This is a well-known fad among thofe,
v/ho deal in Bees •, but fo far from foreboding
fuccefs to thefe hives, they confider them as loft.
They fancy their lofs proceeds from the males
eating up all the honey, referved for their winter
flores. In this they are miftaken. It is more
probable to believe, the eggs fuffer alteration in
O 2 the

1 96 The Natural History

the body of their queen, who lives with thefe
drones a good while beyond the time fixed by
nature. In a word, it is a derangement of the
natural order ; and whatever caufe 'tis owing to,
it is certain, that all thofe hives,, in which the
males have fpent the winter, perifli in fpring.
The firft: work of a fwarm new kttled
is to reduce the number of their queens to one
only. That is what we have already faid. The
fecond is to build and frame their habitation.
This is what I have to inform you of the firft
opportunity ; and will begin with the propolis and
wax, which are the principal materials of their
ftruftures.

CON«

of B E E S. 199

CONVERSATION X.

Of the propolis or rojin, with which the
Bees clofe the clefts in the hive of the wax,

CLARISSA.

WE ought to have been here, Eugenlo, three
hours ago. If it had not been for the trou-
blefome vifit of our very idle neighbours, we fhould
already have leen a hundred charming things.
They have made us lofe the fined time of the
day, and the mofl: commodious to fee the labour
of an hive. I am afraid, as it is now five
o'clock, we (hall find our Bees fatigued with their
day's work, and difpoled to take that reft they
have need of.

EUGEN. Though it is late, we may yet
find enough to fatisfy our curiofity with. As the
Bees know how to divide among themfelves
their difi^erent works ; they likewife know how to
divide, at different times, the works of a diffe-
rent nature. The evening is pafled in things
worthv of obfervation, and which would be dif-
ficult to be met w-ith at another time, as is, for
inftance, their gathering of the propolis. To
make you the better comprehend, wherein this
collection confilts, and for what reafon I fpeak ot
it, let us refume the feries of thofe things, we
O 3 dilcouifed

198 The Natural History

difcourfed about yefterday. You will agree, Cla-
rifla, that I ought not to have fpared you thefe
tragical recitals, which made the fubjeft of our
laft converfation. A traveller, who undertakes
to defcribe faithfully the manners of an unknown
people, can*t be difpenfed with from giving an
account of their laws, as well thofe, which have
a tendency to make the people happy, and rich,
by their labour and induftry, as thofe, which are
made to keep every one to their duty, and cut off
from the civil fociety the citizens, who difturb
or prejudice it. It is the laws and cuftoms
of nations, which characterizes their genius. The
firft philofophers, who only ftudied as they tra-
velled, colleded, by way of preference, the laws
of various people, through which they pafled :
it was from this colledion they drew the princi-
pal maxims of their wifdom. "We have feen
fome of the Bees laws, which tend to retrench
whatever is found prejudicial to their fociety : we
are now to treat of that, whofe only aim is the
eftablifhmentj the multiplication, and prefervation
of the ftate.

CLAR. This policy of theirs you will now
entertain me with, will be more to my mind, than
that, which was wholly taken up in the diftribution
of pains and punifhments.

EUGEN. Immediately after the arrival of a
fwarm into its new hive, where there is but one
queen, all the people difpofe themfelves, and, in
an inftant, run to their different employments : if
there be a plurality of queens, the firft thing they

think

of B E E S.

think on, before they apply to any work, is the
choice of her, who ought to reign. When the elec-
tion is made, and the pretenders to the fovereignty
have, in lofing their lives, reftored peace to the
ftate, they apply themfelves to the building of their
cells. It muft be remarked, that the Bees muft
have an inclofure ready made there, to depofite
their combs. Nature, who knew they would
cafily find one, has difpenfed with them from
making it. A hole of a wall, or a trunk of a
tree, are commonly the places they choofe, when
they can procure no better.

CLAR. I one day found a fwarm, which
had fettled themfelves between the two frames of
my cabinet.

EUGEN. It was a glafs-hive, which chance
had procured you, and of which you might have
made good profit.

CLAR. 1 might; however I did not; it
was when I was young, and at that time, when
objedls only fpeak to the eyes, and don't afFe<3:
the underftanding.

EUGEN. At this time, that you have your
fight, as I may fay, more knowing, we fliall
have occafion to make a better ufe of it. Let us
place ourfelves on this form over againft ,our
hive, to have recourfe to it on occafion. If v/e
fuifer the Bees to place themfelves in fixed and
immoveable places, as walls are, we can't com-
modioufly make an advantage of their labour,
and procure their wax and honey, which we eafily
jdo, when we prefent them hives of our own
O 4 making,

The Natural History

making, which are called hajkets, fuchas thofe be-
fore us : for we have nothing to do but to over-
turn thefe^ in order to get their combs. When
therefore a fwarm is entered into one of thels
hives, or bafkets, of wh ucver fafhion it is, fome
of the Bees, that moment, apply themfelvcs to
build their alveoli •, fome to ftop ex.\6tly all the
holes, clefts, and crevices, that are tourd there.
Thefe are the two Hrll labours of our Ijrtii, with
which I fhall now entertain you. T ''; cita-
tions fliould have no othi;r oprvinr ■^. as
ferve for doors : every where t.^K' , be
clofe. Our Bees have reafcn to f -ai j in-
fed:s, which covet their honey, their vu/;, v.\ tiiem-
felves, fhould find paffigcs ior thei- ?.'itr;\nce.

CLAR. Have tlie Bees then, like ourfelves,
thieves and affaffins to iear ?

EUGEN. 'Tis the common lot of all living
creatures. I know of no animal, which may not
be the prey of fome other. It is more ealy lor the
Bees to oppofe themfelves to the incurficns of
their enemies, when they have but one, or, at
moft, two gates to guard. In fine, the entries
ought not only to be fliut againft inftdls, but
againft damps, air, and even infmuating winds.

CLAR. Here is a great deal of delicacy in
animals fo laborious and warlike.

EUGEN. It is of great confequence tothem.
to be lodged very v/arm, which is a thing I will
fome time fhew you. The matter, with which
the Bees ftop the openings and crevices of their
hives, greatly deferves to be known. It is not
3 the

of B E E S. 201

the fame, with which they compofe their wax,
nor is it the wax ready made : 'tis of quite a
different kind, that has no need of being work'd
up, and which they know how to find, ready
prepar'd, on p hints.

CLAR, They have fo good a manufa(5lure
of wax, and wax is lb commodious for (lopping
of holes j wherefore then do they give them-
leJves the trouble of feeking other materials?

EUGEN. The oeconomy, with which they
employ their wax, gives us room to think, that
this colledion is not fo eafy to them, as you may
imagine. But the matter, with which they ufe
to clofe their hives, is much more commodious
for the ufe it is defign'd for. It is a rofin eafy to
be rolled out, fixes itfelf rrore eafily, and has
a good deal more tenacity than wax, and, be-
fides that, requires no preparation. It was known
to the antients by the name of frcpolis.

CLAR. Propolis? That name is not un-
known to me. I remember one day, it was
ufed with fuccefs, in a drug, which had that
name, on one of my children, who had received
a wound. They talk'd very magnificently of it,
which made me have recourfe to my diftionary
of fimples, which gave me a very particular ex-
plication ot it.

EUGEN. In which, however, I v,-ould not
advife you to acquicfce.

CLAR. How fo.-* It did a great deal of
good to the patient, and pcrfcfily cur'J him of a
dangerous wound.

EUGEN'.

The Natural History

EUGEN. That is what happens every day ;
one reafons very ill on remedies, that are apply'd
very well. Experience informs us, that men
know how to apply them, but not what they
are. This diftionary treats of the propolis as
virgins wax, or a kind of maftick that the Bees
make. The propolis is nothing elfe but a rofin,
which they colleft from trees, and which they
employ as they find it, without being forced to
make any change in it. It is thought to be from
poplars, birch, and willows, that they colledt it.
i have, however, feen them in countries, that had
none of thefe trees, and they employ 'd tht propolis.
It has not been my fortune, as yet, to meet it on
plants, where the Bees know where to look for
it ; that is a difcovery yet to be made, and which,
perhaps, is referv'd for you.

CLAR. Could you bear, that a woman fhould
fnatch away this glory from you ?

EUGEN. I fhould only difpute the honour
of being the firft to fhew my gratitude. How-
ever it be, the propolis is a rofin, eafily difTolvablc
in fpirits of wine and oil of turpentine, which
grov/s very hard in the hive, but which may
always be foftned by heat. That which is found
in different hives, and even in different parts of
the fame hive, offers not only a great variety,
with refped: to its confiflence," but likewife as to
its colour and fmell. It commonly diffufes a very
agreeable one when it is heated •, nor is it unfrc-
quent to find it of an aromatick fmell ; and feme
that might defer vediy be rank'd among perfumes.

Its

of B E E S.

Its outward colour is a reddifh brown, fometimes
dear, fometimes deep : its interior, when broken,
refembles wax, and is a little yellowifh. A.t the
time when the Bees make ufe of it, it is foft, and
as pliable as bitumen, to careen the hive. I
fuppofe you know the meaning of that word.

CLAR. My fcience goes thus far. They
are faid to careen fhips, when they rub them
over with fuet or pitch and tar, to make them
impenetrable by the water.

EUGEN. That is it: the propolisy therefore,
being very tenacious, and having the vifcoufnefs
of a gluey kind of rofin, which flicks to the
fingers, is very proper to be thus applied. When
it has once been fo, it grows every day more con-
fiftent, and becomes much harder than the wax.
I muft now let you fee, how far the Bees give it
the preference, to other materials, which, to us,
would appear equally good for (lopping the hives.
Obferve the rims of your giafs-hive.

CLAR. I obferve, that you fluck there, on
the infide, flips of paper, as we do on the fquares
of our windows ; and that you have very likely
repented of it, fince you afterwards tore them
off. This is what I learn from thofe fragments,
which ftill remain flicking on theglafs.

EUGEN. It is true, that I had fluck flips of
paper on the hive, before I inrroducM a fwarm.
I well knew the Bees would deflroy my work,
and that is the thing I would have you obferve.
We and our glaziers, are but bunglers in com-
parifon of them, in clofing and flopping the

fquares

203

204 The Natural History

fquares of windows: the Bees have morefagacity
in this, as well as in other particulars, than we
have. For this reafon they cannot bear that we
Ihould interfere in their affairs. It was they that
tore off thefe bandages of paper, and hack'd them
at this rate, to fubftitute, in their room, their
own rofin. See, there is one yet at work this
moment, to let me fee what I had done fignifies
nothing. Let us draw nearer, to view her the
better.

CLAR. I fee her perfeflly. I fancy I ob-
fcrve by that vivacity, with which ihe deflroys
the remains of your work, that fhe is in great
wrath, and accufes you of being a very ill-
advifed perfon. She is probably going to careen
the whole place that flie has laid open.

EUGEN. Whether fhe- or fome other does
it, the opening will certainly be cios*d. I will
not however anfwer, that fhe will take for that
the time, which will fuit us. The Bees neither
obferve our orders, nor our hours. They labour
at this work in the night, as well as in the day.
But 1 difcover another, which will give us the
fight, in part of what we look for. Obferve be-
low there, on the ftand of the hive, two Bees,
which keep a third in a corner, and feem to rob
her. They haul her as two robbers would do a
pafiengcr, at the turning of a flreet.

CLAR. You have already told me, that
they fometimes tear the bread out of another's
mouth : if this be the prefent cafe, I know the

defign.

EUGEN.

of BEES.

EUGEN. 'Tis quite another thing, the
plunder in queftion is a charitable fuccour, which
the Bees afford one to another, on the account of
xht propolis. Stoop down. This fight will give
youpleafure, and we fhall owe the obligation of
it to the impertinent vifit, which oblig'd us to
come here later than ordinary. Three hours
fooner, we fhould not have had the pleafure of
feeing this : for I have very often remark'd,
the Bees choofe the morning, preferably, for the
gathering of the crude wax, and the evening for
the propolis. I fay preferably, and not exclu-
fively.

CLAR. Lend me your magnifying glafs,
Eugenio, to obferve nearer thefe officious Bees,
which plunder their companion, out of charity.
I will begin this very day, to fee learnedly. I
am going to give an account of what I obferve,
and you fliall tell me frankly, if I make a right
obfervation, and if there be any hopes of my
becoming a good naturalift. Hear the relation.
I fee a Bee between two others, which pull her
by the claws. Good heavens, how they lug her I
They will tear off her legs.

EUGEN. Obferve, carefully, if it is by
the legs fhe is feiz'd.

CLAR. You are in the right, I was mif-
flaken ; they each of them tear av;ay fomething
that (licks to her legs. I new fee what it is.
It is the very propolis. I know it by its colour,
by its reddifh brown. Each of thefe two make
ft rong efforts, to pluck away this matter; they
5 ' pluck

205

2o6 The Natural History

pluck it away with their teeth ; the propolis give^
way, and draws out in length, like a thick gum.
The patient fufFers all this without complaining.
There is one, who has juft got off part, and flies
away with its booty. I fee another, that comes to
take its place, and which requires fome for its
fhare. The little ball diminilhes of its fize in-
fenfibly. The purveyor fhould, methinks, fuf-
fera good deal ; for it feems to me, this rolin
cannot be got off, without conftantly tearing the
hairs that furround it, and keep it on.

EUGEN. All that is well obferved. Now
take notice, on what part of its body the Bee
carries this propolis.

CLAR. It is in the bafket you made me
Plate XI. obferve, that flie piles up the matter, of which
Lac B. wax is made, in that hollow, at the third articu-
lation of her hindmoft legs. I give you back
your glafs. Methinks this is not amifs for the
firfl: time.

EUGEN. If you don*t become a naturalift,
you will reproach yourfelf all your life, in being
wanting to what you are fo well fitted for. Now
you underftand the fubjefl fo well, you will com-
prehend, with more cafe and fatis'aflion, one
obfervation of the fame kind I formerly made.
I order'd a hive to be made, on the top of which
was placed a moveable (topper. The Bees, who
took notice of it, fjiilcd it with their propolis.
An experiment I v/as willing to make, requiring
I lliould take off this ftoppcr, requir'd likewife,
that after I had put it in its place again, it

Ihould

of B E E S. 207

fliould not flop the hole intirely, fo that part of
the propolis, with which it was mafticated, was
found outwardly. As it had not been long, fince
the Bees had fealed it, this rofin was yet frelh.
The Bees, which obferved it, judg'd they might
fpare themfelves the pain, to go farther in the
fearch of it. I faw two or three of them, who
came to get their fhare of it, and one among the
reft ftaid there a long time. This Bee was placed
the moft favourably in the world for me -, Ihe
gave me the intire pleafure of obferving the col-
ledlion fhe made of it. This tenacious gum,
which had been a little dried, fince it had firft
been us*d, did not yield but to the redoubled
efforts of the Bee : neverthelefs, it at laft became
pliable. The Bee loaded herfelf with it : fhe made
on every leg a ball of enormous bulk : thus flie
was employ'd a good while. A long half hour
was paffed before (he could make up her bundle.
This matter incomparably more difficult to get
off, than the powder of the ftamina of flowers
and m.ore troublefome to manage, fuffered not
the Bee to go off very quick ; a circumftance
lucky for obfervation. I examin*d it, with the
glafs in my hand, during the whole half hour :
I faw, with pleafure, how often fhe was oblig'd
to ufe her teeth and pull it, to detach a fmall par-
ticle of this matter : at length fhe work'd it up
with them : her two firft legs help*d her to give
it its proper figure •, one of the Bee's charg*d
itfelf with it, and beftowed it on the fecond leg
of the fame fide, which convey*d it to the third,
3 which

2c8 The Natural History

v/hich applied it to the heap already begun ;
when llie had fix'd it there, flie knock'd it with
her palet, and gave it three or four blows. It
was a very pleafing fight, to fee thcfe little balls
pafs from leg to leg. The Bee chofe t\\e propolis,
that was leail dried ; The faffer'd fome fragments
to fall, that feem'd to her too dry, and neglected
them, as not being any longer fit to be work*d
up.

CLAR. I have a thought, which will prove
I am become a philolbpher, aiad that too of the
beft fort, that which you approve, and is con-
ducive to the public good. Pharmacy is in
poflefiion of the propolis, for the advantage of
our bodies : Can't arts and trades divide with
philofcphy the honour of drawing from thence
Ibmerhing, that may be ufefal in common life ?

EUGEN. Your notion is a very good one :
1 had the fame idea, and have made fome experi-
ments, which have inform'd me, that /^ro/jc/fjdif-
folv'd in fpirits of wine or oil of turpentine may be
fubftituted in the ftead of that varniHi, which is
ufed to give a golden colour to filver or tin re-
duced to thin plates. If, for example, it is in-
corporated with maftic or landarac, it will be
very ufeful to gild leather.

CLAR. What do you mean by making gilt
, leather of varnifli : is there fuch a thing as gilding
without gold .?

EUGEN. Perhaps you think, thofe fine
beautiful hangings, with which your parlor is

adorn'd, areenrich'd with real gold.

CLAR.

of B E E S. 209

CLAR. I frankly own, that I thought fo *till
now, and that it was leaf gold, like thofe that are
laid on the frames of our pidtures. I even hoped,
that, in cafe of neceflity, one might have fome
little relief from thence.

EUGEN. The proverb, that tells us all is not
gold that. glitters, is, in this cafe, literally true.
The art of making hangings of gilt leather in-
forms us of the fecret of gilding without gold*
The gilding of thefe leathers, which are fome-
times very beautiful, depends upon a varnifh,
which, when in a lump, is of a brown colour.
After one has cover'd thofe parcels of leather,
that are to be gilt, with leaves of polifli'd tin,
the varnifh is laid over thefe leaves ; in a mo-
ment they appear to be that precious metal,
which arms one part of the world againfl: the
other. The white colour of the tin, which ap-
pears through the varnifli, and is mix'd with it,
compofes a fhining perfedly refembling gold.

CLAR. Farewel then my hopes. For one
knowledge more, I have one hope the lefs. I
know not, Eugenio, if I am a gainer by this
change.

EUGEN. A pretty fubjevft to reafon upon
fro and con ! But we have fomething elfe to do to
day. Let us finifh our propolis. It is not only
ufeful for Bees, to clofe exactly their habitations
with : they apply in likewife to another purpofe,
which manifeftly feems to prove, that thefe won-
derful little animals reafon to a certain degree,
and that they know, as well as we, to deduce

P . confe-

The Natural History

confequences. Obferve the fa6t. They fufFer
as little as poflible, foreign bodies in their hive.
When they find any fuch, not fuperior to their
Itrength, they carry them out. Notwithftand-
ing it fometimes happens to infeits, and more
particularly to ill advifed flugs, and fnails not
not well inftruded, to infinuate themfelves as
far as their waxen combs. Is it at all wonder-
ful, that the Bees do not fpare fuch heavy ani-
mals, or that they kill them with their flings.
But what is to be done with them after they are
dead ? They can never think of tranfporting fuch
heavy bodies : they know, however, thefe bodies
will putrify, and from this putrifadlion a bad fmell
will arife, which will be deflrudive to them.
See the inconveniency, from which they are to
guard themfelves. What would you do, Cla-
rifili, in the like cafe ?

CLAR, I would leave my lodgings, and fave
myfelf among my neighbours.

EUGEN. The Bees are better advifed. Not
to be obliged to break up houfe, and abandon
what, to them, is the moft valuable, they em-
balm thefe dead bodies, and cover them all over
with propolis. M. Maraldi tells us, that he faw
a fnail, that they had entirely cover'd. I have
often, myfelf, feen the like. I have feen fome
flugs, whofe fkin hath been a little dried, and
which they embahn'd like fo many mummies,
I obferv'd, one day, that they employ'd the
fame materials, for a like end, and with more
oeconomy, upon a fnnil. This weak animal-,
I having

of B E E S. 21 E

having enter'd into one of my glafs-hives, had
lix*d itfelf on one fide of the fquares of the win-
dows, where he patiently waited, till a moid air
lliould invite him to march on. The Bees, not
able to chafe him away, faften'd him more fo-
lidly there, than he would have fixed him.felf,
and more ftrongly than he defired ; they applied
a girdle of propolis all round the extremities of
its fhell, with which he was mafticated againft the
glafs. When he afterv/ards wanted to difengage
himfelf from his voluntary prifon, where he had
plac'd himfelf, his efforts were found unavoidable :
All the vifcous liquor, that he had difgorg'd, was
not capable to fofcen the propolis ; he was obliged
to perifh where he was fixed,

CLAR. I agree that this induftry, and this
forefight of the Bees, have fomething wonderful
in them.

EUGEN. You, who like we fhould reduce
the aflions of brutes to their jufb value, and have
fo much repugnance at hearing that animals rea-
fon like us, how will you now do, not to put us
■on a par with them ?

CLAR. Upon the whole, that is embarrafilng;
but it will always be rcafonable to fay, that the
creator of all things has fufficient power to ac-
complifh his own ends by a diverfity of means.

EUGEN. Your folution is likewife mine.
Nature, like religion, has its myfteries. I put a
great difl^erence between examining the adiions
of animals, and knowing the principles of their
a<5lions. in the firft we admire the works of the
P 2 Almighty ;

The Natural History

i*] mighty ; it is there, that he would have us
know him : in the other, it appears, that we
i'earch to know the fecrets of the Creator, and
enter into his councils ; a curiofity fo much the
more ridiculous, as it is unavailable. We pro-
pofed to ourfelves, to day, to examine the two
firft labours of a new hive ; namely, that of
keeping the enclofure, into which the Bees muft
enter, clofe and inacceflible to outward enemies,
and the other, the ftrudure of the alveoli. I have
juft told you, in relation to the firft, all that I
know of it *, let us now proceed to the fecond.
An alveolus prefents two different objedls to be
confider'd, the matter and the form, that is,
the wax, and the rules, on which the alveolus is
founded. To begin with the wax. Shall I re-
peat, Clarifla, what I have already faid on this
fubjedl ?

CLAR. I will myfelf tell what I remember
of it, that you may judge if your fcholar an-
fwers your care and expedations. There is
crude wax, or the materials of which it is made,
and wax properly fo called. The crude wax is
the powder of the flamina : it is this colour'd
powder, that fticks to one's fingers, when the fprigs
lire fqueez'd, which lie at the bottom of the cup
in flowers : the real wax is that, which the Bees
have made, fuch as we take from the hive. See
the whole of my knowledge : if you are defi-
lous I fliould know more, you have nothing to
do, but to inftrud me.

ETJGEN.

of B E E S. 213

EUGEN. It is all I have, at prefent, told
you. Now we are going to examine it more
minutely. You might doubt, if the duft of thefe
ftamina were not the real wax. You mufl
judge by yourfelf, what it is. I feiz'd, this
morning, a Bee coming from the fields : fhe was
loaded with this crude wax. I kill'd her with-
out allowing time to get rid of her loading ; Plate III.
this is fhe. You fee two little balls of wax, '^' ^'
which are yet attach'd to her hind legs. Let us
take thefe balls off. Make them up only into
one lump. Now they are united, work up this Lett, a a.
little bowl between your two fingers, as you
would work up wax ; endeavour to reduce it
into a flat thin plate. Have you done it }

CLAR. By no means. I fee plainly, that this
is not wax ; for the common wax grows pliant,
and becomes flexible like pafte : that is dudtil,
and this little ball is not fo ; it does not at all
grow foft betwixt my fingers 5 on the contrary,
it breaks.

EUGEN. Take my glafs, and confider this
matter more attentively.

CLAR. I fee very difl:in£lly it is only a col-
ledtion of feeds, each of which, in fpite of my
repeated preflures, and the warmth of my fin-
gers, preferves its round figure. They feem to
be united together only by a little moifture.

EUGEN. This is not then the real wax, but
the principles of it : to give you the clearer
proof, I will add one experiment, that I made
upon that, which you have been juft working. I

P 3 put

The Natural History

put a little bowl, formed of feveral little balls of
crude wax, into a filver fpoon, and that fpoon
upon lighted coals. If thefe little balls had been
wax, they would in an inflant been in a ftate
of fluidity, and melted ; whereas they preferv'd
their figure, emitted fmoak, grew dry, and were
reduced to a coal. There is alfo another manner
of making this experiment. Take feveral ot
thefe little balls of crude wax, make them up
long wife, into a kind of thread, by rolling them
with your fingers ; put one end of this thread to
the flame of a wax candle : you will fee it will
burn without colour, as a bit of dry refinous wood
would do. Another proof is, that if you throw
this crude wax, even the mofl: dried, into water, it
will fall to the bottom, and there continue •, where-
as an equal bulk of real wax would fwim at
top, and remain upon the furface. It follows
then, that this matter requires preparation, and
that the Bees know how to work it up, but
what is this preparation ? Try to imagine, Cla-
riffli, wherein it confifl:s. How would you do,
if, fuppofing you had the power to create a Bee,
to which nothing fliould be wanting but a fkill
to make wax j how would you do, I fay, to be-
ftow on it this talent ?

CLAR. If I had the power to create it, it
feems as if the refl: would not be very difficult.
We know it is provided of a very fl:rong, and
iharp tooth ; I fliould inflirufl it to make ufe of
it to bruife and reduce into fine powder thofe
feeds, you call ih^jlamina : then I fliould pro-
vide

of B E E S.. 215

vide it with a particular liquor, and proper to
work up this flour into a pafte, which, by the
fecret virtue of my liquor, would be turned into
wax. Have I guefled right, Eugenio ? Is it thus
the Bees form it ?

EUGEN. The founder of the Peripatetic
philofophy, our mafter Ariftotle, could not have
fpoke better, and he would not have been mif-
taken. 'Tis thus the antient naturalifts often
contented themfelves with imagining, that they
knew what nature ought to do ; inftead of con-
fulting her, and following her with their eyes, by
feeing how fhe really aded.

CLAR. That is to fay, in good Englifli,
that I have reafon'd like the antients, and have
reafon'd very ill.

EUGEN. To reafon like the antients is al-
moft always to reafon well ; but with regard to
natural hiftory, and nature, 'tis almoft always
otherwife. I was defirous to let you fee by
your own experience, how much one is fubjedt
to be deceived, when the philofophy is drawn
from the imagination ; that is, when the produd:
of the imagination is fubftituted to the truth of
fads. Probabilities ought to be rejeded, when
nothing is wanting to inform one's felf, but to
open one's eyes and fee. But that I may confole
you for having gueffed fo ill, I fhall inform
you, that Swammerdam, who fo long and fo
well made his obfer^'ations on Bees, and fo many
happy difcoveries, and that too with wonderful
fagacity, has gone before you in this miftake :

P 4 his

The Natural History

his notion and yours, on the formation of wax,
are perfedlly conformable, and unluckily are not
true.

CLAR. A fine fubjed of confolation, for a
blind perfon, who tumbles, to hear that another,
as blind as he, has tumbled in the fame place !

EUGEN. 'Tis the beft thing I can do for
you. Experiment has taught me, that is not
fufficient for Bees, to work up the crude wax
between their claws, after they have moiftned it
with fome liquor j it has fhew'd me it is in the
very body of the Bee, in which this crude wax
is to be wrought ; that the true laboratory is to be
found there, where the convcrfion is made from
this into wax properly fo called. Some au-
thors, who have treated of Bees, have fufpedled
it. I think myfelf able to give an inconteftable
proof of this. I made a great number of trials
to turn this crude ii^ro real wax, or to fee, if it
would not be pofilble to extradt, by art, a per-
fect wax from this crude one. For it would be
a great advantage for the multiplication of this
matter, of which fo prodigious a quantity is con-
fumed, if we could concur with the Bees to make
it likewife. But all my experiments had no other
end, but to inform me, that it is not more eafy to
make wax from ihtjlamina of flowers, than it is to
make chyle from the different fubflances, whe-
ther animal or vegetable, which daily pafs
through our ftomach ; or to make filk from
rhe leaves of the mulberries. I therefore
had recourfe to my eyes : it was by obferv-
I ing

of B E E S. 217

ing the Bees, that I faw without trouble, what you
fhall have a fight of whenever you pleafe. I
faw what became of the crude wax between the
Bee's claws. I am going to tell you, what my
eyes difcover'd to me.

CLAR. I begin to comprehend, that the eye
is a great inftruclor, in matters of natural hif-
tory ; but there are novice eyes, fuch as mine •,
and there are learned eyes, penetrating and ob-
ferving every thing, fuch are yours ; and fuch
have the power of feeing.

EUGEN. Novice eyes, fuch as yours, foon
become fkilful. One day, as I was looking on
fome Bees, going into their hive, I obferved
one of them loaded with two balls of crude wax :
fhe plac'd herfelf, at a little diftance, on the
(land of the hive ; there fhe kept herfelf quiet,
and fo quiet, that fhe feemed to have no inclina-
tion to change her place ; when, in order to
obferve her nearer, I put one knee to the ground,
and approach'd her with my glafs in my hand,
to take particular notice of all her motions. I
law then, that there were fome moments, in
which fhe turn'd her body round, to permit her
teeth to approach her pofterior legs, and to cut
from thence a fmall portion of one of thofe balls
of crude wax. At laft fhe refum'd her proper
pofture, and her teeth a6ted one againft the
other, to grind the matter they had remov'd.
Every moment this matter diminilhed, and, in
a little while, totally difappeared. Then the
teeth were immediately employ'd, to detach

another

Fig.
Lett. L.

2 1 8 The Natural History

another little parcel from the fame ball, which
they ground, as they had done the former.
Thefe operations were repeated more than half
a quarter of an hour, at the end of which no-
thing remained of the ball of wax ; fhe had in-
tirely ate it. In proportion as the teeth had
fufficiently divided one part of it, the tongue,
Plate IV. whofe figure and place I have el fc where
r e?t ^E d^i^'^i'min'd, and of which have a clearer
Plate IX. view in this defign, (where it appears raifed, to
make it more vifible) was ready to feize it, and
did.fo, to conduft it to the mouth. During this
repaft, the trunk remain'd in a perfcd; inadion ;
it continued folded, and inclin*d againft the
pofterior part of the head, as it always is when
it does not a6t. Which proves (contrary to
what has been thought) that the Bees make no ufe
of that organ to eat their wax with. This recital,
I have now made, is not that of an ad ion,
which I have only once feen ; I have furprized
feveral others in the fame circumftances. If you
are not fatisfy'd with this proof, I will furnifh
you with an anatomical demonftration, which
will admit of no reply. In opening the belly of
a Bee, lately kill'd, I will fhew you the ftomach
and inteftines, fill'd with this matter : you will
there find, that one part of thefe feeds, thofe
which are not yet digefted, retain their firft
figure -, and the fame duft of the Jlamina^ will
ftill be found there.

CLAR. I don't find in myftlf that philofo-
phical hard-heartednefs, necelTary to fupport with

patience.

of BEES. 2if

patience tlie fight of fuch an experiment : I had
rather believe you, and that you would anfwer
one queftion I have to put to you. Don't the
Bees eat this crude wax, merely to turn it into
real wax -, or does it ferve them for food ?

EUGEN. Both the one and the other.

CLAR. How both the one and the other !
Is the wax then nothing elfe but the dregs of the
Bee's nourifhment ? I have known a time,where-
in you have given it a nobler origin.

EUGEN. I have not changed my opinion.
But you make a little too much hade to draw
confequences from my principles. In telling you
the Bees cat up the crude wax, I did not tell you
what became of it, that is what I am now to do.
But I perceive fome body comes to tell us, that
other cares demand your prefence at the caftle.
Let us be now fatisfied to know, that the Bee
fwallows the Jlamina of flowers, and that fbe
digefts them. We fliall fee, by the firft oppor-
tunity, hov/ flie changes thefe Jlaminay partly
into wax, and partly into her own fubftance,
together with the ufe flie makes of it, for the
building of her alveoli.

CON-

220 The Natural H i s t o r y

CONVERSATION XI.

Continuation of the origin and nature of wax ;
ufe which the Bees make of it^ both for jood
and for the building their cells, Defcriptioti
of a celL

CLARISSA.

I Was fo unfuccefsful, Eugenio, in giving my
opinion the other day, that I find 'twill not
become me yet to fet up for a connoiffeur. To
liften with attention, to employ the whole power
of my eyes, and be rcfpedtfully filent, are the
difpofitions which I bring to this day*s conver-
fation.

EUGEN. You are miftaken, Clarifla. In
order to learn, you muft fee, hear, afk, give
your opinion, contradid: ; and yield to nothing
but evidence.

CLAR. May we not alfo yield to aotho-
rity ?

EUGEN. Doubtlefs. But then the aflertion
of the inftrudlor, to whofe authority we fubmit,,
muft be in the clafs of evident things.

CLAR. There I fix. The confidence I re-
pofe in you, my thirft after knowledge, and rpy
indolence, will all find their account in it.

EUGEN.

of B E E S. 22 1

EUGEN. I would have difpenfed with the
compliment •, but will not allow you to forbear
ftarting objedions, whenever you may judge
them neceffary.

CLAR. That may be very eafily done, and
will well enough fuit my inclination.

EUGEN. I will not difpenfe with your exa-
mining, with your own eyes, whatever is capa-
ble of being furvey*d. For, in fadls, I prefer
the knowledge drawn from the eye, to that ac-
quired by the ear. Our laft converfation clos'd
with a Bee, who, before her arrival at the hive,
had fwallowed all her provifion of crude wax.
But this is not her common praftice. Frequently
the Bee enters the hive, loaded with her two balls
or pellets of wax ; when proud of this provi-
fion, fhe fkuds up and down the combs, or Itands
dill upon them, fluttering her wings. You may,
if you pleafe, imagine, that the Bee, by thefe
tokens, joyfully fignifies her arrival to her com-
panions, and invites them to come and eafe her
of her burthen •, the fequel may juftify this fuf-
picion, which has all the probability that can
arife from the gefture of an infect : for imme-
diately three or four bees draw up round, and en-
deavour officiouQy to eafe her. Each of them
takes, between its teeth, a fmall portion of one
of thefe balls of wax. The firft takes one
piece, a moment after a fecond, then a third i
the others doing the like. In a word, they don't
quit the wax in queftion, till they have fwallowed
k all.

CLAR.

222 The Natural History

CLAR. Methinks our Bees are very rave-
nous.

EUGEN. This is not done to fatisfy hunger.
Their hafty manner of eating is not owing fo
much to a defire of nourifhing themfelves, as to
make a large quantity of honey in a fliort time.
This is manifeft from the feafon in which they
appear moft ravenous -, I mean when they are to
make a new fettlement ; when 'tis necefiary for
them to build a great number of cells ♦, and con-
fequently to get, with all poflible diligence, a
large provifion of wax. In the feafons when
neceflity does not impell, (as when they pofiefs a
large number of combs) thefe purveyors don't
meet with afny of thofe obliging Bees, who come
to unload them in the way ; they themfelves are
not fo urgent to work it up •, they are contented
with laying down their waxen burthen •, after
which they depofit it in (tore-houfes, of which
mention will be made afterwards. Let us pro-
ceed with the crude wax fwallowed by them. I
before obferved, that 'tis in the ftomach and in-
trails of the Bee that it becomes true wax. I add,
that 'tis in her fecond ftomach, Ihe having two.
The fame aperture by which this fubftance entred
when unwrought, or crude, ferves to difcharge it
when employed in working. This I difcovered in
manner following. I took a magnifying glafs,
and furvey'd attentively, through it, a Bee who
was employed in building a cell. On this occa-
fion I perceived, that the labouring Bee did
not barely move its two teeth one againft the

other,^

of B E E S. 223

other, or rather againft the fmall plate of wax
held by them ; but I faw, under the teeth, a
flefhy, whitifh fubftance, that was in a perpetual,
ftrong motion ; and which darted forward, and
drew back, like the tongue of a ferpent or liz-
zard. And indeed this was the bee*s tongue,
whofe figure was perpetually changing. Some-
times it was fliarper, at other times broader and
flatter ; and at other times again, more or lefs
concave. 'Twas fometimes partly hid by a fort
of foam *, and fometimes by a kind of pafte or
fubftance like pap, which the tongue, by its va-
rious motions, forced out of the mouth, and em-
ployed in lengthning the cell. The inftant, this
humid pafte was dry, ( which it was prefently )
'twas juft like our ordinary wax. I could not be
miftaken, in fuppofing that this pafte which the
Bee difcharged, was true wax ; the inftant I was
certain, after furveying, the animal at work a
long time, that her labours went forward ; that her
cell increafed in length, without her taking wax
from any other part of her body ; that there was
none on her legs at that time -, and that the pafte
j[he drew from her intrails formed the whole
work. It may happen, that the ftiavings or
chips of wax par*d by the Bees, from a cell
newly buik, and which they repair, may ferve to
form, inftantly , part of another cell ; and I
think I have ken the Bees ufing them for this
purpofe. But I am very certain that they can
work with only new wax j fuch as has not had
time to be quite dry ; and that they cannot make

any

224 '^^^ Natural History

any ufe of fuch as has acquir*d all the per-
fection which a very fhort time gives it.

CLAR. Let us come to proofs, for I am
fond of them.

EUGEN. Thefe may be eafily fupplied. In
all feafons of the year, that excepted during
which the Bees arebenumb*d with cold, whenever
honey is offered them, they fuck it in greedily ;
they chufing to feed upon a quantity which is fet
before them, rather than draw it, by infinitely
fmall drops, from the flowers fcattered up and
down. But if honey-combs are offered them, even
at a time when they have not an opportunity of
getting a harvefl from the duft of the Jlamina
of flowers, they don*t regard it. They indeed
cleave or cut them fometimes ; but this is done
only to get out the honey with which they are a
little moi{len*d. But they never attempt to carry
the wax, of which thefe combs are formed, to
their hives. I have left combs (very near my
hives) on which there was not a particle of honey,
during five or fix months ; and I did not find that
the Bees took a fingle particle from thofe combs.

CLAR. As you defire that I fhould acquire
knowledge, by my eyes rather than my ears, you
fhould have fliown me a Bee difcharging wax
in order for building a cell.

EUGEN. To give you this fatisfaflion three
things will be neceflary. To watch the inflant,
(which is not met with very often) when a Bee
raifcs a cell very near a pane of glafs : this Bee
mufl fland full in fight, and io, as not

to

of B E E S. 225

to be hid by other Bees. Thefe moments are to
be met with by fuch obfervers only as are more
mailers of their time than you are of yours. But
I'Jl now offer you a readier and more cafy expe-
dient. We have here feveral hives which pro-
mife to fwarm foon. Give orders for your being
call'd, the inftant a fwarm flies to a tree, in or-
der to fettle upon it. You then will obferve
that, among the feveral Bees of which it is com-
pofed, very few will have any un wrought wax
upon their legs -, and thefe will be fuch Bees only
as, returning from the fields, fhall have met the
fwarm in queftion, and joined with them. Ne-
verthelefs, the moment you fhall have hived
the fwarm, you'll find a little comb of wax,
fixed to the place, left by them on the tree.
Now, where could thefe Bees have taken the
wax, to form this little comb, except from their
intrails .'' For we fee, on many occafions, that
fuch Bees as have wax (quite wrought) in their
flomachs, are always eager to employ it ; it
feems to annoy them, and that they frequently
build with no other defign than to eafe themfelves
of it.

CLAR. Though I fhould fee thofe little
combs fixed on the trees, ftill this would not be
a full proof to me, and there would yet be rcom
for mc to doubt. You grant that alien Bees will
unite with fuch a fwarm j and that the former
will have crude wax upon their legs. Why may
not I fuppofe that thefe little waxen combs are
their work ?

Q EUGEN.

The Natural History

EUGEN. I could Ihow the contrary by the
fize of the combs, which, how fmall foever, will
always be larger than one which (hould be formed
from the balls of wax brought by the alien
Bees. But I had i;ather point out to you an eafier
method, which muft necefifarily remove all your
fcruples. Turn the Bees out of one hive into
another : do this early in the morning, before any
of thefe infeds have taken their flight to the fields.
Being thus forced to didodge fuddenly, they will
not carry off any unwrought wax upon their
legs, nor on any other p^rt of their exterior.
Neverthelefs, if they delight in their new habita-
tion, you will perceive, before night, honey-
combs begun ; though not a fingle Bee went in or
out all that day. Chance once favoured me with
an incident fomething like this. I had fettled a
fwarm in a nev/ hive. For two days together,
to compute from the moment of their migra-
tion, it rained inceflantly ; infomuch that not one
Bee was able to ftir out during the whole two
days. Notwithftanding this I faw, at the end of
the time abovementioned, a comb fifteen or fix-
tecn inches long, and four or five thick.

CLAR. This experiment is more fatisfadlory
to me.

EUGEN. I have made an hundred timcs'
one obfervation, which (hews plainly, to the
eye, that crude wax is not perfeft wax. Thofe
pellets which the Bees bring from the fields, are
feldom alike in colour. Some are very pale, and
almoft white i and others yellowifh : they ufually

are

of B E E S. 227

are of a beautiful yellow, others of a hue in-
clining to orange •, others reddifh, and others
almoft red. I have obferved that fome are green.
The wax laid up in the llore-houies, is likewife
of all thefe colours, which are the fame with
thofe of the y?^wi/7<2 of flowers, when not changed •,
that is, when they have not been in the Bee's
ftomach. Neverthelefs, the combs made by this
crude wax, of different colours, are all of the
fame colour ; an evident proof of the confidera-
ble change wrought by the Bees in the crude
wax. This change may be compared to that
which our ftomach caufes in aliments. What
colour foever thefe may be •, even though black.
as coffee or chocolate 5 yet our ftomach converts
them into a chyle white as milk. The ftomach
of the Bee makes the fame operation on crude
wax. Every new-made comb is white •, and fre-
quently of as perfe6t a white as the moft beauti-
ful wax- taper.

CLAR. How happens it that I never faw
any but what were yellow or yellowifli ?

EUGEN. The reafon is -, thefe combs which
come fo very white from the Bees, lofe, little
by little, and pretty fpeedily, their bright hue in
the hives : they turn yellow there -, the oldeft
turn of a colour almoft as black as foot. The
vapours which rife from the bodies of Bees ■, and
from that of worms or maggots, moft of which ex-
hale from honey that ferments and evaporates,
contribute greatly to the change of colour wrought
in wax.

0^2 CLAR.

The Natural History

CLAR. This appears probable to mc. I
yet prefume that there is a ftill more fix'd, in-
ternal caufe, which gives this yellow hue ; as art
cannot whiten fome kinds of wax, in the fanie
manner as others.

EUGEN. I grant this to be true -, it being
but too well known to our whitfters, by whom,
lome forts of wax can never be brought to a
beautiful white. Hence we may fufpeft, that the
fubftance of which wax is formed, is not fuited,
in all countries, to take a perfect white colour ;
whether the air, or the quality of the plants, con-
tributes to this. This (Clarifla) is all I had to ob-
ferve to you, with regard to the origin of wax >
which is nothing elfe, (asl juftnow inform'd you)
than the duft of the Jlamina of flowers, fwallow-
ed by the Bees ; digefted in their ftomach ; and
cafl up, by the mouth, in form of a kind of pafte
or pulp, which, by drying, becomes wax properly
fo called, of which they make combs : that thefe
combs are commonly exceedingly white ; that
they grow yellow infenfibly ; but that the
whitfters have found out the art to whiten them,
when worked up into tapers.

CLAR. I am very much obliged to you,
for deducing fuch a number of operations fuccef-
fively. But there is another I did not well
enough comprehend, and of which I fliould be
very willing to have a more perfedl idea : I
mean, in what manner the teeth and tongue of
the Bees operate, in order to form, with the
pafte in queftion, plates or leaves of wax fo very
rhin, and fo artfully framed.

I EUGEN.

of B E E S. 229

EUGEN. This is a work I could not at-
tempt to explain. To do this accurately and
juftly, one muft be a Bee, or have been fuch.
All 1 can obferve on this lubjedl is ; that if you
are defirous of forming to yourfelf fome idea
from it, you need but afllft your imagination by
a comparifon. Figure to yourfelf that a Bte is a,
mafon -, his ftomach the trough in which he di-
lutes his white-lime plaifter, nn^) makes it fluid •,
that his tongue is the trowel which collcifls, beats,
and lays down the plaifter ; that his teeth are
hands which work it, and give it the proper
form : here you will have an image very much re-
fembhng the labour of a Bee, when building his
cell. This comparifon does not, indeed, raife
the dignity of this infedl ; but 'tis the happier, be-
caufe plaifter is liquid when made ufe of; and,
when once dry, cannot be diflblved by water :
Wax, in like manner, iftues liquid from the
Bee's ftomach ; and, when employed, takes im-
mediately fuch a confiftence as refifts every dif-
folvent. Fire only is able, not to deftroy, but
to fufpend it. To proceed now to the fecond ufe
of crude wax, I obfcrved to you, in one of our
firft conferences, that the males live on honey
only ; but that as the Working-bees want a
more folid food, crude wax was of great fervice
to them. This is pretty generally fuppofed by
thofe who trade in Bees. In Holland, in Flan-
ders, and in Brabant, crude wax is called Bees-
bread. Authors who have writ treatifes on Bees,
have thought proper to give it a nobler name, by

The Natural History

fliling it Ambrofia ; and, in order that Bees
might be treated, in every refped, like goddef-
fes, they declare honey to be nedar. Pliny be-
ftows Greek names upon it, the acquainting you
with which would be to little purpofe.

CLAR. Say rather, that it will be of purpofe to
me not to know them •, for, having a good me-
mory, I perhaps might be To ridiculoufly abfent,
as to employ them fometimes.

EUGEN. I obferved that crude wax ferves
as food to Bees -, a circumftance, which it is the
the more incumbent upon me to prove, as the
famous Swammerdam, that learned refearcher in-
to the a<5lions and conduft of Bees, is oi a con-
trary opinion. That able naturalifl: having exa-
mined, on one hand, crude wax ; and difcove-
ring it to be nothing but a compofition of little
particles or grains ; and judging, on the other,
that the diameter of thefe particles very much ex-
ceeded that of the aperture of the trunk*; he
thence concluded, that the Bees could not fwallow
the crude wax -, and confequently, that they did
not live upon it. You yourfelf, Clarifla, by only
recalling to mind what 1 before told you, may be
able to refute Swammerdam*s opinion. *Tis in
your own power to gain that honour.

CLAR. I'll try to do it. Let us fee if I can
recoiled your ledures properly. I conceived, by
the delcription you gave me of the Bee's trunk ;
that this organ is not a hollow canal, nor a fort
of pump proper for fudion -, but performs the
office of a tongue which drav/s in liquids ; that

it

of B E E S. 231

it fiiuces it felF, as it were, in the honey'd
liquor ; and, by its various inflexions, makes it
flow, as through a gutter, into the infeft's throat.
I remember you before gave me an opportunity
of comparing the Bee to the elephant. This
affinity, which now occurs to my memory, pre-
fents itfelf with greater propriety than I at firfl:
imagined it would have done. The elephant
drinks by his trunk, and eats by a mouth lying
under it : the Bee drinks, in like manner, by her
trunk, and takes in her food by a mouth fituated
above it. Thus your naturalift was guilty of a
mifl:ake, in declaring that Bees don't feed upon
the dull of ftamina, becaufe the particles which
compofe them are larger, in diameter, than that
of the hollow of the trunk ; this is as if anyone
fhould pretend to aflfert, that the elephant does
not eat bread or hay, becaufe neither of them
could pafs through his trunk. How was it pofll-
ble for fo able an enquirer as Swammerdam, to
commit fo grofs an error ?

EUGEN. I cannot juflify him, with regard
to this article, but by cenfuring him upon an-
other account ; I mean, in confefllng that he did
not know the Bee had a mouth •, he imagining
that its only organ, for the paffage of food, was
its trunk. Thus he argued juftly, according to
his own notion ; but then his notion was falfe. pi^^^ j^^
Since our difcovery of the mouth 1 fhow'd you ; Fig. 2.
and fince I myfelf faw that mouth in adion, at '^"" °'
a time when the trunk was motionlefs ; you may
believe, as a certain truth, that Bees fwallow
0^4 crude

The Natural H i s T or y

crude wax ; and this, not only to convert it into
true wax, but alfo to feed upon it. But this is
not all. ril iliow you, that the quantity which
they confume of it, in order to fupport themfelves,
greatly exceeds that converted by them into wax,
and vaftly more than you could imagine ; I
mean, that they are prodigious eaters.

CLAR. You are going to inform me of fome
new prodigy, at which I fhall no longer be
aftonifhed.

EUGEN. In order to difcover the whole
extent of their wants, with regard to fuftenance,
we fliould calculate how many journies, (from
an ordinary hive, one compofed of eighteen
thoufand Bees, for inftance) thefe Bees would
take into the fields every day, in order to bring
crude wax from thence. The number of journies
has given me that of the wax-balls or pellets;
and the number of the pellets, that of their total
weight ; from whence fubilrading what is em-
ploy'd by them in making true wax, the remain-
der Will give the quantity confum'd, by way of
food. I had difcover'd, by preceeding experi-
ments, that in a hive confiding of eighteen
thoufand Bees, each of them took four or five
journies every day ; which makes about eighty-
lour thoufand journies, producing eighty-four
thoufand balls of wax. I might have doubled,
as you fee, the number of balls, as each Bee
brings two ; but I chofe rather to take but the
half, that I might not be reproach'd with am-
plifying. Weighing the wax- balls with accuracy,

I found

of B E E S. 233

^ found that eight of them weigh a grain. Di-
viding eighty-four thoufand by eight, the quo-
tient gives the weight of the balls of crude wax
brought during the whole day -, and this amounts
to ten thoufand five hundred grains. Now the
pound weight is nine thouHind, two hundred and
fixteen grains ; confequently the quantity of crude
wax made in a day, amounts to above a pound.
There are feveral days in the year during which
they make as great a harveft ; and they often
are favoured with fifteen or fixteen together, either
about the middle of May, or the beginning of
June ; in a word, the Bees, during fuch days as
are lead favourable, never fail to bring crude
wax into the hive. As the Bees go forth for
^even or eight months fucceflively, they muft
neceflarily gather above an hundred pound weight
of this fubftance, and perhaps much more.
Neverthelcfs, if the wax is taken, at the year*s
end, from fuch a hive as we are fpeaking of, we
perhaps fhall not find two pounds weight of true
wax in it. Hence it may be inferred, that
Bees extraft, fi-om crude wax, but a fmall quan-
tity of true wax ; that the greateft part of that
jiibflance ferves them as food ; and that the reft
IfTufis from their bodies, in the form of ex-
cremrnt.

CLAR. I had referv'd my admiration for
the Bees ; but I now divide it, in favour of the
ingenious manner, wherewith you have calculated,
the quantity of crude wax which a Bee eats in the
compafs of a year.

EUGEN.

234 The Natural History

EUGEN. Referve all your admiration for
the fubjccl on which we are going to difcourfe.
You will not have too much, in order to praife
and magnify the author of fo many wonders, as
will be exhibited to your view by means of puny
animals, by meer infedts ; who will kt before you
works which the whole powers of the human un-
derftanding could never have thought of j and
whofe admirable flru6ture was not well dif-
cover'd, *till the moft fublime and mod tranfcen-
dant geometry had been clofely ftudied and ap-
plied. "What I here hint at, is the conftruftion
of the cells. As we have found the origin of
wax, let us proceed to the edifices in which they
employ it, to thefe combs com.pos'd of cells.
The firft objedt which the Bees have in view,
when all things are got ready for building their
edifices, is to employ the wax ; and the fmall
fpot to which they confine themfelves, with all
pofTible ceconomy, and yet to make the moft
of it. We cannot deny but that this is their
defign •, their every ftep having that tendency,
and the perfection of their work being nothing
elfe. That we may be the better able to judge
of the intelligence with which they carry on
their work ; let us firft inquire what we ourfelves
would have done, in cafe the author of nature,
after creating B?es, had kn to us the care of
lodging them, agreably to the wants or neceffi-
xies which we know them to have. We ftiall
form a jadgment, from the errors we ourfelves
iliould have fUlen into, and which they do not
I commit

of B E E S. 235

commit, of the excellence of their work. Don't
lofe fight, Clarifla, of the three cardinal points
following, on which the whole work ought to
turn. I. To employ the fmalleft quantity of
wax poffible. IL To give, to the cells, the
greateft capacity or fpace they can receive, on a
determinate diameter. III. To employ the fpot
in fuch a manner, that none of it may be loft.
The firft idea fram'd by a man who was ignorant
of geometry, who had never feen a hive, and
was to prepare a habitation for B?es , would
have been to make round tubes, and fet them one
upon the other. This is the form, in building,
of many infcdls, the preparation of whofe ma-
terials cofts them no pains. But he who fhould
have begun his edifice with circular tubes, had
miftook in his firft fetting out ; as he would have
fail'd in one of the conditions, that of difpofing
his fpot to the beft advantage. For you eafily con-
ceive that circular tubes, laid one againft the other,
do not touch in every part of their circumference ;
but leave confiderable void fpaces between them,ali
which are loft. 1*11 trace before you upon the
fand, my ideas in proportion as I fnall point
them out to you. Suppofe thefe circles to be Plate XII.
the mouths of fo many tubes ; you fee that there '^' '*
are feveral void fpaces between each of them.
This is the firft error. As thefe tubes muft be
ftopp'd at one end, and open at the other, our
architeft would not have fail'd to have laid a
bottom of wax ; and, of a number of thefe

tubes

2^6 The Natural History

tubes, thus ftopp'd and join'd together, hewoul'd
have made a comb like that of the wafps ; and
fuch a one as I now draw with my cane, where
you fee four tubes, each of which has a bottom
Plate XII. ^^j.^,^ the fame way. Now this would be a

Fig 2- ^

Letters fccond error. The Bees would have taught him,

A B c D. that two combs, laid back to back, form but one ;

confequently, that a fingle bottom is fufficient

for two cells, the one of which is on one fide,

and the other on the other ; which I prove in

Ibid. manner following. This figure exhibits to you

F'g- 3- four tubes, each pair of which has a common

bottom. The archited above-mentioned would

doubtlefs have made the bottoms flat, to expend

lefs wax, like thofe here drawn by me. But this

would have been a third error. We muft fend

him to fchool to the Bees, and there he will learn,

that pyramidal bottoms, fuch as thofe of the fix

Plate XII. cells which I here trace, are form'd with a lefs

I'^S 4- quantity of wax than flat bottoms. How many

other errors would he have committed, which the

Bees avoid with furprizing fliill, as you fliall

Plate IX. fee prefently .^ Let me fct before you this piece

^2' ^' of comb, and argue upon the objeds as they lie

before us. *Tis neceflfary, as you proceed, that

their cells lie all contiguous one to the other,

without leaving the leafl: void fpace between

Plate XII. them. It mult: be confelVd that triangles and

Fig- 5* fquares, fuch as thefe, would have produced the

lb. Fig. I. ^^"^s eftedl. But as the triangle and fquare have

Lett. A B. a lefs area than a circle, whofe diameter is the

fame ; the Bee, by this means, would have had

lefs

of BEES.

kfs fpace for Ibdging commodioufly ; and a fe-
cond fault would be, more wax mufb have been
confum'd. Such a figure muft therefore be made
choice of, which, under the fame circumference,
would be more extenfive or capacious than the
triangle and the fquare, and employ a lefs quan-
tity of wax. I am certain that the Bee did not
take up the rule and compafs to find out this
figure •, but man was forced to have recourfe to
thofe inftruments, in order to inform himfelf of
what they know foon after their exigence, viz.
that among the fcveral polygons, from the
triangle to the circle ; the hexagon, or figure
with fix fides, is the Jafb of all, of which we
may afl'emble together as many as we think pro-
per; all whofe faces will join ; which will leave
no void fpace between them ; and will be more
capacious than figures, the number of whofe fides
will be fewer. Now this is the figure chofen by
the Bee, who thereby has anfwered every end.
I. The oeconomy of the wax, fince the circum-
ference of one cell ferves to the circumference of
thofe contiguous to it. II. The oeconomy of
the fpot ; fince thefe cells, which join one to an-
other, leave no void between them. III. The
oreateft capacity or fpace polTible ; fince, of all
the figures which may be contiguous, or lie clofe
one to the other, that with fix fides gives the
largefl: area.

CLAR. I comprehend all this perfeflly,
and that without the leaft aid of geometry or

a problem.

EUGEN.

■37

238 The Natural History

EUGEN. This is not the moft difficult tafk,
but we fliall come to it by and by. *Tis very
proper thatthefe tubes be clos'd at one end. *Tis
neceflary for the Bees that this lliould be, not by
flat bottoms, but by pyramidal hollows. Tho*
you now have cells before you ; tho' by breaking
them, you may fee every part of their infide.;
you yet would not eafily difcover the whole
fcience and induftry employ'd in their conftruc-
tion -, if I did not accompany them with fome
explications, the refult of my reading, expe-
rience, and long obfervations. But, for this
purpofe, it will be necelTary that you accuftom
yourfelf a little to the ftile of geometry, which
I will adapt, to the bed of my power, to your
underflanding.

CLAR. I mud defire you not to employ the
terms of that fcience, for thefe would certainly
give me the head-ach. Do as well as you can :
for I am refolved to liften to none but common
terms, to fuch demonftrations as fuit the capa-
cities of children.

EUGEN. I muft: obey your commands ; and
fince you require it, we'll build together fome card-
houfes which will have a vaftly pretty effedt. A
circumftance which makes us eafy is, that fhould
any one come and catch us unawares, you'll have
no juft caufc to reproach me, fince I was forced

Plate VII. to it. Let us firft cut this card into three equal

fig- I- parrs.

CLAR. What are you going to make ?

EUGEN.

of B E E S. 239

EUGEN. A card-cell -, fuch a one as I
fhould make for your little daughter.

CLAR. Mighty well. Proceed in your
play.

EUGEN. Let us fold one of thefe three Fig. 2.
pieces into two, doing this leno;thwife. After- £!§• 3-

* '^ *-* F]g. 4«

wards cut one of the ends of this folded piece Lett. a.
flantwife. Unfold it. You fee that it terminates
in a pyramid ; and that the fold made by us
forms a kind of ftay, which divides this piece
into two equal fpaces. Take notice of this fold,
as it will be of fervice to us afterwards. Let us
fold and cut, in the fame manner, the other two
pieces of the fame card. Let us open them,
but not entirely ; in order that the fold, which I
term the ftay, may feem to form two pieces of
one only. Let us next fet thefe three pieces
upright, clofe one to the other. Now bring pj^
them together, in a kind of circular form, as Lett. e. f.
tho' we were defirous to make a tube of them.^. .

r lO". 6.

Each of thefe three pieces being divided into two,

by its fold ; 'tis plain that our tube confifts of Fig 5^-6.

fix planes, all which together form a hexagon, ^^"- ^•

or figure with fix fides. Thus v/e have a Bee-

- . , Fig 6

cell, from its opening (aowmvard) to the partL^tt. b.

where its pyramidal bottom muft begin. Thefe F'S- ^■
three pieces joined together in form of a tube,
terminate by three triangular points, leaving three Fig 6.
void fpaces between them. Now, in what man- ^^"" ^'
ner will the Bee fill up thefe vacuities ; and ter-
minate at the fame time her cell by a fingle
point, or fort of capital in a pyramidal form

alfo ?

240 The Natural History

alio ? This the Bee has taught me, and I'll now
reprefent it to you by cards. You know, or
may know, that two triangles join'd, bafe again ft
Plate VIII bafe, form what is call'd a lozenge. The three
f 'S 7- void fpaces can be fill'd only by three triangles
Fig. g. reverfed -, the cell muft be terminated by a hollow
Lett. E, f» pyramidal bottom, with three faces, compos'dof
three triangular plates, whofe bafes (hall lie on
the bafes of the revers'd triangles. You there-
fore muft form fix triangles, the three lower ones
of which will ferve to fill up the void fpaces ;
and the three upper ones to form the capital or
pyramidal bottom. But to fave ourfelves trouble,
inftead of fix triangles, let us make three lozenges
with our cards, in like manner as the Bee does
with wax, and the fame effed will be produced.
Fig. 9. *Tis thus you perceive they give us the fix tri-
Letr.p.p p angles dcfired, three right and three revers'd,
mm, mm.' all which neverthelefs form but three pieces.
The lower triangular part of each lozenge, fills
F'g-^^'9 exadtly one of the triangular voids of the tube ;
and the upper triangular part of the fame lozen-
ges, when join'd by their points, make that
hollow pyramid which forms the bottom or
Jhid. capital of the cell. Let fall this little capital,
Lett, p- compos'd of three lozenges, and you'll find that
Fig. q. the three lower parts of the three lozenges, will
Lett pppgo and fix in the voids of the tube, and fill
them exa6lly. Thus you have a very rude figure
of a Bee's cell.

CLAR. How obftinate was you, in being
abfolutely rcfolv'd to fplit my head with your

horrid

of B E E S. 241

horrid terms, tho* you had ib plain and fimple a
way of exprefllng your meaning. I underftand
you fo perfedlly, that, Ihould the Bees forget the
art of making cells, I am able to inftrud: them
in that particular. I could let them into the whole
affair at once, with only a couple of cards and a
pair of fciffars.

EUGEN. Come, don't be quite fo much
elevated with your proficiency. I have acquaint-
ed you with the mechanical conftrudion of cells;
but then, can you account for their mechanifm ?
anfwer me this point.

CLAR. You flop me at once. Elere, bring
fome cards. Come, here are fcifllirs : cut away,
and let me know the mechanifm you are fpeaking
of.

EUGEN. I am delighted with yourfpright-
linefs. Inftrurr.ents are made to delcribe figures ;
but to difplay the rcafons of figures, we muft
have r^courfe, not to inftruments or tools, but
to fomething elfe. Thoughts are exprefs'd by
words only.

CLx\R. Well, let m.e have words then.
Inform me of thefe reafons.

EUGEN. Obferve that thefe lozenges have PI^^^V^^I
two angles more open than thofe of a perfedl Je^t.^PP
fquare -, and that two are Iharper or more acute.
The Bees always make the two large angles of
110 degrees, and the two fmall ones of 70.

CLAR. I am afraid that there is geometry Plate VIII
in this i however, I will allow you this defcrip- ^^S- 9-

R tion.

The Natural History

tion, as I know the meaning of one angle being
more open than another.

EUGEN. The Bees deviate as Httle as they
can from this rule, conformably to which they
fhape their lozenges.

CLAR. This is wonderful. But I don't yet
fee the reafon why they prefer this figure or
fhape.

EUGEN. 'Tis purpofely to be as fparing as
they can of wax.

CLAR. Strange \ what can lozenges, cut in
one fhape rather than another, have to do with
the faving of wax ^

EUGEN. This is the mighty difficulty,
which I'll explain to you as well as I can. In
comparing tranfiently, a flat-bottom*d cell, with
another whofe bottom is pyramidal, we don't
perceive (and even wou'd not believe) that of all
kinds of cells, the flatt-bottom*d one takes up the
greatefl quantity of wax. It is yet demon-
ilrated, and that too by geometry, that the Bees
hufband their wax, by making pyramidal bot-
toms. 'Twas enough that the Bees had difcover'd
this wonderful property, which, pofTibly, would
otherwife have never been found out by man :
the former have neverthelefs extended their geo-
metrical views farther. A choice might be made,
among pyramidal bottoms, in order to find out
fuch as would take up the leafl wax •, and this the
Bees have done. They difcover'd that among
the feveral cells of the fame extent, and with a
pyramidal bottom *, the cell which can be formed

with

of B E E S. 243

with the leaft wax, is that, each of whofe lozen-
ges has two oppofite angles of no degrees, and
the other two angles of 70.

CLAR. You'll make me run mad with your
angles, your degrees, and your pyramidal bot-
toms. Would you perfuade me, that views of
oeconomy prompted our anceflors to wear high-
crown'd hats ; and that thofe fugar-loaves took
up lefs cloth, than the flat hats now worn by
men ?

EUGEN. I would gladly make you under-
ftand, without angering you, one thing which
is certainly true; I mean, that a fleeple-crown
hat, rais'd purfuant to the rules taught us by the
Bees, would take up lefs cloth than fuch a one
as WMS flat, and in the fliape we wear them. This
is prov'd in manner following. But we mufl: firfl:
fet out with a theorem, which will lead us to a
problem.

CLAR. You fay right: we mufl fet out,
but 'tis from hence ; for I find you are now
pofTefs'd by the daemon of geometry. To lay
him, let us change our fubjedl, and fet out home-
wards. As we walk along, I'll get you to clear
up the following dilBculty. How can fuch cells
as are pyramidal, fix in with the cells oppofite
to them, and which are pyramidal likewife .? In
cafe they meet at their point, their bottoms are
no longer common ; confequently no wax would
be flwed in this refpecl ; there even muft be large
void fpaces left, which fliows that the fpot or
fpace is not laid out to the befl advantage.

R 2 EUGEN.

2 44 '^^^ Natural H i s t o r y

EUGEN. You would certainly be in the
right, was this really the cafe ; but you fliould
fuppofe, from the whole work of the Bees hither-
to •, that they torelluv this incoiivcni>-T.cy, and
provided a remedy for it. Their conducf on
this occafion is the more ingenious, as 'iis the
more fimple. The fmall pyramids which ter-
minate all the Cells on one fide or face, enter
into that of the oppofite face ; fo that the three
lozenges which form the bottom of a cell of one
of the faces, are, at the fame time, (and each
feperately) one of the lozenges of three cells laid
one againft the ether. As the partitions by thts
means are common, a great deal of wax is faved,
and no room is loft. Take this comb ; Hick a
pin into each ot the lozenges which forms the

Pl.ite VIII bottom of a cell. Now fee, by the oppofite
^" '°" fice, where the points of our three pins meet.

Fig. II. CLAR. They all three, indeed, have
entered three different cells. I will not deny,
Eugenio, b'Jt that I am ftruck with wonder, at
the fight of this admirable work. l*m quite
amaz'd and confounded, to find that fuch litde
animals, fuch contemptible infeds fliould execute
works, which, for beauty, elegance, and regu-
larity, equal the attempts of the m.oft enlightned
human reafon j of fuch reafon as has been moft
exercis'd in f iblime fciences. I fcarce know how to
reconcile thefe deep views with that fort of me-
chanical reafon, by which faculty alone ( as I
imagine) brutes are guided.

EUGEN.

of B E E S. 245

EUGEN. I Cion'c fee why this (liould dif-
order, in any manner, your fydem. The Being
who taught the nev.^-born child to make a pump
of his mourh, therewith to draw forth his nurfe's
milk, at the fame time that this child is utterly
ignorant of pncumaticks, has t:iught the Bee to
make a cell without (he afTulance of gecm.etry.
'Tis in the perfcclion icfcif of the Bee's ftrut^urc,
that I draw a ftrong argument, in oppoficion
to the comjparifon which fome would form, be-
tween our reafon and that of brutes. What is
human rc-afon ? 'Tis a faculty weak at fird, but
which afcerwards difplays itfelf by inf^nfible de-
grL^es, and acquires lights or knowledge : it im-
proves more or lef. by labour, and according to
the ufe thatis m.ade of it : tl.is faculty comes into
the world ignorant, and fiands in need of in-
flruflion ; and accordingly 'tis inftrudled. The
brute, on the contrary, is bo:n as perfccft as it
can be j it knows every thing needful for it to be
acquainted with ; at its comir.g into the world,
it iOues from, the hands of ics creator compleatly
fafhion'd, in like manner as a tool or inflrument
out of the hands of a workman. The Bee, of
a day old, is as perftd: a geometrician as the Bee
of a year. This difference between our reafon,
and the reafon or inifincl of anim.als or brutes
(call it which you wi;l) is enough to fliow that
one is not the orlier-, that each of ti'.em ad upon
different principles ; that bot'i of them are
myfleries in n^irure, and that we mufl: not exp"6t
to find out thut ol brutes, till we iuve firft dif-
R 3 covcrM

246 The Natural History

covei'd our own ; or that the beft courfe would
be, agreeably to our determination the other
day, to worfliip, in awful filence, the fecrets of
the Almighty.

CLAR. Your Reflecflion is exceedingly juft.
Let us feperate with this moral, and we fliall
take with us the ufeful join'd with the profitable.
I defire you to meet me to morrow, in order to
difcourfe on fome other fubjed. Tell me what
it fhall be ?

EUGEN. We fhall proceed with the cells,
this being a topic not yet exhaufted. You have
taken a view of the deep knowledge, and the
aftonifhing induftry of our little artificers. But
you don't know that they go ftill further ; they
committing miftakes, and afterwards corredting
themfelves ; they meeting with obftacles, and
furmounting theni. You did not obfetve, that
thriftinefs, with regard to wax, engages them to
make the walls or partitions, and bottoms of their
cells fo very thin, that one would fcarce imagine
thofe diminutive edifices were ftrong enough to
fjpport the v/eight of their bodies, their perpetual
motions, and their heaps of honey •, if we did
not know that they, upon occafion, are able to
prop and ftrengthen them. You have not feen
them Fj-pair, improve, and give the finifhing
ftroke to their habitations. We are ftill to ex-
amine the fevcral dimenfions of the cells, and the
frame of the combs ; and no mention has been yet
made of the royal cells. Hence you may judge,
that we fiiall have topics enough to difcourfe upon.

CON-

of B E E S. 247

CONVERSATION XIL

Co?Jtimiatio?t of the cells. Errors cvrntnitfed
by the Bees in building them, and hoiv they
add the finifl:ing ftroke. Dimenfwns of a
cell. Combs of a royal cell.

EUGENIC.

YO U feem in deep meditation, ClariiTa.
Perhaps you may not be recovered from
the furprize, into which the prodigious knowledge
of our in feds threw you.

CLAR. I don't defign to recover from it,
this tending diredly to make me acknowledge
the prefence of a Creator •, a fight that is always
precious to me, and which I am ever glad to
have repeated. But our Bees have given me an
opportunity of making reflexions I was revolv-
ing, and which I mud communicate to you.
Ever fince we parted, I have not been able to get
thefe cells out of my head ; and I cannot forbear
ftill admiring fo perfect a Work. I have been
ever fince figuring to my fancy, a Bee, handling
its materials in the fame manner as an artificer
would do i cutting lozenges under certain deter-
mined angles ; and difcovering the utmoft thrif-
tinefs with regard to ihQ difpofal of the wax. As
I imagined to myfelf this infect bufied in its work ;
purfuing its ends with certainty, and this by the
R 4 beft

The Natural History

befl means -, I was perpetually tempted to allow
them judgment or reafon -, and even a feries
of argumentations, fuch as are neceffary for man i
and I'uch as few of the learned, among you, are
capable of boafting. In the extafy to which this
r,\ifcd me, I was afham'd to fee myfelf obliged
to yielu, in the article of underflanding, to in-
fers. But, how, is it poffible for us to re-
fill the temptation of fyftems, efpecially when it
concerns our honour. I muft give way to this
alio, as it will neceflarily turn to the glory of
the Almighty. 71ie recalling to my memory
the comparifon with regard to the muficians,
has been of advantage to me. 1 am thoroughly
pleafed with it ; and I thereby very well con-
ceive, how it is poffible for an anim.al, though
uninformed by reafon, to aft as if flie were
indued with that fiicuky, and even the moft
fublime kind of it. It frequently happens to me,
whilft I am fitting by my Harpfjchord, to play
on it, without once rcflcdling on what I am do-
ing. 1 will play, whenever you pleafe, Coupe-
rifis Paftorals or Bees * ; and talk with you upon
any fubjcdt at the fame time. On this occafion,
my fingers only fhall play. I fliall be quite ab-
fenc in thought with regard to the mufick : my
mind, the reafoning fliculty, and even the will,
will hdve as little Ihare in it, and ail thefe fl.all
be employ'd in entertaining you. My fingers

* Lcs Bfr^eries ou les /iheilies de Couper'in. Thefe are
pieces of muikk.

once

of B E E S. 249

once fet agoing, fhall perform of thcmfelves a
work almoft equal to a cell ; and execute the
whole quite mechanically. I then will boaft my
having form*d automalon-Bngers ; fingers which
play a harpficord-air, without my being concern'd
with, or my reafoning faculty having any thing
to do with them. Now, why fhould we ima-
gine the Almighty has not the lame power ; I
mean that of creating animals capable of execut-
ing, without the faculty of reafon, fiich works
as are the mofb com.plicated, and require the
greateft induftry ?

EUGEN. I am overjoy'd at my having gi-
ven you fo fair an opportunity, for arguing thus
juftly. You have fet my comparifon in the
moft fublime light ; 'twould, therefore, be a pity
that I fhould weaken it, by thofe particulars
which I am to obferve to you farther. Never-
thelefs. happen what will, I mud fee whether
we can carry it on to the end. Let us proceed
with the Bee, quite to the conclufion of her
work. How accurate, how geometrical foever
we find the Bees, yet their cells with fix faces are
not always formed quite free from errors. It fre-
quently happens that, in the fame cell, feveral
of thefe faces or fides iliall be wider than the
reft ; and, a fingular circur.-'.ftance is, thefe
irregularities are ever more confiderable tov/ards
the bottom, than about the opening. Of this
the Bt^e herfelf fcems to be fenfible -, and endea-
vours to corre(5l all her miflakes, in proportioa
as her work advances forward. The irregula-
3 rity

The Natural History

rity of the faces occafions fome in the lozenges,
which are not always made as regular as they
ought to be. We fhould not be furprized, were
the fkill of our artificers to fall fhort, in a Work
of fo much delicacy ; but we may juftly be fo,
to fee Bees commit errors on this occafion.

CLAR. Why fo ? To go on with your com-
parifon -, I ought to be no more furprized on this
occafion, than if my fingers, after being taught
to play a harpficord-air without me, {hould yet
miftake in fome note.

EUGEN. True. But would not your won-
der increafe, if thofe very fingers, after miflaking,
Ihould corred themfelves ; and if, after ftriking
a falfe note, they fhould correfl themfelves by fub-
ftituting a third or a fifth *, or by fome other note,
which fhould complete the harmony •, and this
without the aid of your will, or your having the
lead knowledge of it ?

CLAR. I don't think this pofTible.

EUGEN. And yet this is what the Bees do.
Whenever the inequalities become too confider-
able in one cell, either by their own fuulr,
or by fome circumflance out of their power ; they
are able to correft them, by adding to, or lef-
fening the next cell. Thus thefe irregularities
don't increafe. If a pyramidal bottom, for in-
llance, is too much extended -, they leave a fmall
portion in the pyramidal bottom of the next ;
and the contrary in the oppofite cafe. They are
guilty of fuch miftakes as may appear of much
greater confequence. We fometimes meet with
I pyramidal

of B E E S. 25

pyramidal bottoms, which, inflead of being
conipofed of three lozenges, conformably to the
rule, confifl of four pieces ; and of thefc four
pieces, two only will have four fides ; and the
three others fliall be compofed of more or lefs.
Hence it appears that our Bees may fall into
errors •, they may fail in giving, to the firft lo-
zenge, its fuitable dimenfions and angles ; but
then they know how to remedy their miftakes *,
they then fix more pieces together, in order that
the pyramid, may afTume fuch a form or figure,
as may be as little different as poflible from that
which it ought to have. But this is not all ;
they fuiting themfelves to times and places.
Whenever they are forced, by the inclination of
the partitions of the hives, or from fome other
caufe, to deviate from the right line ; they fub-
mic to this necelTity by giving to their little
tubes, or, to fpeak more clearly, the cavity of
their cells, a proportionate curve : and thence it
is, that we fometimes meet with cells which feem
in the form of a crooked tube. Reconcile this
now, if you can, with the comparifon which
gives you fo much delight. See whether the
automaton is mailer of retrofpcclion •, or can
turn back, at proper fcafons, to corredl fuch
miftakes as it may have fallen into.

CLAR. I don't difcover anv impofllbility In
this ; and thus I conceive it. I have accuftom'd
my fingers -, have taught and difpofed them to
proceed without a guide -, to execute, fingly, with
the greatefl exai51nefs, certain regular and com-
plicated

The Natural H i s T o r y

plicated motions. When once fet to work, I at-
tend to them no longer ; I Jet them go on, with-
out any dire6l:ion but their own •■, and accord-
ingly they proceed forward, without deviating
from their firft ImprefTun. I own, indeed, that
they may depart from it ; that this happens fre-
quently j and that whenever they do deviate,
ail is over ; they are bewildered, and unable to
recover themfelves. But it is enough that this
does not happen to them always, for us to fay
that we arc able to form automatons, which in-
deed are not fo perfedt as the Bee. But what are
we, to compare our weak powers with the Su-
preme Being ! Mufl: wc infer, becaufe we are
not able to make better, that the author of nature
cannot form automatons of a much more perfe.ft
kind than ours ?

EUGEN. This philofophical argument de-
fcrves thanks, at leaft, from me ; fince it tends
to defend a comparifon which efcaped mc. We
are now fallen on a fubjeft that has already been
well canvas'd j and concerning which, it would
be difficult for us to offer any argument, p-o or
con, that has not been alledged before. 'Tis my
opinion that we had better return to our B^c-celJs •,
and this I will now do. As the gathering and
preparing of wax cod the B^es much pains,
ir is incumbent on them to be extremely
careful of it ; and wc have fecn how flvilful they
arc in that particular. I will make you alfo ob-
fcrve, that this thriftinefs prompts them to make
tlie partitions of their thin cells, fo as that the

loliditv

of B E E S.

iolidity in their conftru6lion may fupply for the
defe^ of materials. No paper is lb thin as the
fide and bottom-pieces of their cells. Neverthe-
lefs, thefe cells ouo;ht to be ftrong enough to re-
fift the feveral morions of the Bses who go in and
out of them continually. The parts moft liable
to injury, are the entrance to the cells ; thefe
being the moft ftrongiy and moft frequently
attacked. Accordingly the Bees take care to
ftrengthen them •, they adding, quite round the
circumference of the apertures, a ftring or fillet
of wax -, by which means this mouth is three or
four times thicker than it would otherwife be,
was it no thicker than the fides or fices. We
even perceive this fillet about fuch cells as are
but juft begun •, it is thicker in the angles than
elfevvhere ; for which realbn the opening of the
cell is not a perfed hexagon. The building of
a cell is not the work, merely of a moment,
with regard to the little artificer. How dexterous
and fkilful foever fhe may be -, tho' ever fo dili-
gent and adive in her toil -, it is only by time
and the greateft pains, that fhe is able to raife
the partitions of her cell, and reduce them to a
proper thinncfs. She does not caft them in a
mould. If a Bee, in building a cell, fhould
form it (at fii-ft) as thin as it is neceflliry for it to
be, fhe would do wrong. This part, being too
weak to refift the v/eight and motions of the in-
fect, v/ould burft ; and accordingly fhe gives it
much more Iolidity and Itrcngth, than is requi-
fice 3 the Bee afterwards IcflTcning and paring ic

away.

51

2 54 The Natural History

away, as may be found neceffiry. This part
(I mean the paring away) is left to other Bees,
whofe buGnefs it is to polifh, as it were ; to re-
pair and compleat all that isftill rough, and give
it the finifliing flroke. This is the employment
of the greateft part of our little labourers in wax.
There is no difficulty in getting a fight of them
when thus bufied j as it is their daily, and almoft
hourly, exercife.

CLAR. If this be fo eafy, let me difcover it
myfelf. Permit me to have this pleafure, and to
inftruft you in what you know much better than I.
Let us ftoop to the hive. Both of us will make
obfervations, but I only will fpeak. It will not
be juft that you fhould have all the trouble. I
will now inform you in what manner the Bees
repair their cells. Methinks I perceive one
planing or fcraping, I am not yet well enough
verfed in their art, to ufe the proper Term.
She works, very fortunately for me, at the en-
trance of her cell •, and I plainly fee all her ope-
rations. She moves her teeth with prodigious
fwiftnefs, and fcrapes the partitions. She now
takes away fome minute fragments of wax, which
look like fo many chips or fhavings. My joy-
ncr is not more expert. Thefe fragments fhe joins,
and works them up into a ball. I really fee one
as big as a pin's head. The ^ee flies away, and
takes this ball with her. However, the work
does not (land ftill. Her place is inftandy fup-
plied by another, who advances in farther -, pro-
bably to work at the bottom. I judge, from

her

of B E E S.

her motions, that fhe is exercifed in the like ope-
ration. My conjecture was right ; fnc going
away, like the former, with her little baJl of
wax.

EUGEN. You have made very good obfer-
vations, Clarifla, and been eye-witnefs to the
manner in which the Bees repair their cells.
We will now proceed to other particulars. Would
you willingly know, with little trouble to your-
felf, how many cells there are in a comb ? This
may be very eafily found. Let us make ufe of
the comb now lying before us. We will only
count the firft range of cells. There are twenty,
as you perceive, on a line. Let us meafure this
line. It is four inches long. Our comb is fif-
teen inches in length, and ten inches broad. All
the cells that ever were, or ever will be made,
are two lines * f in diameter. Thefe feveral
quantities being known, you will find, by a fin-
gle rule in multiplication, that there are nine
thoufand cells on the furface of this comb. I
fpeak only pf the cells of the working Bees •, for
thofe of the drones being larger, and their diame-
ter of three lines f ; twenty of thefe would cover
a line of five mches, and fix lines in length,
and a little more.

CLAR. You declare then, that the diameter
of all cells ever made, or that will be made,
were and will be, two lines j in diameter.

* A Li»e is a Frenclx meafure, ~V of an inch.

EUGEN.

55

2j6 The Natural History

EUGEN. I do affirm this. But v/hat infe-
rence would you draw Irom thence?

CLAR. You'll fay I am out of my fcnfes.
But be that as it wilJ •, 1 muft telJ you the crotch-
et that is come into my htad. It has been vvifhed,
and will doubrlefs be long fo, that men would
invent one language which might be common to
all the nations of cur earth. I have read fome-
where, that a certain philofopher had attempted
to make one ; but, in all probability, this was
endeavoured without fuccefs, fince we hear no
more of it, for which I am very forty. I too
am fired with the ambition of making my name
famous, by an invention of the like kind. What
think you of a pcrfon whofhouki have dilcovered
a meafure which might be known to all the na-
tions of the world, and proper for all ages i that
men might have, in all places, a model made
by the hand ol nature ; and, on Vvhich, every
perfon might verify and compare the meafure
ufcd by himfclf, and apply to it all the reft: ufed
in the world ? Would not this be a fine fecret .''

EUGEN. An excellent one.

CLAR. And this I have difcovered. *Tis
the dimenfions of a cell. 'Tis a certain fadl
that all Bees vv^hich ever cxifted, from the creation
of the world to this day, have built cells of the
fame fize and diameter ; and will proceed in
this manner till time is no more. I believe it is
equally true that, from Peru to Japan, all the
cells of Bees are railed upon the fame laws, and
with the fame meafures. Confcquendy j was I

to

of B E E S.

to inform a Japoncze, by writing, that a cer-
tain thing I fent him was four inches in length,
he would not underftand me ; but fhould I ob-
ferve that its length was equal to that of twenty
Bee-cells, he would underftand me perfe<flly -, as
likewife would the Peruvian, the Mufcovite, 6?r.
All thefe would inftantly form to themfelves an
idea of a length, the fame as what we underftand,
when we fay four inches. Thus we have a mea-
fure that is invariable ; known to all nations,
and found every where. In a word, 'tis an uni-
verfal language with refped: to meafure, and will
be underftood till the end of time.

EUGEN. The farther we proceed in our
conferences, the more I perceive your philofophic
genius opens, ftrengthens and increafes ; or ra-
ther, you difcover talents which your modefty
had hitherto concealed. Is it poffible that I
fhould have found the art ( if a figure of So-
crates will be allowed me ) of being the mid-
wife of your thoughts ^ The philofopher who
formed to himfelf the fecret of an univerfal lan-
guage was Mr. Leibnitz *, one of the moft ex-
tenfive and moft fublimc genius's that Germany
ever gave birth to. He ufed to fay, fpeaking of
this invention, that he was forming an alphabet
of human thoughts. This great man, whofe only
view was the public utility, would have obliged
all the inhabitants of our earth to ufe one and the

* This had been attempted before by our bifhop Wilkin?,
and by Algarme: But Mr Leibnitz did not approve of their
metkod,,andhad formed to himfelf one quite different.

S ■ lame

258 The Natural History

f^ime language j and reduced Europe., widi ref-
ped: to tennporals, under a fingle power-, and
under one fole head or chief with regard to fpiri-
tuals. Being a German, you will not be fjrprized
to hear tliat he gave the government of Europe
to the emperor ; but you v/ill be more fo, when
I inform you that Leibnitz, though a Lutheran,
afcribed the church-fupremacy to the pope : " So
I'Hift. dc " greatly, ( fays the illuitrious hiRorian of his
}]^"'^'^"life) *' did the fyftematic fpirir, which he pof-

Sciences, ' ^

in 1716. " fefied in a fupreme degree, prevail, in reli-
" gious matters, over party fpirit." Bat all
thefe finej projefts remain ftill unexecuted; the
reafon of which, (according to the fame hiftori-
an ) " is that different nations agree only in not
" underftanding their common interefts.'* I am
afraid the like fate will attend your fecret, with
refped to which I am forty to obferve, that you
did not hit upon it firft ; Mr. Thevenot, his ma-
jefty's librarian, having flatted it before.

CLAR. I wilh that Mr. Thevenot had been
far enough. What did he mean to thus antici-
pate me in an invention which, otherwife, would
have immortalized me ?

EUGEN. The antients have played us
many fuch tricks. But however this be, you'll
be no great lofer by it. This difcovery has had
no better fuccefs than that of Mr. Leibnitz. Let
us goon with examining the other dimenfions of
the cells. Th.-ir depths are not fo certainly fixed
as their diameters. The cells of the Working-
bees are commonly five lines and a half in depth ;
3 and

of B E E S. 259

and fuch of the worms and maggots as turn to
drones, eight lines, and rometimes lefs. When
thefe cells are not neceflary for bringing up
worms, they turn them into ftore-houfes for the
honey. But fome are appointed for this ufe only,
and thefe are deeper than the others. I have feen
fome that were fix lines in length. Whenever
the provifion of honey is fo great, that the Bees
can fcarce get vefTels enough to. lodge it in ;
when thefe find it difficult to build a fufficient
number of cells to contain all the honey made by
them ; they then either lengthen the old ones ,
or make the new ones longer than thofe built by
them before. Hence it is that the furfaces of the
combs are never equal ; and fome parts of them
are raifed higher than the reft, and bunch out.
Methinks I have obferved to you all that can be
faid, with regard to the cells of which combs
are formed. Let us now confider the combs
themfclves.

CLAR. But pray now, what is become of
your royal palace ? What idea fliould we form
to ourfelves of a traveller, who, defcribing a
city, Ihould give an exaft plan of all the com-
mon houfes and hotels, and forget to mention the
Louvre ?

EUGEN. Your reproach is very juft : ne-
verthelefs, this omifTion was not owing to forget-
fulnefs in me •, but from my opinion, that this
fubjed will be more proper, after we fhall have
gone through wh:it I have to fay with jegard to
^ombs. The difpofition of thefe, as well as that
S 2 of

26o The Natural History

of the cells, offers Tuch particuhirs as do honour
to the underftanding of Bees. When thefe noble
infects are once fettled in a hive that pleafes them •,
'tis not long before they lay the foundations of a
comb, which they lengthen and widen with fur-
prizing fwiftnefs. But the Bjes, before they give
it the whole intended extent, divide or fcparate
themfelves : part of the workmen begin a fe-
cond •, and fomctimes another party undertake a
third. When there are two or three work- (hops,
a greater number of artificers may labour toge-
ther, without hindring one another -, and they
have an opportunity of doing more bufinefs in a
Ihorter time. Having a glafs-hive here, which
gives us a view of itsinfide, 'twere almoft needlefs
to tell you that thefe combs lie parallel one to the
other ; and that there is left between every one of
them, a fpace which ferves as a ftreet •, broad
enough for two Bees to pafs by together. Obferve,

Plate IX, on the furface of the combs before you, holes

ufv^y^^^^^^ go quite through it.

CLAR. Let me guefs for what ufe thefe holes
are defign'd. I imagine them to be narrow
flreets ; crofs- v/ays or lanes made by the Bees,
in ord^T to pafs from one comb to another, with-
out being obliged to go a round-about way.

EUGEN. This is not mere guefs, for you
have hit upon the very thing.

CLAR. I muft (lop here a moment or two,
and contemplate our hive : My love for obfer-
vations increafes greatly. What numberlcfs multi-
tudes are here ! our mod- frequented markets are not

more

of B E E S. 261

more crowded with people than the ftrects of a
hive. We are not tired with gazing upon this
fight. How great an aftivity, what diligence,
what love of labour do I behold ! 'Tis with in-
finite pleafure I recall to my memory all you have
obferved to me on this fubjeft. A hive is a city,
the inhabitants of which don't dwell in their
houfes. They neglc6t their own conveniencies,
for the fake of the public weal. If they build,
*tis only to hoard their common provifions, and
to bring up their young •, rhey contenting them-
fclves with lodging in the ftreets, and the places
of public refort. Another obfcrrvation made, aspj^j^X.
I furvcy our combs, edge- ways is, I perceive anF^g- »•
irregularity v.'hich difpleafes nie a little. Can it
be peculiar to this hive, or is it common to all ?
A regular parallelifm is not obferved between
thefe fcveral combs. I don't know whether you
take notice, that I begin to fpeak the language of
geometry. However, as I might miilake, in
thus talking in a learned ftrain, I will explain
myfelf. By this term regular parelltlifm, my
meaning is, that thcfe combs are too tar diftant
one from the other at top, and that they don't
fall perpendicular; they having left a void fpace, ji^jj,
which the Bees found it neccffiry to fill up with Lett. .\.
an atter-conib.

EUGEN. The term pard'clifm is very juft
on this occafion -, and your obfervation is a new
proof that B.es may commit mlflak"s, and are
able to rccTlify them. Thtfe infvCls, whenever
they begin their combs, form, at the too of

S 3 the

The Natural Hi story

the hive, a fort of hand or foot, t^iat ferves
as a tie or flay to the whole edifice, which is to
hang from it. The Bees, at the fame time that
they lay the foundations of the firft comb, pre-
pare likewife thofe of the fecond. The latter muft
be ufually placed at fuch a diftance from the for-
mer, that both of them falling parallel, no more
fpace muft be left between them, than what is fuf-
ficient for two Bees to pafs. Neverthelefs, they
fometimes happen to miftake, and the fecond
comb is too far diftant from the firft. In order to
recover part of the too great void fpace arifing
from this bad pofition, the Bees carry it on ob-
liquely ; and give it, in proportion as they car-
ry it on, an inclination tending toward the other.
Sometimes the void is fo confiderable, that the
Bees cannot bear with it. They then build a
third between thefe, whofe extent is no larger
than juft to fill up the too great void : they ter-
minate it in that part where the two others leave,
between them, fuch an interval only as may be
proper ; like to that which gives us occafion to
make this remark.

CLAR. I return to the foundation of thefe
edifices which are at top. I am not furprized
that thefe combs fiiould be liable to fall. When-
ever this happens, 'tis as if the whole diftrid: of
a city was to be overturned in an inftant. This
muft be a fort of dreadful earthquake with refpecl
to thefe poor little infedls.

EUGEN.

of B E E S. 263

EUGEN. This calamity, indeed, happens
but too frequently ; on which occafions, a mul-
titude of innocent, diminutive creatures a-
mong them, are killed, ia their cradle, as it were:
However, the Bees do all that lies in their
power to prevent thefe cataftrophes. Though the
cells are formed of exceffively thin wax-leaves,
yet the combs grow heavy when very full of
honey. Their own weight is ftrong enough to
break the ftays or ties by which they are fuf-
pended from the top of the hive. But our artifi-
cers have other methods to fix them -, they multi-
plying the ftays wherever they have an opportu-
nity to do this. You here have a proof of what
I now obfcrve. Thefe fmall bodies of wax, one
end of which flicks to the pane of glafs, and
the other to the comb, are ftays or ties. There
are others of the fame kind on the oppofite fide
of the comb, to fix it to the next ; and by this
contrivance they are all bound one to the other.
Thofe who prepare hives for lodging of Bees, fet
up (crofswilt) in them fmall fticks, which af-
terwards ferve as props •, prevent them from
falling and fave the Bees a great deal of labour.
But 'tis time that we proceed to the royal cells,
to the palaces of the qiieens, a defcription of
which I promifed you. Til firft fliow ycu one,pi.ue IX.
and afterwards argue upon it. D'ye fee tiiis ? ^^S- 3' 4-

CLAR. How! Is this the thing which you^a.
term a queen's palace ^ I fnouki rather call it a
miftiapen lump of wax. Upon my credit, if the

S4 Bees

The Natural H i s T or Y
Bees cut us out work, and puzzle us in geome-
try ; we are even with them, as to architedure.

EUGEN. We are not very fure of this. I
would not venture to cenfure, fo haftily, the figure
or draught of this cell.

CLAR. You may, if you think proper,
confider it, as elegant, light, and well wrought ;
but I imagine you will not attempt to prove,
that there is any thing in it which can be called
defigning.

EUGEN. As we have fomething elfe to do,
I Ihall fay but a word or two upon this queftion.
Geometry is a fcience founded on clear and di-
ftin(5l truths ; or fuch as do not leave us the li-
berty of doubting. Now architefture is a fci-
ence, the principles of which have no other fun-
damental rules than tafte, which has none. Should
you afk me what tafte is ; the only definition I can
give you of it is, that *tis a.je ?w/fai quoi ; a cer-
tain fomething, which pleafes I know not how.
The Chinefe, who agree with us in geometrical
truths, differ from us with refped: to the rules of
architedure. They are not tempted to alter theirs
for ours ; and poflibly we may be the people to
make the exchange, their drawings pleafing us al-
ready. To you the palace of a Queen-bee feems
rude, and mean ; but, did you fee with her
eyes, it doubtlefs would appear to you fpacious,
grand, commodious, and worthy of her majefty.
Let us therefore defcribe this edifice, without criti-
cizing upon it. The Bees depart from their ufual

ftyle

of B E E S. 265

(lyle of building, when they are to raife cells, for
the bringing up of fuch worms as will become
Queen- bees. Thefe are not hexagonal cells, but,
as you fee, in a roundifli oblong form -, having one
end bigger than the other, with their exterior fur-
fice full of little cavities. There is an ornament
called rujlic, in our architeflure, which refembles
this pretty much. The Bees indeed feem, to us,
to attend lefs to beauty and elegance in thefe cells,
than to fohdity : they are fo ftudious with refpeft
to the laft mentioned article, that I don't wonder
you fhould confider them as rude and heavy.
Wax, which is employed with fo geometrical a
thriftinefs, in the raifmg hexagon-J cells, is ex-
pended with profufion in that of the apartments
where the queens are to be brought up. The
Bees are exceflively lavifh, when they are to build
for the grandeur and magnificence of their fove-
reigns.

CLAR. This condufl pleafes me infinitely.
It agrees exadiy with my own fentiments, and
thofe of our countrymen.

EUGEN. Happy the king, happy the peo-
ple where fuch fentiments are reciprocal! — I
weighed one of thefe palaces, one of thefe cells,
(which deferves to be diftinguifhed by the epi-
thet royal) with other cells in the hexagonal
form i and find that the former weighed almofl: as
much as an hundred of the latter. And yet, the
royal cell with which I made the experiment on
this occafion, was not finifhcd •, it not being car-
ried on to its full length, nor was of the largeft

fize.

266 The Natural History

lize. I believe fome of the royal cells weigh as
much as an hundred and fifty common ones.
Does this weight frighten you ?

CLAR. 1 have nothing to objefl to their em-
ploying one hundred and fifty times the quan-
tity of materials, in raifing a Louvre^ than in
building a plebeian houfe ; but they don't feem,
to me, to have chofen a convenient fpot.

EUGEN. I cannot account for their reafons.

But I know that they don*c feem to endeavour to

be thrifty with regard to place, in building a cell

Flat IX wl'^cl^ ^s ^^ (tiiVt as the cradle to a queen. They

J'ig. 4. fometimes fix it, as here, in the very middle of

Lett. A. jj^^ comb. Several common cells are facrificed,

to ferve as a bafis and fupport to it. Generally

the royal cells iflue from the lower end of a

Plate IX. comb. Some of them defcend (in like manner,

?'^* ^" from one of the fides) provided it does not touch

J,ett. a. . . ^ f 1 • r

Ibid. the partitions of the hive. One thing I found

Lett. A A. certain, viz. that their largefi: end is uppermofl ;

and that their length is almoft perpendicular to

the common cells. When a royal cell is only be-

vh\t IX. gun, 'tis pretty much in the figure of a goblet ;

Fig 4- or, more exactly, of the cup in which an acorn

lies. Sometimes the cup has a ftalk, like that

of fruits. But the B:es lefiTen the diameter of the

ctli, in proportion as they lengthen it i they alfo

contracfl it more and more, in fuch a manner that

the lower end may be more taper than the up-

Ibid. per. The lower end they leave open, till the fea-

I-'ig ? Ton for clofing it comes ; which is not till fuch

eu.a,o, j^jp^. ^g ^Yift worm that grew within it is ready

lor

of B E E S. 267

for transformation. The Bees make every one
of thefe diftinguiflied cells fifceen or fixteen lines
in length.

CLAR. I fuppofe you defer, till another
day, the informing me how 'tis poflible for the
Bee to live and fupport itfelf in a cell turned
topfy-turvy, and open at bottom ; how it is kept
from falling out, as well as the pafte or pappy
fubftance.

EUGEN. That you fhall know inftantly.
Firft, the pafte belonging to queens is thicker than
that of the other Bees •, 'tis fcarce fluid ; and is
the lefs fo, as its bed is exceedingly thin. Hence
'tis in no danger of falling from the place in
which it is laid. Secondly, when the worm,
whence a Mother-bee will iflfue, is fmall, 'tis vif-
cous and light enough to be kept and fufpended
in this clammy pafte. In proportion as it grows,
it touches more and more every part of the par-
titions of its cell, and prefles them to the height
in which it is fituated. I obferved to you, that
the diameter of a royal cell always diminifhes
downwards. Confequently , when the worm
takes up the whole diameter of the upper bot-
tom of a cell, it cannot tumble our. To re-
turn to our royal cell. The Bees make it fifteen
or fixteen lines deep. The fuperficics which is as
yet but juft flcetched, and only in form of an
acorn cup, is often fmooth. It afterwards be-
comes rugged, and one would conclude, that the pig. 4.
Bees had carved it into regular compartments. Lccc b, b.
As the fmoothing here gives them little trouble,

and

268 The Natural History

and they employ this fort of work in the other
cells ; we may fuppofe that thefe compartments,
which are an ornament in our architedture, is
likewife confidered as one by the Bees, and that
they add it out of refpedt to their queen.

CLAR. Another thing which puzzles ms
only, ( for I am perfuaded that the Bees extricate
themfelves happily on thefe occafions) is this :
when a royal cell hangs at the bottom of a comb
which is not yet extended to its whole length, how-
do they do to make it longer ? Methinks this
unweildy edifice muft neceflarily give them a
great deal of trouble.

EUGEN. *Tis impoffible to a<fl more dex-
teroufly (and this with the utmoft fimplicity) than
they do. They ftay till the female Bee has left
if, after which they deftroy the royal cell, and
build ordinary ones over i^ But as they leave
the foundations, we plainly fee that part of the
comb where this happened ; it being a little
thicker in this place than any other, and there
appearing a kind of knot upon it. Hence it may
be concluded that, at certain times, we no longer
perceive, in a hive, the royal cells which were in
it at the fpring feafon of the year. Such are the
particulars which experience, and a feries of ob-
fervations have taught us with regard to cells.
'Tis generally fuppofed, that the cells of combs
are the habitations which the Bees build for them-
felves, and that each has its own. This opinion
arifes from its being obferved, at certain times,
that each cell h:is its Bee in ir, where thty lie

3 ^'^^y

of BEES. 269

cafy and motionlefs. But a clofer examination
will difcover, (and for this purpofe our glafs-
hives are vaftly ufeful) that the chief ufe of the
cells is not to afford habitations to the Bees. A
great number of cells contain the young worms,
and fome are flopped up •, and, of thefe, fome
contain nympbtz, and others honey. Others again
which are open, ferve as ftore-houfes for the
crude wax ; as like wife for the honey given as
daily food to fuch Bees as work within ; and
ferve likewife for fuftenance on thofe days when
cold or bad weather prevent the colony from
going out of the hive. Such are the ufes to
which thefe edifices are employed. We mull en-
quire concerning honey and its nature ; and thefe
fhall be the fubjed: of our next converfation here.

CON-

570 The Natural H i s T o r v

CONVERSATION XIII.

Of the origin cf honey \ its gathering in, or

har^ejl : the two Jiomachs of the Bee : the

Jiore-hcufes of honey \ the different qualities of it.

CLARISSA.

A Moment after I had left you yefterday, Eu-
genio, I received a meflage from a lady of
my acquaintance. She fent me word, that being in-
formed of the ftrong defire I had, to inftru<5l my-
felf in the hiftory of Bees, fhe had fent me the
moft compleat treatife ever wrote on this fubjeft.
You will fuppofe that I opened it inftantly with
the greateft eagernefs and curiofity. I read the title,
which is as follows : '^Vhe wonderful government ;
or the commonwealth of Bees *. I prefently ima-
gin'd that your miflion was at an end -, and that
I fhould learn more in this book than you could
teach me ; efpecially as I did not doubt but the^
author, who wrote fince Mr de Reaumur, had
profited by his obfcrvations and experiments.
I thereupon began to perufe it with great eager-
nefs ; efpecially the part relating to the natural
hiftory of Bees. I was not a little furprized to
find that the author, though fo modeft as to apo-
logize

* Le ^ouvernemcnt admirahk \ ctu la refuhJiqugi de; Meilh:.
Paris, chez ThiboiiJ} . '742-

of B E E S. 271

lagize for the defefls which might be found in
hi.s ftyle and erudition ; did not prefer eafy and
unambiguous experiments, when made by clear,
attentive eyes, to his own ideas -, to ideas of
a random kind, and to imaginary principles.

EUGEN. I know this book, and have per-
ufed it. The author appears to me a very ho-
ned, fincere gentleman. Neverthelefs, in mat-
ters relating to phyficks i I mean with regard to
the birth, generation, fexes, i^c. of Bees. I
would advife you to adhere to what Mr de Reau-
mur informs us of this fubjeft. However, you
may keep this book, and place it, in your li-
brary, after the viaifon rujlique (country- houfe).
You there will find many valuable precepts, with
regard to the working (if I may fo term it) of
hives •, but it is not much to be depended upon,
with refpedt to the natural hiftory of Bees. For
inftance, he will teach you how to make good
metheglin or mead with honey ; but then very
few particulars are related, concerning the nature
of honey, its different qualities, its ufes as to life
and health, and the llore-houfes in which the Bees
referve their honey. You may call to mind that
this is to be the fubjed: of our prefent converfa-
tion ; and chance has brought us hither very
apropos. To begin then. It was antiently fup-
pofed, that honey was a dew which fell from hea-
ven ; but this is not the opinion, at leaft of
good writers, in the prefent age , experience
having taught us better. It is found, on the
contrary, that dew and rain are great enemies to

honey ;

272 The Natural History

honey ; that they mix with the honey'd liquor
which liliall fpeak to you of, and corrupt it. It is
the fame as with wax : the Bees colled the materi-
als which form it from flowers ; but then they
fafhion it in their ftomachs, and it there aflumes
the nature of honey. In it's firft ftate, 'tis a fap
or juice digefted and refined in the hollows of
plants ; a juice, which fweats through the pores,
and thickens on the flowers. The Bees don*t
always wait till this fubfl:ance has tranfpired ;
they fetching it from the very refervoirs where
nature flores it. Thefe refervoirs are a fort of
bladders or kernels, plac'd varioufly on flowers
of different kinds. It is but of late years that
botanifts have difcovered them ; but they have
been always known to the Bees. Whenever a
Bfe goes into a flower which has fome of thefe
bladders, or refervoirs, very full of honey*d li-
quor, fhe fometimes finds this liquor in its ftore-
houfes, fometimes fhed upon the leaves, and on
the bottom of the flower. In fpring we perceive
trees, and among others the maple, whofe leaves
are all cover'd with a fort of honey or fugar, and
with which they glitter. Whether this liquor be
in the refervoirs, or iflfued from it, it is the firfl:
fubdance or matter of honty ; it is this which
the Bee goes in fearch of and gathers ; there-
with to compofe a food, proper for the nou-
rilhment of herfelf and her companions. It
would be forming a falfe judgment with regard
to Bees ; and thty would be very unjufhly con-
fidcred as lazy, in cafe, every time we fee them

return

of B E E S. 273

return to the hive, empty footed ; we then fiiould
conclude that they had wing*d their way to the
fields merely for diverfion fake, and to riot on
dainties ; they frequently returning, on thefe oc-
cafions, with a large provifion of honey.

CLAR. I am greatly oblig'd to you, for giv-
ing me an opportunity of retra(5ling feveral er-
roneous opinions I had foVm'd to myfelf with
refpeft to Bees. I had often obferved thefe in-
fers to return empty •, which gave me a mod
unfavourable idea, with regard to their fo much
boafted love for their community. This, indeed,
was a circumftance, concerning which, I in-
tend to enquire of you.

EUGEN. We cannot be miftaken with re-
gard to thofe who colle6l the provifion of wax 5
the two large balls we fee on their legs, being a
teftimony of this. But we cannot difcover, in pjate IIT.
like manner, their provifion of honey, this be-^'S- 3^
ing fhut up in their ftomachs. Many a Bee who
appears light, with refpedl to provifions, is yet
well furnifhed with them. Before I treat of the
manner how this fubftance is converted into true
honey, I muft firft fpeak of the harveft or
provifion made of it. The trunk is the inflru-
ment with which the Bee gathers it. I have no-
thing new to obferve with regard to this organ,
you being acquainted with it ; and knowing that
it is not a pump but a fort of tongue which
laps the liquid, and fucks it in. This I obferved,
but have not yet fhown it you •, and therefore am
tempted to give you this pleafure.

T CLAR.

The Natural H i s t o r y

CI.AR. So, I fuppofe that v/e niuft have re-
coarfe to magnifying glafles. Let us prepare our-
felves then for ogling.

EUGEN. To enable you to fee diftindly the
play of the trunk of a Bee, when fucking in ho-
ney, I have brought this glafs-tube, the diameter
of which is about five lines. I will firfl: rub itr
in the infide, with fome little pieces of honey in
different places ; and this being done, I will
imprifon therein a Bee, whofe captivity will not
leflen his appetite ; and fo far from it, you will
fee her fuck the honey, as it lies in the tube.

CLAR. Whilft you are preparing your tube
and Bee, I will tell you what I am now revol-
ving in my mind ;. a wonderful Circumflance
which merits our utmoft attention.

EUGEN. Nothing that heightens the glory
of the Supreme Being, ought to elcape us.

CLAR. Don't you admire as much as I do,
how a Bee, that is fcarce come out of her cradle,
as it were •, not having feen any objcd, and be-
ing wholly unacquainted with the world ; fliould
yet ilTue from the inmoft gloomy receffes of her
hive, the inftant after her rifmg to exiftcnce ;
and fly direftly to a flower, though three miles
from the place of her abode ; and there be able
to find, in an infl:ant, refervoirs of honey which
the eye of man cannot difcover .?

EUGEN. Your admiration is exceedingly
iuft. No human rcafon, how enlightned and
fagacious foever, comes into the world with fuch
talents. Our infe(^s are a proof, that, if the au-
thor

of B E E S. &7S

thor of their Being has refufed them an under-
ftanding like to that of man ', he has compenfated
for it, by fending them into the world ready in-
ftrufled J and much better inftruded than if he
had left to them (as is done to human creatures)
the care of inftruding themfelves.

CLAR. The Bees may confequently boaft
their enjoying the fingular honour, of learn-
ing from no one except the Creator of the uni-
verfe.

EUGEN. Doubdels. Hence we can no longer
wonder, that thefe infefls fhould know fo many
things which furpafs the limits of our underftand-
ing. Seej our glafs-tube is ready ; and the Bee
in captivity, who is now preparing to fall upon
the honey with which I fmear'd the walls of her
prifon.

CLAR. It is my turn to make obfervationSj
and to inform you of the condu^ of our Bee.
Give me the tube and the magnifying glafs.
The Bee is now before me, in a very advah-
tagious poficion. I perceiv*d, at the very firft
glance, that fhe eats very heartily. But the bu*
finefs is to tell you in what manner fhe does eat ;
how the trunk plays on this occafion ; whether
Ihe chews, fwallows, and fucks. Firfl, I ob-
ferve the trunk lying on the honey •, and the ei:-
tremity of the trunk ftretching beyond the little
honey*d heap. One would even imagine, that
the Bee avoids dipping the extremity in queflioii
into the honey. She turns her trunk in a bow-
form i and it is the mofl convex part of this

T 2 bow.

The Natural History

bow, which fouces and dips itfelf into the li-
quor. The infefl now rubs backwards and for-
wards the glafs with the bow-part of her trunk ;
and, if fhe goes on as (he began, not the leaft drop
of honey will be left. Whata multitude of different
inflexions does flie make with her trunk, and how
wonderfully fwift does Ihe move it up and down ?
One place, I perceive, is well lick*d, and quite
done with ; and fhe proceeds to another. She
now flops again at a fecond diminutive drop of
honey *, Ihe runs the bow-part of her trunk into
it, and draws it back again.

ETJGEN. Obferve, whether

CLAR, Stay, I befeech you : fhould you
interrupt me, I fliall lofe fight of my objed.
Behold flie now raifes her trunk, ftretches it
forth, and draws it in. She throws, from time
to time, the upper furface into a concave form ;
as though fhe would give a flope or bend (to-
wards the head) to the liquor flie has taken in.
Hitherto I have always feen the extremity of the
trunk ; this extremity, in which there would be an
opening if the trunk was a pump, I ever per-
ceived above the honey j and it did not come
rear it. Should any partizan of the old opinions,
now affert, that the trunk is not a tongue which
licks and laps up, but a hollow or gutter pierced
at one end ; you may call me to your affiftance ;
fure of finding in mc, a fecond, who is able to
defend the truth.

EUGEN. I find my own opinion fo flrongly
confirm*d, by what you now fay, that I will not

fcruple

of B E E S. 277

fcruple to affirm, that this trunk is a fecond
tongue, which we might caJl a hairy tongue (it
being cover'd with a great number of bridles)
to diftinguifli it from the flefhy one I fhow'd you
before, which is more like the common tongues.
Now vicwj in large, (as drawn from the micro- Plate XI.
fcope) what you perceived, in the tube, through p§. ^'
the magnifying glafs. You are now convinc'd,
by your own eyes, that it is by thefe various moti-
ons or inflexions that this tongue gets together
the honey'd liquor, and carries it to the mouth.
By repeating this obfervation, you Vv^ill eafily dif-
cover, that it is on the top of the hairy tongue
the liquor pafies ; and that the cafes of the trunk
are not, (perhaps) made fo much to cover it, as
to be as fo many edges or brims, and to form a,
canal for the conveyance of the liquor. It would
argue too much timidity in us, not to venture to
aflfert, that the Bee does not take honey from
flowers, in a different manner from that fpread
on a glafs. The difference which may be is
this i the Bee, when in a flower wherein there is
not honey enough diffufed, employs the ftrong
jaws, which we know they have, to fqueeze open
the bladders containing the honey'd liquor.
This infed can ufe it to very good purpofe, when
it v/ants to hack the paper, which covers your
boxes of fweet-meats, as you yourfelf frequently
complain. Why fliould flie not employ it with
regard to flowers, whenever it may be neceflary
to tear the membranes of which the honey blad-
ders are compofed .? Such is the manner in which

T 3 the

278 The Natural History

the Bees procure the liquor wherewith honey is to
be made. When this liquor, by means of the
trunk, has pafs'd into the ftomach, and con-
tinued fome time there, it comes out from thence
true honey. For we may very naturally con-
clude, that this fubftance does not ifluc from the ^
Bee*s body, fuch as it entered ; but that it is
digefted and concodled there (and this likewife
is the opinion of Swammerdam 0 which is the
reafon of its being thicker when it iffues from
the Bee, than when Ihe took it in. The Bee has
two ftomachs, the one to convert crude wax into .
wax properly fo call*d ; and the other to change
the juice of flowers into honey. I could ihow
you thefe two ftomachs.

CLAR. I fhall be glad to view them, upoa
condition that you won't diflect, for that purpofe,
living Bees. I fuffer*d too much by the cruel
diflcctions of thofe infects, made by you to dif-^
cover their fexes.

EUGEN. YouMl find that I intended not to
give you the leaft pain, fince I have brought
this draught with me, wherein you will perceive
thefe two ftomachs very diftinctly. 'Twere need-r
lefs to obferve, that this figure is larger than the
life, and was drawn from the reprefentation feen
in the microfcope. I'll now explain the feveral
parts of it to you. A is the anui^ C the end of
the corjelel, or that part where the breaft ends.
My defign is to fhow you all that lies between
them, I mean the part call'd the Bee's /r//v,
whence I have taken oflf all the fcaly part from

the

of B E E S. 279

the rings which cover'd it. The conduit or
gutter fignified by the Letters V V, beginning by
a neck and ending with a thick belly, in form of
a bottle, is the Bee's ftomach. The neck of this
ftomach is a continuation of what we call the
gullet^ or conduit for food \ the fwelTd part is the
true ftomach, as we fee it when quite full of
honey. The other conduit contiguons to it, di-
vided by rings like a barrel, and diftinguifh'd by
the letter E, is the fccond ftomach, or laboratory
for crude wax. The honey-ftomach is not always
fo turgid as you perceive it on this occafion ; and
'tis not lb eafily difcover'd when empty. For
this reafon I have made a feparate drauo^ht of
the fame parts taken out of the belly. S is the phte XI.
neck or gullet •, and, if you permit me to ufe ^'S- 4-
the technical term, Oefophagos. V is the honey-
ftomach, which, as you may perceive, is very
fmall, as there is little food in it. Next is the
ftomach of crude wax, which you'll difcover
eafily by its rings. The part reprefented by the
letter T, is a fort of net- work or fringe of yellow
veflels, in that part where the fccond ftomach
joins wiih the inteftines. I is the laft inreftine,
in which crude wax is frequently found, as like-
wife in the ftomach, but never honey. A is the
anus. Thcfe particulars being known, you'll
eafily underfrand the reft. The Orfophagos throws
the honey received by it into the hrft ftomach,
which is more or lefs fwell'd, according to the
greater or lefs quantity contain'd in ir. When
quite empty, it feems only a white, fine thread -,
T 4 but

The Natural History

but when well fill'd with honey, 'tis fhaped like
a bladder, with which children who live in the
country are perfectly well acquainted, and are
very fond of

CLAR. *Twas therefore after fuch bladders
that a little brother of mine us'd to ramble for-
merly, and which he was very dextrous in pro-
curing. He has regal'd me very often with
them, at the time that we were both children.

EUGEN. 'Tis particularly in the bodies of
large honey drones that the largefl: bladders are
found ; and children hunt more eagerly after fuch,
than thofe of the Bees.

CLAR. The Bees, confequently, owe their
fecurity to the little riches poflefs'd by them.

EUGEN. Every flower furnifhes the Bee
with only a very fmall quantity of this liquor ;
Ihe being oblig'd to travel over many, one after
another, before ihe has taken all the quantity into
her firft ftomach, that it is capable of corl-
taining.

CLAR. We have not found Ariflotle or
Pliny in an error this long time. Have they
made no mention of the feveral particulars you
have pointed out, and inflruded me in .?

EUGEN. We need not go hirther, in order
to find, in the former, fubjeds for cenfure. Ac-
cording to him, the fame Bee does not go from
one flower to another of an oppofite kind ; he
does not go from a violet, for inftance, to a
primrofe ; but always from one violet to another,
from a lilly to a lilly, and from a rofe to a rofe.
I But

of BEES. 281

Bat I have often feen Bees fkud away, like butter-
flies, from flower to flower, without once regard-
ing the fpecies. However this be, as foon as the
infed has filled her ftomach with a fufficient
quantity of honey, Ihe returns to her hive. The
infl:ant Ihe is enter'd it, fhe feeks a cell in which
fhe may difgorge and depofit the materials
brought by her. This leads us to inquire into
the magazines or ftore-houfes of honey. We
are now coming to a wonderful article relating to
the polity of our little infeds, and which certainly
deferves your enquiry. Figure to yourfelf a city,
all the inhabitants whereof work only for the
general utility ; where each individual is diligent
and faithful in carrying to the publick fl:ore-
houfes, the harvefl: of the day ; contenting itfelf
with taking juft what may be neceflary for its
own fupport ; where the people fl:ore up, not
only for the time prefent, but likewife for futurity \
where rcpofitories are found ever full, and always
open for daily fubfiftance ; repofitories fecure-
ly fhut up and feal*d for winter, and feafons of
fcarcity.

CLAR. You put me in mind of a little
fable I read formerly, which appeared very
prettily work'd up, and to the following purpofe.
The wafps and hornets, once upon a time, form'd
a kind of mercantile fociety together ; and pro-
pos'd, to the tenants of a Bee- hive, the flocking
of their flore-houfes •, they engaging to keep thefe
granaries perpetually full, and well provided
with crude wax and honey ; which is as if we

were

282 The Natural H i s T o r y

were to fay, with regard to mankind, well
ftock*d with corn and wine. The Bee-fenatc
being met, a hornet, an eloquent fpeaker, dif-
play*d before the afiembly the mighty advantages
which would accrue to the former from thefe pro-
pofals. He laid a ftrefs, efpecially, on the
numberlefs cares and difquietudes which the Bees
would be freed from by this means ; that they
might fweetly fleep away the whole morning,
and fpare themfelves long and painful journies.
Accordingly an inftrument wa^ drawn up ; and
the Bees abandoned to the new-comers the pro-
vifions already made, upon condition of being
afterwards nourifhed by them. However, at the
expiration of the year, the wafps and hornets
difappear*d ; and, with them, the honey and crude
wax ', they leaving only empty granaries, and the
Bees fadly lamenting their folly.

EUGEN. I don't doubt but that a proper ap-
plication may have been made of this fable. But to
return to the general utility : this forefight of the
Bees is known to all perfons, who, at the fame time
that they are raised to admiration applaud thefe
infecTts highly on this acconnt. But what men
imitate them ? Many from a principle of avarice,
and few from a view of ferving the public. But
kt us leave moralizing, and refume our fubjed:.
'lis on the brink or edge of one of the cells
whofe turn it is to be fill*d, that the Bee which
comes back from the fields, (tops • fhe then
thrulls her head in, and foon pours into it all the
liquor brought by her. Mr, Maraldi obfcrved

very

of B E E S. * 283

.very juftly, that the part by which {he difcharges
the honey from her body, is over the trunk, arid
very near to the teeth ; or, in other words, that
the honey ifTues through the opening which we
call the Mouth. In order that the firfl: ftomarh
of a Bee may throw out the honey contained
in it, it mud have the power of contrading itfelf
fucceflively and alternately, in different parts ;
and it is endued with fuch a facuky. This is
aflerted by me, becaufe I have made fuch an ob-
fervation on feveral living Bees, which I open*d
for that purpofe. A cell is very capacious, with
r'fpedt to the quantity of honey which a Bee can
pour into it at one time ; and, for this reafon
feveral Bees come, one after another, and dif-
gorge what they gather'd and prepar*d, before
one cell can be compleatly fill'd.

CLAR. Do they quite fill their cell with
honey ?

EUGEN. Methinks I guefs the reafon of
your alking this queflion. You cannot fo well
ronceive, how 'tis poffible to quite fill, with a
fluid, a goblet or cup turn'd on one fide : for
we may look upon cells as little cups or pots
lying in that pofition.

CLAR. I really could not conceive how this
was done.

EUGEN. There arc two ways of filling
them. The one relates to thofe which (land
always open •, the other to fuch as are to be clos'd.
We may prefently fee the manner how tlie Bees
fill the for.mer. I peiccivc, in our hive, ap^^^^ y.
3 comb Fig W

284 The Natural History

comb placed very favourably for that purpofe.
'Tis, as you fee, fet againft one of the glafs
panes -, and the cells contiguous to it are mutilated
ones, whereof the glafs makes part of the par-
titions, and ferves inftead of two of their faces.
The tranfparent partition, or glafs, gives us ah
opportunity of feeing the honey contained in it,
and the manner in which it is lodg'd. Here's a
Plate X. ^^^^ half full. Obferve that this laft lay of honey,
Fig- 2. that furface towards its entrance, may be eafily
"^ ^' diftinguifh'd from the reft j it looking like cream
over milk ; a thick lay. *Tis exaftly the fame
in all honey-cells, whether they have a fmall
or great quantity in them. This lay, by its
thicknefs and confidence, makes a fort of lid or
cover, which keeps in the honey, and prevents
its running off. We may call this cover a
catara^y as it performs the ofEce of thofe flood-
gates which keep in the water.

CLAR. This contrivance is excellent ; yet
this does not quite remove all my doubts. I am
ftill puzzled to know how it will be poffi-ble to
fill this cell. Does every Bee, in proportion as
fhe brings new honey, beat down the cataract F
Does fhe put a new one in its place ? Is a new one
made by the infefV, every time fhe brings in
honey .?

EUGEN. I am not furprized that, notwith-
ftanding all your good fenfe and penetration, you
have not been able to difcover the plain and inge-
nious contrivance they have found, in order to
fill, by infenfible degrees, a whole cell ; by ftill

employ-

of B E E S. 285

employing the fame catarad, without being
obliged to deftroy it, when new provifion is to
be brought in. A man, in order to dilcover this,
muft have feen it, and have learnt thepradtice from
the Bees themfelves. Thefe infedls have a thoufand
ingenious contrivances, which aftonifli us, when
we have once found them j and after we have
tortur'd our imaginations, to difcover the manner
in which they a6t on thefe occafions ; if we only
view them at work, we are furprized to find that
there is the greateft fimplicity in all their opera-
tions. This is jull the cafe here. A Bee, who
enters a cell half fill'd with honey which is kept
in by a catarad, and wants to add to it the new
provifion brought in by her, lays under this
cataracl or honey'd cruft, the two ends of her Plate X.
fore- legs i then bringing her head near to this '^^^ -^' ^
opening, Ihe throws in all the honey fhe was
fill'd with. But before fhe withdraws, fiie mends
with her legs the little opening made by her.
Every drop of honey which each Bee brings, in- -
creafes the mafs ; and this, when enlarg*d, forces
the cataradt forward. As a thoufand things in-
tervene in this way of fiiowing or heaping up the
honey, inafmuch as the cataracb may be brought
more eafily backward or forward ; for this reafon
the catarad is never perpendicular, but always
floping. Among the cells fill'd with honey,
fome are to flirnifli the quantity defign'd for the
daily fuftenance of the Bees -, and others to pre-
ferve that which is to fupport them during a
feafon, when it would not be pofllble for them

to

286 The Natural History

to meet with any upon the plants. Even during
thofe months in which the moft abundant harveft
might be gather'd, there are fonie days when
the perpetual rains, or colds too violent for the
fcafon, confine the Bees to their hives. 'Tis then
they have recourfe to the honey, which they in-
tended fnould be firft confum'd. Thofe whofe
toils prevented their ftirring out, and to whom
the honey nccefliiry for their fupport, was not
prefented time enough by fuch as brought fome
from the fields ; the labouring Bees, I fay, go
to thefe cells, and take from thence what they
want •, but they never eat (except in feafons of
great neccflity, and during a real famine) the
honey contain'd in a great number of cells, eafily
diftinguifh*d from the reft •, I mean thofe we
term*d fhut or clos'd ftore-houfes. When once,
Clariila, you are told the manner in which Bees
build their cells ; you will not be puzzled to know
how they clofe them. This is done only by a
plate of flat wax, with which they fhut the en-
trances. The fame objeclion you ftarted, with
refpeft to the honey kept in the cells which ftood
open, occurs here. How will it be poflible to
fill a pot lying fide-ways, with a fluid,
and dole it afterwards ? Tho' honey is a fluid,
'tis yet not fo much fo as water ; it having
a confiftency which prevents its running oflT ©n a
fudden •, and efpecially, when contain'd in a
veflTel fo narrow as a cell is, it can fuftain itfelf
there fo long a time as is requifite for giving the
Bee an opportunity of taking all the precautions

neceflTary

of B E E S. 287

neceflfary for fecuring the honey laid up by her.
This catarad or honey 'd cruft, which is thicker
than the other parts, is brought infenfibly to the
brink or edge of the cell ; and when the Bee
perceives that the veflei is as full as it can hold,
fhe then railes up its fmall cover or lid of wax.

CLAR. Of what ufe is this little cover of
wax, fince the cataraft alone is fufficient to keep
in the honey, and prevents its running out ?

EUGEN. The Bees did not let me into the
reafon of this, but we may eafily guefs at it.
Honey, when expos'd to the air, thickens
and grows rough, hard and feedy. Now all
honey kept in open cells, would become fuch
before the end of winter. The heat, which
is confiderable, found in a hive, might in a few
months caufe the greateft part of the liquor to
evaporate, to which its fluidity is owing ; where-
by the infe£ls would lofe the benefits that muft
naturally accrue from their oeconomy and pro-
vident care. Aliments, if intended to be kept
long, mufl be fhut up. The cataraft would not
be an obftacle fufficient to prevent the air from
afting on the honey •, but the fmall waxen in-
clofure feals the veffel hermetically ; and by this
means the honey may be ever preferved frefh and
fluid, fo long as may be neceflfary.

CLAR. I wiOi there was writ over the door
of every hive, an infcription, in large characters,
to the following purpofe : Counfel and advice to all
'who pafs by. Here are given rules^ with regard to
prudence and governrjtenty for preventing a dearth.

This

288 The Natural History

This advice being repeated fo often as men fhould
call their eyes on Bee-hives, would perhaps make
them, at laft, firmly refolve to fecure themfelves
from the moft dreadful of all calamities,

EUGEN. This is excellent advice ♦, but we
mufb add to it the flible of the wafps and hornets.

CL AR. Thus Bees furnifh us with various and
very important bleffings. The obfervance of pru-
dent rules may ward ofFthe moft dreadful of evils,
and fupply us with an agreable food. Being fond
of honey, and its tafte pleafing me exceedingly,
I fhould be glad to know how far you think it
may conduce to health.

EUGEN. I will not pretend to advife you in
an art of which I have but a very imperfeft
knowledge. But I'll here give you the fubftance
of what two of our moft eminent phyficians,
Meflieurs Hecquet and Andry^ have wrote on this
article. The antients call'd honey a gift of the
gods i a celeftial dew, an emanation from the
ftars : it ferved them inftead of fugar, which
was unknown in thofe ages. They confidercd
honey as an antidote, a panacea, or univerfal
remedy ; and imagin'd it capable of preferving
from corruption, and of prolonging life. Hero-
dotus fpeaks of a cook who, in order to preferve
his viands from corruption, employ'd only honey
for that purpofe. Many fages, as Pythagoras,
Democritus, ^c. fed on nothing but bread and
honey ; from a perfwafion that this was an in-
fallible fecret for lengthening their days, and
for maintaining their mind and fenfes in full

of B E E S. 289

vigour. Auguftus having one day afked PoUlo,
by what fecret he had arrived to fo vigorous an
old age ; he replied, that he had fed upon honey
and rubb*d himfelf with oil. In fine, theantients
imagined they perceived fomething divine in
honey •, whence it was confidered as a venerable
and facred food.

CLAR. I am well pleafed with myfelf, for
agreeing in opinion with the antients ; and fancy
that, had I lived then, I Ihould have turned
Pythagorean merely thro' luxury.

EUGEN. I advife you at this time of day,
for your health-fake, to copy another feet among
the modern philofophers : for this food, fo
wholefome and delicious to our anceftors, is no
longer fo with regard to us. This gift of the
gods, this celeftial dew is now very much neg-
lected, and left to the poor. If the apothecaries
furnifh their fhops with it it, 'tis only to apply it
to a ufe diametrically oppofite to that of the
antients, or at moft tor ptifans. And, indeed,
it mufl be own*d, that it now fuits few confticu-
tions. Honey heats and dries, in v/hat manner
foever taken, whether by way of food, op as
feafoning. It fuits none but phlegmatic conftitu-
tions-, old men, or thofe who, by ficknefs or
other caufes, abound in grofs, vifcous humours.
But perfons of a bilious complexion, according
to the two phyficians above-mentioned, ought not
to ufe it.

CLAR. How can it be pofiible, that what

was fo good and falutary with regard to the health

U of

290 The Natural History

of our anceftors, fhould be fo pernicious in this
age j or, at lead be abandoned as of no benefit.
Is it the men, or the Bees, who have changed
their nature ?

EUGEN. This is owing, according to Dr.
Hecquer, to our different manner of living :
this phyfician declares that mankind, in the pre-
fent age, are more gluttenous •, and that ragoos
(our perpetual food) give the blood a continual
tendency to inflammation ; that the mod ordinary
food is degenerated from its anticnt fimplicity *,
that honey, being filled with volatile particles,
finds the blood often too bilious, lively, and in-
clined to fermentation.

CLAR. Thus I am fentenced to abflain from
honey, merely becaufe I don't live after the man-
ner of our good forefathers.

EUGEN. That's according as you are phleg-
matic or bilious.

CLAR. Methinks I am rather phlegmatic.

EUGEN. You may then, according to Dr.
Hecquet, continue the ufe of it. By the way,
notwithftanding the veneration due to the memo-
ry of this illuitrious phyfician, we yet may con-
clude, that he amplifies a little in his decifions a-
gainft honey. I myfelf fhould be apt to join
with the multitude, who look upon it, when of
a good fort, as wholefome food enough. Since
therefore you are fo fond of it -, and can run no
rifle, if I miftake nor, in continuing to ufe it,
(during ficknefs excepted ;) it may be be proper to
inform you of what is obferved in general, on

this

of E E E g. §9t

this kind of food. Some countries are more fa-
voured by nature than others, with regard to ani-
mals and vegetables of every kind. The antients
had a particular efteem for the honey of Attica j
that of Hymettus was famous, and has been fre-
quently fung by the greateft poets. The beft
honey in France (we are told) comes froni Nar-
bonne; or rather Corbiere, a fmall town nine
miles from that city. This honey is white, light,
delicate, fragrant ; and has fomething aromatic
in its tafte.

CLAR. I ufe this honey much more than any
other.

EUGEN. And 'tis the very honey we are
fpeaking of, which Dr. Hecquet declares to be
the moft prejudicial of any^ becaufe of its good
qualities.

CLAR. Your phyficians are a ftrange fort
of people, and fond of contradidioh.

EUGEN. The phyfician juft mention'd has
reafon on his fide. He tells us, that as honey
abcunds -with 'volatile f articles^ *iis therefore more
apt to he carried along by the rapidity of an intem-
perate bloody and e-jer ready to ferment. This
agreeable taile, which makes it be preferred to all
others, is owing to the aromatic plants, ( fuch as
rofemary and balm) with which the neighbour-
hood of Corbiere abounds. 'Tis certain than
tafte is a very bad judge, vvith regard to the
v/holtrfomenefs of aliments. Whenever, there-
fore, you would have recourfe to honey, you muft
prefer the new to the old ; that of fpring or furn-
U 2 mer.

The Natural History

mer, to the honey produced in autumn *, the
white to the yellow ; that which froths but little
in boiling, to the other which froths much ; the
honey which is fwcetly-fower, to that wholly
fweet J finally, the honey whence a gentle fmell
is emitted, to that which is too ftrong •, the lat-
ter being commonly adulterated. All kinds of
honey are confequently not indifferent, and fome
may even be vaftly pernicious ; and of this we
have"/o very memorable a ftory, in Xenophon,that
I cannot forbear relating it. This famous author,
in his hiftory of the retreat of the ten thoufand,
informs us, that his foldiers being arrived near
Trebizond, lound a great number of hives; and
were not fparing of the honey. Immediately
they were feized with a purging both upwards
and downwards, and grew light-headed ; info-
much that fuch as efcaped beft, rcfembled men
intoxicated with liquor ; and others, frantic or
dying perfons. The ground was then covered
with bodies, as after a battle ; neverthelefs not a
foldier died, and the diflemper ceafed, on the
morrow, at the very fimc hour it began •, fo that
the men rofe up the third and fourth day -, but
exadly like perfons who had taken a very flrong
dofe of phyfic, Mr. de Tournefort, that cele-
brated botanift, who vifitcd this place, in his
voyage to the Levant, is of opinion ; that the
plant whence the Bees extradled fo noxious a fort
of honey, is one of the fpecies called, by the
botanifts, Cbamcsrododaidros.

CLAR.

of B E E S. 293

CLAR. I fiippofe you won*t defire me to get
this name by heart ?

EUGEN. I Ihall not, provided you don't
infift upon my procuring you a fight of this plant •,
for, very happily, none of it grows in our
country.

CLAR, Since it is found that various plants
give different taftes and qualities to honey, fome
of which are noxious and others falutary ; have
not men fludied which of them are moft fui-
table ?

EUGEN. This fhall be mentioned, when we
come to the government of hives. I will only
obferve (by the v/ay) that I endeavoured to try,
whether it were not pofTible to make Bees pro-
duce a honey, more poinant in tafte than the
bed honeys we are acquainted with ; one that
fnould come nearer to the tafte of fugar. For
this purpofe, I gave my Bees an opportunity of
carrying fugar, inftead of honey, into their hives ;
during a feafon, when they could fcarce get food
enough for themfelves in the fields. I lodged a
fmall commonwealth of Bees in a glafs-hive ;
near which ftood always a plate, wherein was
fugar, diluted by water, to the confiftency of
fyrop. The infecls, who before the abovemen-
tioned fupply, would have been forced to make
far diilant excurfions, which had produced them
very lirde ; took up with the liquor that was fo
near at hand, and in fufficient quantity. Ac-
cordingly my Bees made fmall honey-combs ; .
and, fome days after, moft of the cells of one of
U 3 thefe

294 '^^^ Natural History

thefe combs was filled with honey. Immediately

I took away this comb, containing the honey,

which I imagined would be quite fugary. Its

tafte, indeed, was more poinant than that of

ordinary honey ; but I afterwards found a more

eflential difference between them, which is, that

though I have kept the honey in queftion four

years, 'tis no ways feeded, as common honey

is ; but continues clear, tranfparent •, fluid as at

firft, and does not thicken like the true honey.

I muft tell you that I have feen Bees, in a feafon

when they could get honey enough from the fields,

defpife powder'd fugar , with which I filled

plates, and fet near to very populous hives.

Honey differs ftill more in colour than in tafte.

The whiteft is moft efteemed, and to this,

time gives a yellowifh tinge. Some is naturally

more or lefs yellow. I oblerved one fort, whofe

colour was much more fingular ; I never meeting

with any, except that time, of this hue. This

honey appeared fo very green in the cells, that

one would have thought it had been filled with

the juice of the greenefl herbs. Farther, its

tafte was more agreeable than that of the honey

ufually met with. Neverthelefs, this honey which

appeared fo very green in the cells, was but of

a flight, greenifh caft, wfien laid in vefTels of

white glafs.

CLAR. But, Eugenio, this green honey
muft be a very great rarity. I'll certainly pro-
cure fome, though I fhculd be obliged to fet all
the peafants of my village at work for that
punpofc.

F.TinF.M.

of B E E S.

EUGEN. Is ir, Clarifla, the greenefs of
this honey, or its being more exqulfite to the
tafte, that excites your curiofity ?

CLAR. 'Tis becaufe it is fo very feldoni
found. You have not given a Joofe to your cri-
ticifms this long time -, and, very luckily, you
now fet about it late, and at an hour when we
muft part. Being naturally good natured, I ihall
excufe this little fling ; upon condition that I an-
fwer it at a proper opportunity. In cafe you
have any thing farther to inform me of with re-
gard to honey, it muft be poftponed to another
time.

EUGEN. I have told you every thing I
know concerning this fubjeft. Hitherto we have
examined the materials ; or, if you like the term
better, all the utenfils relating to a hive ; every
thing which concerns the building of the little
edifices; their form, and their ufes ; the origin
and quality of the food of Bees ; with their man-
ners and inclinations. We next muft examine their
way of living •, and, as it were, their domeftic
life ; from the fettlement of one fwarm, to the
going out of another.

295

V 4 CON-

The Natural History

CONVERSATION XIV.

Of the labours and occupations of Bees in the

hive.

CLARISSA.

Ethinks, Eugenic, I have already hinted,
that the circumftance which gives me
moft delight, in the perufal of hiftories and tra-
vels, is to inform myfelf of the interior of men ;
to look (according to the common phrafe) into
their fouls •, to learn their manners, cuftoms, ge-
nius, talents, way of life, and even their do-
mcftic concerns. Thefe particulars are infinitely
more entertaining to me, than thofe of their
wars and conquefts.

EUGEN. 'Tis from this part of hiftory that
perfons, in our ftation, may acquire fuch know-
ledge as is of greateft advantage to us. Battles,
fieges, the condufl of armies, marches, retreats,
ravages, burnings ; the laying wade of provin-
ces, the fubverfion of monarchies ; all thefe, I
lay, are incidents whence we cannot reap any in-
flrudion : the moft they can do, is to excite our
wonder or compafTion, and too often our indig-
nation ; they being quite different from any
thing which happens in our own families, and
the focieties of which we are memibcrs. But the
care which parents took, in the reign of Cyrus,
I with

of B E E S. 297

with regard to the education of youth ; that love
for our country, of which the Romans have given
us fo many and fuch rare examples ; the frugali-
ty of the Scythians •, the modefty, fo dear to the
Chineze ; the franknefs and fincerity, for which
the Swifs- Cantons defer ve fo much applaufe ; the
fobriety of the Turks : In a word, the perpetual
labour ; the love for the public good ; theoecono-
my, vigilance, and forefight of the Bees; their
tendernefs, and the reverence they fhew to their
fbvereign ; all thefe afford us ufeful inflrufbions,
and examples fit for our imitation. The life led
by the Bees is almofl a treatife of morality.

CLAR. You have fuggeiled to me a fcheme,
for the executing of which your alTiftance will be
necellary. If v/e omit certain particulars in the
life led by Bees, which are not very proper for us
to copy ; there -would be enough left for us to
draw up (from thence) a little book on this fub-
jeft, under the following title : The hijiory of the
Bees, defigned for the inJlru5iion of youth,

EUGEN. We'll fet about it whenever you
pleafe. In the mean time, I'll proceed in in-
forming you of what I have to fay farther, with
regard to their adions. I cannot finifh the rela-
tion of the feveral things done in a hive, ( from
the fettlement of one fwarm, to the iffuing out
of another) without repeating feveral articles par-
ticularized by me before. But this I'll do as fuc-
cindlly as pcfTible, in order that my repetitions
may be lefs tedious. Our converfation, agreea-
bly to the plan I this day laid down, (hall relate

to

298 The Natural History

to the labours afid employments of Bees, and this
in the (hortefl: compafs as I can. The inftant a
Iwarm is fixed in a hive ; when its government
is once (o well fettled, that the Bees are certain
of poffefling a fruitful and only queen -, the three
kinds of Bees devote themfelves refpedtively, to
the feveral functions for which nature defigned
them. The labourers divide the work between
them. Some fly to the fields, there to feek for
wax proper for building cells ; others get virgin-
wax, to flop the chinks and holes in the hives:
thefe feveral materials they bring to the common
habitation, and give them to other Bees, who in-
flantly hafle and apply them to their proper ufes.
Whilfl this is doing, other Bees go to the repofi-
tory of honey, whence they firfl take ( as it is
jufl they fliould) fo much as may fufHce for their
own nourilliment -, and carry the overplus to feed
fuch as are working within, and to fill their flore-^
houfes. Whilft the labourers are thus bufied,
either in building flore-houfes, and filling them
with provifions, or in making cells to receive the
expefted pofterity •, the Mother- bee is employed,
on the other hand, in propagating the fpecies :
and is wholly taken up with fkudding from cell
to cell, in every one of which fhe drops an egg.
She fometimes begins to lay, on the very mor-
row after her arrival in the new hive. The la-
bourers have enough to do, to provide her, du-
ring thefe firfl days, with cells fufficiently to lay
her eggs in. "Whilfl fhe is engaged in this im-
portant occupation, flie is not once left by her

little

of B E E S. 299

little court. You may call to mind that the oc-
cupations of this little court are, to prcfcnt their
queen with honey j to clean her •, to footh, and
do her all the kind offices which a good mother
may juftly expe(5t from tender and affeflionate
children ; and, in fine, to divert her from all
fuch cares, as might interfere with that which
Ihe herfelf only can difcharge.

CLAR, 'Tis really bufinefs enough, to be
deftin'd to bring forth tv/o hundred children
daily ; and therefore *tis fit /lie fliould have fe-
male attendants, to look to her perfon.

EUGEN. Whilft that the Bees are building
cells, and the queen gives them hopes of having a
numerous pofterity -, the males or drones make a
proper ufe of the fix weeks, or thereabouts, of
life allowed them ; computing from the day on
which the colony was fettled. The fole employ-
ment of thefe (after that to which the queen thinks
proper to admit them) is to eat, drink, flcep and
make merry. Their time being expired, they
then will be exnrpated, either by death or a pre-
cipitate flight, to which they are fentenced. The
toils, the provifions, the harvefls, the care of
their habitation relates not to them •, this being
the bufinefs of the artificers to whom I return.
Scarce hns beautiful Aurora darted her firft rays
and gilded the horizon, but the B^e, ever in-
duftrious and an early infedl, is on her feet, and
foon upon the wing. ' Tis a pleafure to (land, at
day-break, before the mouth of a hive ; and to be-
hold the joy and fprightlinefs with which this di-
minutive

300 The Natural History

minutive people leave their gloomy manfion,
where they had paft the night, and fly into the
fields. In an inftant the whole air is filled with
them. Which way foever you direfl your eye,
every Bee has her flower, whofe fweets flie rifles.
During the months of April and May, our la-
bourers work incefl'antly, from morning to even-
ing. No time is lofl: in the fpring •, for that fea-
fon being mild and favourable, our infe<5ls make
a proper advantage of ir.

CLAR. An excellent leflbn for youth, who
imagine tlj^atthe fpringof life was defigned for no-
thing but pleafure.

EUGEN. Bjt aflfoon as the months of June
and July are come, and the violent heats of fum-
mer begin to be felt ; the greatefl: toil is, from
the dawn till about ten a clock. 'Tis not but
that we always meet with fome, who, fired by a
Jove of labour or that of their community, work
in the hotteft part of the day, and return loaded
with booty i but the number of thefe, in compa-
rifon of the whole colony, is inconfiderablc.

CLAR. You would make me apt to fancy
that there are among Bees, as among mankind,
fome conftitutions more robufl, and more inured
to toil than others ; that there are Egyptians and
Ethiopians among thefe infcds, with regard to
- whom the burning rays of the fun are but a mo-
derate heat ; and, at the fame time. Frenchmen
and Germans, who don*c chufe to leave their tem-
perate Zone.

EUGEN.

of BEES. 301

KUGEN. I v/ould not have you confider
thefe particulars in this light. There are indeed
Bees in all nations. The Ruffians have colonies
of thefe as well as the Egyptians. The fun,
who fcorches the Lybian plains, fees fleets of
Bees failing up and down the Nile -, and, on the
other hand, the air of Ruffia, though fo piercing-
ly cold, does not drive away thofe with which
their forefts are peopled. What I mean is this.
The Bees would doubtlefs meet with as much
duft (on flowers) at noon, as they would find in
the morning. Thefe particles, when dried by
heat, might be more eafily taken off-, but then
it does not fuit a Bee's purpofe to gather them
when they are too dry, becaufe they could not
cafily unite them together, and form a mafs of
the whole. This may be done much eafier, at a
time that the particles in qu^rftion are fl:ill moiftned
by the dews that fell in the night ; or by the
fluid which tranfpired through them. Such Bees,
therefore, who bring back pellets of wax at noon,
had met with them in wet and fhady places ; the
flowers growing in which are as moifl: and frefh,
during the hottefl: part of the day, as others in
the cool of the morning. 'Tis true indeed, that,
at the beginning of a fetdement, the harvefl: or
provifions are got in at any hour: be the heat
ever fo violent, wax, crude-honey and virgin-
honey, mull be procured ; and for this reafon,
as I obferved, becaufe their v/ork, during this
infancy of things, requires the utmoft difpatch.
'Tis their bufinefs, at thefe feafons, to fubfifl:, to

lodge,

302

The Natural History

Jodge, to Ihelter themfelves ; and make cradles
or repofitories for their younglings, whofe birth
is at hand j four exceedingly important articles,
which cannot admit of the leaft: delay. And ac-
cordingly, on thefe occafions, our infeds fpare
neither pains nor fatigues to procure themfelves
the requifite neceffaries ; a Bee docs not repine at
a journey, though of a league, merely to gathet
a pellet of wax, no bigger than a pin's head.
But when the community are once fettled to their
wiflies, the purveyors make choice, for the get-
ting in provifions, of fuch times and feafons aS
luit them.

CLAR. I applaud them for it ; and would
not have any one be more lavjlh of his toils, than
of his repofe. Is it not during thefe long excur-
fions, that the Bees have recourfe to contrivanccj
which I have often heard mentioned ? I meart,
to take up a little ftone between their legs, and
fly with it ; in order that their bodies, by be-
coming thus weightier, may be hfs buffeted bjr
the winds.

EUGEN. You'll foon be fatisfied in this par-
ticular, when I fhall have told you how they ad: in
bad weather. The feafon is now very beautiful,
the heat is temperate enough, our hives are well
fl:ock'd,and our Bees lively and at high work. You
may perceive, at their doors, a concourfe of in-
fers, greater than that of men in fuch places as
are moll: frequented. Some are returned from
the fields, laden with materials and provifions ;
whilft others are upon the wing, in queft of the

like

of B E E S. 303

like things. You fee them now wholly em-
ployed in going backward and forwards ; but
then the feafon is, at intervals, fo variable, that
it will not always permit them to do this. It
fometimes happens, at a time when the Bees
are very afllduous and bufy, that they ceafe their
work on a fudden, and not a fingle Bee ftirs
out ; on the contrary, you perceive them hurry-
ing back in, on which occafion the crowds are
fo prodigious, that the doors are too Imall for
them. Now, whenever you perceive fo uncx-
pedted a return, look up to the fky, and you'll
foon difcover the caufe why the infeds came
home fo very abruptly ; you'll perceive fome o^
thofe little black clouds, which denote im-
pending rain. Whether the Bees judge, as we
do, of thefe clouds from their eye •, or are in-
formed of their approach, by fome fcnfe of
which we have no idea ; they generally anticipate
a ftorm , and fheker themfelves. However,
fome of them always fall a vicftim to their
feeblenefs ; or, hurried away by a pafiion for
booty, are carried off by the ftorm, and periih
in it. But the Bees, in general, forefee rain j and
avoid it by returning home as faft as pofTible,
or by taking fhelter under the leaves. 'Tis thefe
tempeftuousfeafons which made Ariftotle, Pliny,
and fome other authors fancy, that Bees h^A
found an expedient to fecure themfelves from
the violence of the wind ; and that , to
prevent their being its foort, they ufcd to bal-

3 ' '^ft

304 The Natural History

laft themfelves, ( as it were ) before they fet
out upon their flight, with a fmall Itone placed
between their legs. A Bee's life abounds with
fo many things purely miraculous, that there is
no occafion for us to employ fid ion to enrich it.
The article, of the very fmall flones, is a mere
flory -, the Bees never employing any fuch for
the purpofe here mentioned.

CLAR. Methinks, Eugenio, you are too
hafty in your aflTertions : for I can aflure you,
that the fuperintendant of my hives (you know
this is old James) affirmed this to me, as faft,
and declared that he himfelf had been eye-witnefs
to it. As he was one day walking in my garden
with me, he took up a Bee which laid dead at
my feet. He then fhewed me the little flone,
with which it had been freighted, lying betwixt
its legs.

EUGEN. Old James may ferve to convince
you, that all people have not eyes ; and that
many who affirm, / hiive feen, ought not to be
credited the more on this account. Had the
honeft old fellow clapt his fpedacles upon his
nofe, and furvey'd this objett nearer, he perhaps
would have difcovered his error, which many
others fall into likewife. I will now inform you
of the circumftance which occafioned his miftake ;
as Swammerdam has very well obferved. There
is a fpecies of Bees who build their nefts, with
mortar, againft walls. Thefe nefts are pretty
nearly in the form of half a pigeon's egg. The Bee

in

of BEES. 305

in queftion is a true mafon, who makes mortar
with gravel and diluted earth. "Whilfl: the infedt
isthus bufied, we often fee her in the air, or reft-
ing on fome place, with the materials flie carries.
If we look at this infed but tranfiently, we
eafily miftake her for the true Bee -, as did the fu-
perintendant of your hives, and Ariftotle, Pliny,
^c. Thefe obfervers, who were too precipitate in
their judgments, thinking this ftone belonged to
the Bee, fuppofed it applied to a ufe for which
it was never intended. Had they been patient
enough to follow the infedl with its ftone, and to
fee the ufe for which it was allotted •, they would
have perceived that it was flying towards a wall,
and feen a half-globe raifing againft this wall : in a
word, they would have found, that there is a
very diftant, and very imperfedt refemblance, be-
tween this Bee, and that which produces honey.
Let us ftrike this fidion likewife out of our le-
gends, and keep to fuch particulars as are true,
viz. That the Bees fecure themfelves from a
ftorm as well as they can i and that the beft: fe-
cret poflfelTed by them, is to return, on thefe oc-
cafions, with all poflible fpeed to their hive.
When the feafon is fo favourable, as to permit
our infedts to follow their works as ufual, agree-
ably to their inclinations •, a prodigious and un-
interrupted concourfe of them is foon loaded with
provifions. Some bring virgin-wax to ftop the
chinks and crannies of the hive. I have nothing
to add to what I before obferved upon this arti-
cle. Others are freighted with honey j and the

X veilcl

3o6 The Natural History

vefTcl in which they bring it is their own fto-
raach. A Bee does not always unload her honey
in the cells ; fhe frequently getting rid of part in
the way. Whenever they meet with fome of their
companions who want food, and had not tim.e to
go in queft of any ; they halt, ftraiten, and ftretch
out their trunks, in order that the aperture by
which the honey ifilies, may be a little beyond
the teeth ; and they force out the honey through
this opening. The other Bees, who know very
well that it mufl be taken in here, apply the ex-
tremity of their trunks, and lap it up. Some
of thofe infects are frequently fo zealous for
furnifliing the ftore-houfes, that they rufli at once
into the hive, without offering the leaft portion
of their honey to any one : If thefe happen to
be met with by fome of their thrifty, induftrious
brethren, who are in immediate want of food,
and cannot go in fearch of any ; the latter ftop
them, they pull them about, bire them ; and never
leave them till they have thrown up, in their fa-
vour, all the provifion got by them. A Bee
who has not been flopp'd by the way, often
goes to the work-fViop of the labourers -, and
offers them honey, to prevent (as one would con-
clude) their being reduced to the neceflity of
leaving their work, in order to go in queft of
fubfiftence -, otherwife fhe goes and lodges what
(ht has got in the ftore-houfes. Such Bees as
bring crude wax, fometimes fwallow it by the
way •, but they generally day till they are arrived
in the hive, there to confign it to the toilers who
I fwallow

of BEES. 307

fwallow this wax, and lodge it in their ftomachs,
in order for it to acquire the true quality of wax ;
or elfe they themfelves go and depofite it in
Itore-houfes, to ufe it on proper occafions. But
this deferves a more minute defcription. A Bee
who arrives with two pellets of crude wax, no
part of which her companions had taken from
her, enters an empty cell j and then, with the
extremity of both her middle feet, loofens the
two balls from her large hinder legs, and leaves
the former at the bottom of the cell. The Bee,
the moment Ihe has got rid of her two little bur^
thens, fets out inftantly, either upon fome new
work ; or haftens to thofe Bees who are recruit-
ing their ftrength, by taking a deferved and ne-
ceflary repofe. But fcarce are the two balls dif-
charged in a cell, when another infeft conres
into it immediately, and fometimes makes a con-
fiderable flay there. We cannot fee how this Bee
is then employ'd •, but after flie has left the cell,
v/c may naturally guefs what has been doing.
The two pellets are then kneaded together in one
mafs or lump •, and this had been drove to the
bottom of the cell ; had been prefs'd or fqueez'd,
and its furface fmooth'd. Whenever we fpy
two balls of crude wax in a cell, it is a certain
fign that it is allotted for a fmall ftore-houfe,
and is to be fill'd with fuch materials. Till fuch
time as it is quite full, the Bees come, one after
another, and there unload their provifion of crude
wax; which other Bees knead, fqueeze, and ftow
up, after having diluted and bound it together

X 2 with

3o8 The Natural History

with honey. Sometimes the infeft who brings
the two pellets undertakes the doing of all this.
Whilft thefe things are performing, other Bees are
employed in building of cells, others in repairing
them ; and others again bring the pappy fub-
ftance for the younglings, againll the time that
the eggs fliall be hatch'd. We have fpoke of
thcfe feveral particulars before, and more largely.
The ftomach of the Bees is the moft effential
utenfil for their domeftic concerns, and of
the greateft fervice to them. It is properly,
at one and the fame time, their kitchen
and laboratory. I obferved to you before, that
there are two of thefe. In one of them, they
transform crude wax, partly into food, and
partly into wax properly fo called. In the
other, the honey*d fubftance changes, in like
manner, either into their own food, or into true
lioney. It is likewife in this laboratory that they
make various kinds of pafte or p^ippy fubfVance,
according to the different age of their young-
lings, and even purfuant to the dignity of per-
fons ; fuch as are made for their queens being
very different in tafte from thofe of the ordinary
kind. It is not in the nature of our labourers to
perform any work flowly : every thing done by
them is executed with fuch prodigious fwift-
nefs and clacrity, that one would fcarcc think it
polTible for them to go through their toils, if we
tlid not know that they divide it between them,
and reft themfelvcs by turns.

CLAR.

of BEES. 309

CLAR. You fhewed me in our firft conver-
fation, the manner in which they take this reft.
This is done, if my memory fails me nor, by
fufpending themfelves in a groop or clufter. I
now perceive them in that poficion in the hive
before Cis.

EUGEN. Would you believe, ClarifTa, that Tom. r.
I knew fome very fenfible people, who had ta- ^'/^^ J-
ken it into their heads to imagine, that Bees had&2! '
their Working days and holidays alternately ?
That fuch as had worked one day, did not toil
the next ; at leaft, that the fame Bees did not go
every day out of the hive ?

CLAR. Suppofing I fhould be of the fame
odd opinion with thefc people, how could you
convince me of the contrary.

EUGEN. Though this opinion is not built on
one fingle proof, I yet will combat it ferioufly,
fince you feem to honour it with your protedion :
and this I will attempt by a calculation, which
you may objecfl to as you fhall think proper.

CLAR. If you perplex me with calculations,
I promife you that our controverfy will foon be
ax an end.

EUGEN. You grow too foon weary of your
pleafures. But the ladies have many refources
on thefe occafions. I will now furnifh you
matter wherewith to exercife your figacity.
There v/ould be fome probability in your opi-
nion, if the number of Bees who iifue daily from
a hive, was lefs than that of all the Bees con-
tained in ix .; for we then might fuppofc, that

X 3 part

310 The Natural History

part of them continue the whole day at home,
whilft the reft are bufy in the fields. But, in
^ cafe the number of thofe who go abroad, is

equal, or greater than that of the total number
of fubjefts who conftitute the commonwealth; it
is more natural to conclude, that the Bee who
comes loaded from the fields, repofes herfelf
fometime, and returns afterwards to her la-
bour •, than to imagine that fhe continues the
fame toils during the whole day. Now, in or-
der to ground my opinion with the greater pro-
bability, I thought I needed but enquire, pretty
nearly, into the proportion between the number
ofBees, who iflued daily from the hive, every
day that is proper for working ; with the total
number of the Bees contained in the hive. Tq
difcover this, inftead of numbering thofe who
iflue from it ; I counted how many returned to
it, which amounts to the fime, and is eafier.
I computed, at diiferent hours of the day, and
in various hives more or lefs populous, the num-
ber of Bees who returned to their hive during a
certain number of minutes. You will fuppofe
that this number was not exadly equal. I have
leen an hundred Bees, more or lefs, enter a hive
during the ipace of a minute ; fo that I think
this number (an hundred) may be taken as a
mean term. You know that there are fixty mi-
nutes in an hour. If therefore one hundred Bees
ifTue out every minute, confequcntly fix thoufand
will go out in an hour. Thefe infeds fome-
times iffue forth, during the long days, at four

in

of B E E S. 311

in the morning •, and do this incefllmtly till
about eight in the evening, which make fixteen
hours. But as they don't fally out, during
fome minutes, in fuch numbers, I will fuppofe
them to go forth fourteen hours only. Now,
if fix thoufand Bees iflue out every hour, con-
fequendy eighty four thoufand will filly forth
in fourteen hours. Neverthelefs, the hive from
which I made this calculation, confifled but of
eighteen thoufand Bees. Confequently the num-
ber of eighty four thoufand, which came into
the hive, could not be made, except by fuppofing
that every Bee iflued out four times a day, at
lead, and fome five times, in order to get pro-
vifion. By other computations, made on lefs
populous hives, 1 was convinced that the fame
Bee might go forth feven times every day. In
fine, you know that a great number of thcfe in-
fers are employ'd about other works in the hive.
Hence you may infer, that if a great number
continue without labour, thefe are not long com-
pofed of the fame Bees i that in proportion as
fome join the main Body, in order to (land flill ;
others leave it, and return to their work.

CLAR. You are wonderful. Eugenic, at
calculations ; and I know no man but yourfelf
who could have thought of fuch. Neverthelefs,
I am not quire clear as to the laft. Are they all
the Bees, belonging to the fame hive, who under-
take five, and even fcven, journies every Day ?
Are not fome of them for ever fedentary ? I ima-
gine that the different labours of the Bees are
X 4 fuired

^312 The Natural History

^

fuited to their various talents. I fuppofe, for in-
ftance, that fuch as go into the fields are the mod
robuft, and that thefe are the peafants of the re-
public ; that thofe who are of the clafsof archi-
tects build the cells ; that fuch officiate, as
nurfcs, who are not qualified for other employ-
ments ; and that thofe who had the greateft
politenefs, the nobleft carriage, and were bell
fkill'd in flattery, compofed the queen's court.

EUGEN. I have not made experiments and
calculations fufficient for clearing up thefe points ',
and therefore will only tell you my opinion which
I imagine very probable. I take it for granted,
that all the working Bees are born with the fame
talents j that thefe feveral talents are in the fame,
or very near the fame degree of perfeftion, in all
thefe infers : that chance, or occafion, diftri-
butes the various works ; and that all the Bees
labour indifferently upon them, accordingly as
things prefent themfelves. We may even fup-
pofe, that they unbend or eafe themfelves, of too-
fatiguing toils, by another that is Jefs vigorous ;
and continue fome hours una<5live j in like man-
ner as men, who frequently proceed to a lighter
talk, after being engaged in a very laborious
one ; and then to fleep. Thus thefe clufters of
Bees which you perceive clinging one to the
other, and v/hoare at reft, at the fime time that
others take fo much care and pains •, enjoy, in all
probability, a rcpofe which they juftly claimed
for their paft toils ; they recover new ftrcngth,
in order that they may be enabled to labour
afrelh •, and to relieve other Bees, who being

a^ually

of B E E S. 313

aflually employ'd in fatiguing exercifes, will
want to repofe themfelves in their turn. We
mull not forget to rank in the number of the
employments and labours of the Bees, the care
they have to keep the hive clean ; to carry oflF
their dead and the filth, of every kind ; to
drive away infedls, to feed their younglings ; to
ftop the cells, when the feafon for the worms to
change into nymph(S is come ; to clean them ;
and carry off their leavings, after the nytnphcB
are transformed into Bees ; and to prop up
or fupport fuch combs as feem to want mending ;
and, laftly, to extirpate the males. I expatiated
more largely on thefe feveral particulars in our
former converfations.

CLAR. Shall we rank their feuds and wars
in the number of their toils ?

EUGEN. I have formed to myfelf fo noble
an idea of what we call labour, that I fhould be
tempted to exclude from the clafs of toils, all
fuch things as produce nothing but diforder and
confufion in the world, as wars for inftance. Ne-
verthelefs cuftom, which is the arbiter in lan-
guages, having prevailed ; fince the words mar-
tial toils are ufed, when we fpeak of the wars
carried on among mankind -, let us alfo rank the
combats of Bees as one of their toils. To give
you a full idea, though in the mofl fuccindl man-
ner poffible, of all that is done in a hive; I
muft recal to your memory, that the interval of
time, between the entrance of one fwarm and the
iffuing out of another, is about fix weeks ; that
eggs are laid daily during this time ; that, by

the

3 H The Natural History

the hatching of thefe eggs, worms or maggots
are produced, all which are fed with the greateft
care and affedion ; that thefe worms turn to
Bees ; and that this laying, and thefe perpetual
births, multiply the Bees to fuch a degree, that,
becoming too numerous, they, at laft, are ob-
liged to feparate. To this is owing the iflliing
forth of the fwarms. We are now come to the
revolution of that circle which comprehends the
whole life of a Bee. You will find me much
too prolix, ihould I begin to entertain you with
this fally ; for it is an article which will take up
our whole converfation to morrow. But before
we part, I will ufe a precaution which may be of
fcrvice to us when we return hither : I mean,
we will examine the feveral hives before us ; and
fee whether fomeone of them may not be ready
to fend forth a colony, which we generally term
breeding of fwarms. The Bees have had an
opportunity of preparing themfelves for this,
fince we began our converfations. Put your ear,

ClarifTa, to this hive What d'ye hear ?

CLAR. A gentle humming. All things
fcem to be in agitation. Is the fwarm going
to iiTue forth. If fo, I beg we may move off as
quick as pofTible ; for fhould the mother- Bee
alight upon my head, or my fhoulder, fhe would
draw the whole fwarm upon me ; and I fhould
appear as the Bee- woman, and fo ferve (v/ith
father Labbat's Bee-man) to make up the pair.
But I am no ways ambitious of fuch a reputation.

EUGEN.

of B E E S. 315

EUGEN. You have nothing to fear from
that quarter. It is late, and the fwarms never
iflTue forth at thefe hours. This humming is only
an indication that a fwarm will fally forth to-
morrow. There are feveral figns which proclaim
the approaching departure of a fwarm. I. When
we hear fuch a humming ; and this is ufually
heard the evening before their fally. II. When
we perceive drones or males. III. When the
hive appears fo full of Bees, that part of them
hang in clufters •, and are heap'd, by thoufands,
one upon the other, on the outfide. But the moft
certain fign, and which proclaims that event to be
the very day, is when the Bees forbear flying into
the fields, though the feafon feems inviting.
We will fee, on the morrow, whether this won't
be the cafe, with regard to the hive, where a
humming is heard.

CLAR. What means this humming, and the
clear and acute founds, to which I liften ? Is it
a council of war now held by the Bees, to fettle
matters with regard to the fallying out of the
colony ?

EUGEN. If we had adher'd to what you fay,
we fhould have imagin'd one thing onlv which can
be fuppofed, though with very great uncertainty.
But you are not to doubt but that the romantic
fpirit, which has prevailed among the writers of
Bees (Swammerdam, Maraldy, and the author
after whom I write, excepted) infpired them,
with regard to thefe founds, no lefs than in other
matters. Some of them declare, that then the

new

3 1 6 The Natural History

new queen harangues the band, the company who
are to follow her. Others, that this female-
ieader animates her fubjeds with a fort of trum-
pet, to infpire them with the courage to un-
dertake a mighty and dangerous enterprize. The
writer who has fucceeded beft, in publifhing agree-
able extravagancies with regard to this humming,
is Charles Butler^ in his Book, intitled the Female
Monarchy, I will conclude our converfation, by
giving you the whimfical commentary made by
this author with regard to humming, and hope
it will divert you. Butler informs us that, by
this noife, one may fuppofc that the Bee who af-
pires to be queen, befeeches the queen- mother by
fighs and lamentations, to let her conduct a co-
lony out of the hive : that it is fometimes two
full days, before the queen can be prevailed upon
to be moved by thefe earnefl: entreaties ; that,
when Ihe acquiefces, fhe anfwers the petitioner in a
ftronger and fuller tone of voice -, that when the
queen- mother has been heard to indulge this re-
queft, we may exped a fwarm the very next
day, in cafe the weather will permit their ifluing
forth. In a word, he has fixed the feveral mo-
dulations of the petitioning-beesfinging; the diffe-
rent keys of thefe modulations, and the founds of
which they are compofed.

CLAR. I heartily wifh, for curiofity fake,
that he had pricked down this compofition.

EUGEN. He was capable of fuch a frolic,
and I think he has really left us fuch a fpecimen.
But this is not all. He affirms, that the candi-
date

of B E E S. 317

date for the fovereignty is not permitted to imi-
tate the notes of the reigning queen : Woe to the
young female who fhould prefume to do this, which
always proceeds from a fpirit of rebellion ; the
criminal being fentenced to lofe her head, and
accordingly falls the immediate vidlim to the
monarch's refentment. Had the ingenious au-
thor of the language of brutes, the perufal of
whofe work gave you fo much pleafure (though
you cenfured it juftly) attempted the explication
of this humming, he doubtlefs would have faid
fomething more fatisfa<5tory than Butler.

CLAR*. I am perfuaded of this. Neverthe-
lefs, woe to the man who fliould attempt to ex-
plain the language of brutes, for this is the
fphinx's riddle.

EUGEN. However this be, the humming
I hear informs me, that a fvvarm will proceed forth
to-morrow. I will now go and take meafures,
in order that you may have due notice of this,
left you fliould let flip an opportunity which
happens fo very a propos to our converfations.
I will poft a centinel, who fliall give us proper
notice.

CLAR. To fill up, ufefully, the time which
cur return home will take, tell me (by the way)
what organ it is by which the Bees utter the
founds we jufl: now heard.

EUGEN. And which you will hear again
to-morrow, jufl before the fvvarm fallies out.
Thefe founds arife from their fl:riking their wings
againft the air ; the wings being the fole organs

of

|3 The Natural History

of their voice -, for, by moving them more or
]cfs forcibly, and fwiftly, they beat the air ; and
form tht varied and confufed founds which
we call humming. The Bee who has loft her
wings, or had them cut off, is quite dumb.

CLAR. This is decifive. Shall we form
the fame judgment with regard to the murmuring
noife or buzzing, heard by thofe bees which
humm about our ears, when walking in our
gardens, or in the fields.

EUGEN. It is exadly the fame mechanifm.
I don't know one flying infed that fends forth
founds, as other creatures do, from their breaft.

CLAR. Do you imagine alfo that the
grafliopper (cicada) whom la Fontaine defcribcs
fo agreeably, chaunting the whole fummer,
lings only with her wings ?

EUGEN. The cicada is an exception to
the general Rule. It is true, indeed, that
many have likewife afcribed her melody to the
fwift fluttering of her v/ings, accompanied with
the friclion of the upper againfb the lower ones.
They were induced to fuppofe this, from what
is found in crickets and fome other grallioppers ;
but then they were miflaken. Nature has pur-
pofely made, for the grafhopper, an organ con-
triv*d with wonderful Art, on which I may per-
haps difcourfe with you, fome day or other. —
I will only obferve, that the grafhopper is ventri-
loqua, which fignifies, that the organ of her voice
is in her belly, and not in her breafl •, that it is
a true drum, whofe Ikin being Iwifcly raifcd or

let

of B E E S. 319

let fall, by a mufcle which moves like a fpring,
ftrikes the air, and forms the found which
we honour with the name of harmony or
finging.

CLAR. May we not fuppofe that nature
furnilhed the kind mother, after Ihe had taken
fo much pains to produce an infed, with a little
drum to amufe it during the whole day ?

EUGEN. We ought, I prefume, to think more
nobly of that mighty artificer, Nature, by afcrib-
ing to her views of a more ferious and more im-
portant kind. Pleafe to obferve, that Ihe has
indued the males only with the faculty of making
this noife or cry. Now, it is very probable that
he hereby gives the female notice of his prefence ;
calls her to him ; and it is by this means that
thefe infefls, who ufually are hid under the leaves
of trees, are able to meet.

CON-

^20 The Natural History

CONVERSATION XV.

Of the Swarms,

CLARISSA.

DO you think, Eugenio, we fhall foon fee
a fwarm ifTue forth, and fettle on our
buflics ?

EUGEN. I make no doubt of that, for I
perceivS, from hence, our centinel who makes a
fignal to us, to advance towards the hive.

CLAR. Let*s make hafte then, and not lofe,
this lucky Opportunity. Inform me, in the
mean time, what are the mod proper hours and
fcafons to prompt the fvvarms to ifllie forth.

EUGEN. With regard to the hour, 'tis ,
fcldom except when the fun has warm'd the air ;
that is, from ten or eleven in the morning, till
about three in the afternoon. When a hive is
over-ftock*d with Bees, they caufe a confiderable
heat in it ; and if this heat is increas'd by the
fun*s darting on the hive ; or by fome hours of
hot, fultry weather *, the Bees are not able to
fupport it, they grow faint, and fo are forced to
feparate, in order to get air. As to the feafon,
this depends on the too great number of young
Bees produced. But various finifler accidents,
feveral of which may arife from cold, from wind,
QX rain, retard the ilTuing forth of a fwarm. The
I fwarms

of B E E S. 321

fwarms, in various countries, fally out in diffe-
rent months ; and, in the fiime country, they go
out (boner or later, according as the feafon has
been more or lefs favourable. In France,
the hives feldom emit fvvarms (the fconeft) but
about the middle of May ; and (the latefl:) a little
beyond the middle of June.

CLAR. We are nov\^ come, and yet the fvvarm
is not gone forth. Let's hearken v/hether cur
Bees make the lame humming as yefterday. Yes,
'tis the very fame, and, methinks ftronger.

EUGEN. 'Twill increafe in this manner con-
tinually, 'till the inftant of their departure.

CLAR. I perceive alfo the truth of what
you told me •, I mean, that during thefe latter
moments, they go very little into the fields, and
feem to ceafe from all their toils.

EUGEN. They have done nothing fmce
morning. Tho' a fhining day-break promifes
the Bees a fine day, and fit for getting in a large
harveft of honey, yet very few of them ftir out all
that day, on which the whole nation is to feparate.

CLAR. What is the reafon why thofe Bees
who toil'd yefl-erday with fo much vigour, left ,
their work long before their feparation .? Were
theyfenfible, before day-break, that they fhould
leave this habitation about three in the afternoon ?
Eight or tcii hours is a confiderable fpace of time
for a Bee. This is fuppofing them to forefcc
things from far. Do you think theyhaVv fo much
forefight ?

- "y EUGEN,

The Natural H i s t o R Y

KUGEN. What particular can we deny or
Vdiik a fct of creatures, who forefee and provide
for the dearth of winter, fo early as the Ipring?

CLAR. Let us proceed in our furvey of,
and admiration of them. See what vaft multi-
tudes croud about the mouth or door ; they are
all in motion ; the diminutive people feem in
great difquietude and agitation. I don't doubt
but that they are revolving fomething of mighty
importance.

EUGEN. Nothing can certainly be of great-
er moment to a people, than the rcfolution of
abandoning their native country, to go and fettle
in a foreign region, and (the word circumftance
of all) without knowing to what place they are
going, or whether they will be able to meet with
a commodious abode.

CLAR. Our fuperintendant of the hives has
taken care of this ; he having provided an afylum
for the fwarm.

EUGEN. If our Bees knew that the fole
motive of our harbouring them, is to get the
belter opportunity of feizing upon their labours,
they would not doubt of our kindnefs and bene-
volence towards them ; but being quite in the
dark as to this matter, they rely wholly on pro-
vidence. They always iiTue forth merely at
random, or as chance may direft. However
they would never once attempt to diflodge, were
they not prompted thereto by their leader, and
were not poflcfs'd of a queen duly qualified to
perpetuate the empire they are going to eftablifli ;

for

of B E E S.

for tho' the too large number of Bees in a hive,
may be a reafon (among others) which prompts
one colony to feparatc from the reft, yet this
alone is not caufe fiifficient. I have fevcral times
had hives which were excedingiy full of Bees ;
io full, that part of them were forced to keep
without, crouded together in form of a ball ;
and yet the hives in queftion have produced no
fwarm, for want of their having a queen. Other
hives, on the contrary, many parts whereof were
empty and unoccupied, have often given me
fwarms. To conclude, *tis certain that if there
is not, in a hive, a young mother qualified to
bring forth, (one day) a numerous pofterity ;
tho* there be ever fo great a number of Bees, they
yet will all ftay there, and die fooner than quit
the place.

CLAR. Is it poffible, then, that a queen
Ihould forget to hy eggs, whence other queens
may fpring ?

EtJGEN. 'Tis more probable that this ac-
cident fhould proceed from a natural defedl, ra-
ther than from forgetfulnefs -, it alfo may happen,
that the female eggs may be deftroy*d before they
are hatchM, or the worms before they produced
queens. But whatever the caufe may be, 'tis
certain that fometimes a fwarm is in want of a
queen. I myfelf know this by experience. I
have drown'd feveral of thefe hives, the fwarms in
■which could not be forc*d out by any means ;
and after examining all the Bees attentively, I ever
found that there was but one fmgle mother, and

Y 2 this

The Natural History

this the old one -, and that there was no new one
to lead forth the colony.

CLAR. See ! fee I our fwarm is winging
away. This fight, which I never beheld before,
is very pleafing to me. Let*s ftill keep it in
view. What a cloud of Bees are there ! The
air round us is as full of them, as with flakes of
fnow in fome winter days. Whither are all thefe
poor little creatures hurrying ? They turn and wind
about in the air, doubtlefs to confider in what
place they fhall alight. Be fo good as to prefent
them a hive, for 'tis a pain to me to fee them thus
in fufpenfe.

EUGEN. They would not accept of my
offer, I afllire you. We fhall do this with better
fuccefs, after they have debated upon a place
proper for them to affemble in.

CLAR. Is it the queen who makes this
choice ? Is fhe at their head ?

EUGEN. Chance has a confiderable fhare in
. all this. Let us follow our fwarm in their march ;
the Bees themfelves will inftrufl us in what we
defire to know.

CLAR. Hey! why does my gardiner drive
them away ? Is the man out of his fenfes ? Stop
him, I befeech you.

EUGEN. Let him alone, he knows his
bufinefi. When ever the Bees fly too high, as
you perceive thefe do, we oblige them to dtkend
lower, by throwing up handfuls of fand or dufl.
You k-^ that he fucceeds, and that this fwarm is
alighting.

CLAR,

of B E E S. 325

CLAR. You fay true. See yon apple-tres
with a bufli-head. Part of our Bees are already
feated upon it ; the reft follow them clofe, and
the affembly grows more numerous every inftant.

EUGEN. Let us advance nearer, in order
to furvey them more accurately. Obferve the Plate X.
form in which they lie round the bough in a^'S 3-
clufter, and link'd together, as it were, by the
legs.

CLAR. My curioficy extends particularly to
the queen. A queen who poifcfies qualities fo
becoming her fex, majefty, mildnefs and fruitful-
nefs, is an object I v/ould love for ever, and could
never gaze upon too much. Let us fee whether
we can find out the queen here. But how will it
be poffible to do this, among fo prodigious a
multitude.

EUGEN. Being acquainted with her pracflices,
I'll foon ftiow her to you. — —Look here. You'll ibid.
perceive her alone, on the fame bough, and ncar^^^^- ^'
the fwarm.

CLAR. You fpied her very luckily, for Hie
is this inftant entering the groop, and will vanifti
from us. The other Bees who furrounded her
majefty the inftant fhe appeared, have taken her
from our fight. The fwarm is nov/ very quiet.
Will the Bees continue thus any time ?

EUGEN. So long as your gardiner, who is
now preparing a hive for the reception of tliefe
new tenants, may think proper. Before he has
finifhed this expedition, and is ready to receive
the Bees in the hive prepared for them, we fliall
y 3 have

The Natural History

have time enough to obferve a great many things
with regard to fwarms.

CLAR. If this be the cafe, be fo good as to
tell me why a brafs pan or kettle was not founded,
as I have been told is the praftice on thefe occa-
fions. Hence I expeded that our Bees would '
have been entertained with a morning ferenade.

EUGEN. To inform you of this morning
fererjade, which I look upon as of little ufe, the*
many perfons think it neceflary ; you are to know
that hives are commonly fet in gardens, in order
that men may have the better opportunity of look-
ing after them ; and that the Bees may, at the
fame time, find flowers, without being forced
to fetch them at a great diftance. Perfons who
delight in hives, takesreat care likewife to plant,
in the gardens in queilion, none but dwarf trees,
or thofe with bufhy heads ■, in order that the
fwarms may not fettle too high, and may be
hiv'd with the greater eafe. Spite of thefe pre-
cautions, the fwarms frequently wing their flight
too high ', by which means they would go too
far away, and be lofl:, in cafe there was not an
expedient ready at hand to fl:op them. Two of
thefe are very common. The firfl:, as you have
feen, is by throwing up fand ordufl-.'

CLAR. I could never have imagined, that
roving Bees could have been brought back, by
throwing ftones at them.

EUGEN. The particles which fall upon
and ftrike them, induce them to defcend j and
they miftake them, perhaps, for drops of rain.

The

1

of B E E S.
The belt courfe they can then take (as it may ap-
pear to them) is to fly to the afylum neareft at
hand. The fecond expedient, which is as much
ufed, and of as great antiquity as the other, is to
beat on kettles or frying-pans, the moment after
the fwarm is fet out : but this is not done to give
them a ferenade, nor to congratulate their arrival
with a concert. *Tis affirmed, that this tinkling
determines the Bees the fooner to fix and afiemble
together. Probably what gave rife to this prac-
tice, was its being obferved that the noife of thun-
der prompts fuch Bees as are in the fields to return
home. But thunder is always accompanied by
rain, or threatens it. Now, you know that
rain is one of thofe calamities or plagues which
they know how to forefee and avoid. We there-
fore may fup.poie, that 'tis their dread of the
dorm, rather than the noife, which prompts them
to return home when it thunders ; for, though wci
make ever fo great a noife with kettles or pans
in calm weather; we don't perceive that fuch
Bees as are on the flowers are terrified by it, or
are more eager to return to their hive. Confe-
quendy, the expedient of throwing up fand to
them is the bed and mofl: certain.

CLAR. Is it poffible that the antients fliould
have let the fwarms go forth, without embellifli-
ing this circumfliance with fome pleafing fiftions ?
Methinks I have formerly heard of parties de-
tached i of quarter- mailers, fpies, and I know
not what.

Y 4 EUGEN.

The Natural History

EUGEN, This is an incident too fufceptible
of ornaiTjents to have been forgot by them. Such
writers as delighted in relating wonders concern-
ing thefe infeds, declared, that before a fwarm
ventures tp leave^the hive, fome of the Bees who
are to form it, fet cut upon the difcovery like fo
many fpits -, and rcrurn back to the hive, to
give a relation of what they faw ; and that at-
terwards, her majefty's quarter- maflers go and
prepare the new habitation. To exhibit the
truth hid beneath this fiftion : 'Tis not till after
the fwarm is come cut of the hive, that fome cf
the Bees who compofe it determine, (by furveying
the objc^fls round) upon a place proper for them
to fettle in. On this occafion, the fagacity for
which the Bees are fo f^mious, feems to flul them
on a fuddcn. They generally fettle at firft,
round the bough of a tree •, where, being expofed
to the inclemencies of the weather, it would be
impoiTibb for them to fubfift long.

CLAR, I imagined that they alighted upon
a neighbouring tree, merely by way of a half-
way-houfe ; during v/hich fome really went in
learch of a more commodious abode.

EUGEN. Unluckily for their honour, we
have but too evident a proof, that they confider
the place where they thus fettle, as a fixed and
permanent reficence. For, if we leave the Bees
five or fix hours there, we find a little piece of
comb already v/rought by them. Perhaps, in-
dted, they might afterwards leave, fpontaneoufly,
a place fo unfjitable to them s but then they

would

of BEES. 329

would not refolve upon this, till after proving,
to their coft, that the place is abfolutely not fit
for their purpofe •, and this either from their
having fuffered fo much from heat or cold •, or
their being tormented by wind and rain.

CLAR, Let us feize this fivourable opportu-
nity, and examine whether there may not be fe-
veral queens in our fwarm ; or a great number
of drones.

EUGEN. Your memory , ClariOii, fails
you -, a thing which happens very feldom. Did
I not obferve to you before, that when a fwarm
divides into two bands or companies (though un-
equal) 'tis a certain fign that there are two mothers
at lead ; but that, when they don't divide, this
is not an indication that there is but one mother
only. Several may be fo conflantly hid under
this heap of infefts, as to be quite taken from
our fight. With regard to males, you may iee
that they are pretty numerous here.

CLAR. I perceive them. To compenfate
for my defeft of memory, by fome ad of judg-
ment, I'll now propofe a thing which came into
my head, when you fpoke about thofe orphan-
fwarms, who chufe to die in their native abode,
rather than diflodge from it when there is no
mother to head them. Is there no poffibility of
faving them ?

EUGEN. This doubtlefs would be a mod
excellent fccret, and of the higheft advantage to
us. The faving of a whole fwarm is a thing too

profi-

3 30 The Natural H i s t o r y

profitable for us to negledt. But pray now, what
is the expedient ?

CLAR. I would fupply them with one of
thofe fupernumerary mothers whom I fliould meet
with in another hive, and was fentenced to die.
The faving the life of a queen who has no fub-
je6ls, and of fubjeds who have no queen, each'
whereof would perifh feparately *, and then unite
them in one family, in order to perpetuate their
kind, appears to me a noble and very laudable
aftion •, 'tis a fecret I am highly delighted with
myfelf for having found ; and I heartily wifii
it may appear in as favourable a light to you.

EUGEN. I greatly approve your hint ; and
think it certainly deferves to be attempted more
fuccefsfully than I have yet been able to do.

CLAR. How ! did you think of this before
me! Muft I always meet with perfons in my
way, who will bereave me of the honour of
being the firft who darted a thought ?

EUGEN. I have not executed this to fo
much advantage as you propofe it. Hov/ever, I
intend to do it the firft opportunity ; and am per-
fuaded it would be attempted with fuccefs, in cafe
the requifite precautions were ufed. The manner
in which I proceeded was this : you are now fo
well acquainted with every thing of this kind,
that you*Jl eauly find out the reafon why I failed
in my experiment. I took a baflvct-hive, which
had been fo populous for fevcral weeks, that part
of its Bees were reduced to the necefiiry of (land-
ing

of B E E S. 331

ing abroad night and day, there expofed to all the
rigours of the weather. But notwithftanding
this, no fwarm appeared, whence I judged that
they were in want of a female. I was very curi-
ous to enquire what would happen on this occa-
fion, in cafe I (hould introduce one that was an
alien, and fit to lay ; and accordingly the mother
of a hive, whence I had had three fwarms, was
employed for this purpofe. I now plunged the
whole hive in queftion into the water, and thence
drew the mother almoft motionlefs and dead. I
then painted her corflet or breaft with a little red
varnifh, in order to know her again ; and after
having dried, warmed, and reftored this queen
to her former vigour, I carried her one morning
and put her under this bafket-hive, which could
not hold all the Bees, and whence no Iwarm had
yet gone forth. Jn an inftant fhe was covered by
fuch a multitude of Bees, that I quite loft fight
of her ; and I prefumed that fhe was favourably
received, fince no fenfible tumult v*ras occafioned.
In the evening, I ftooped the bafket, to fee
whether I fhould find this new- mother, and what
fort of figure fhe would then make. Accordingly
I perceived her. She was among a clufter of our
Bees, inftead of being within the hive ; when
taking up a bit of ftraw, I feparated the queen
from her clufter, and fet her down upon the ftand
of the hive, but fhe foon left it, and mixed with
other Bees. She then difappeared, and I put the
hive in its natural pofition. Returning next
morning, to fee the effed of my experiment, I
I found

332 The Natural History

found that the mother whofe breaft I had painted
red, was dead. She had been conveyed, by thofe
Bees who carry off the dead, to fome diftance, and
oppofite to the hive. You will enquire, how it
came to pafs, that fo fruitful a motiier had not
been fpared -, efpecially at a time when one would
have concluded that Ihe muft be dear and preci-
ous to Bees, who waited impatiently for a queen
to head them, from an abode, which no ways
fuited them. Let us be fo ingenuous as to con-
fel's, that we are not yet fufficiently acquainted
with the principles on which the Bees a6l.

CLA R. True phiiofophers only can ftop their
career on the conhnes of a conjedlure -, but we
ignorant women, take the liberty to blab our
opinions freely. We even have not yet know-
ledge enough, to be fenfible how little we really
know. I'll give you then my opinion with re-
gard to your experiment. It might have failed ;
firft, becaufe you had half-drowned your fruitful
mother •■, you had pcriiaps given her too (Irong
a dofe of water, a circumftance which might
Havc altered her prcffcnt conftitution ; and difa-
bled her irom laying, which the Working-Bees
polTibly difcovered. Secondly, you obferved that
this Bte h\xC\ before fcnt forth three fwarms. May
we not fuppofe that the Working-bees, being well
Ikilled in thofe charadleriftics which denote fruit-
ful niothers, might have rejected the mother in que-
ilion, as being too much worn out tor her ever to
^ive birth to a numerous colony .-* 1 grant you that
llie Wvas favourably received, a-t firft ; but 1 am of
2 c Din ion

of B E E S. 333

opinion that, upon being better examined, and
afterwards fearched by the knowing Working-
bees, fhc was put to death as an impoftor, who
intended to deceive, and promifed more than ll.e
couki perform. Take a young mother who has
not laid, (or very httle) and your experiment
may turn out to greater advantage.

EUGEN. All this may be fuppofed. We
may alfo imagine, with equal probability, that
the death of this alien -mother was occafioned by
the reigning-mother, who, for reafons of ftate,
might be induced to refolve the death of her ri-
val. Be this as it will, your conjcdures apoear fo
juft, that I promife to pay a regard to them, the
iirft: time I repeat my experiment. For I am
perfuaded that Bees, when in want of a fruitful mo-
ther, will be ever ready to receive one who fhould
be well qualified for their purpofe, whether of
their own family or an alien. You'll be as firm-
ly perfuaded, as I can be, of the probability of
this i after I fliall have informed you of another
experiment made by me, that had the wifhed-for
fuccefs, and which may ferve as a fupplement to
the preceeding one. This will prove to you,
that not only the prefence of an alien-mother
will fuffice to orphan Bees, in lieu of a true mo-
ther •, but even that the hopes (and this alone)
of foon feeing a mother born among themfelves,
will induce them to fall to work again. I one
day placed, in a fmall hive, a piece of a comb
taken out of another hive, where the Bees were
at high- work. In this piece of comb were royal

cells

^2± The Natural History

cells, fhuc up, which confequently contained
7iymphcs, who were to become mothers. I after-
wards put into this hive, above a thoufand or fif-
teen hundred Working-bees, and twenty males,
or thereabouts. Thefe Bees, who would not
have done a ftroke of work, ( in cafe no mo-
ther being among them, they alfo had been with-
out hopes of obtaining one) were firmly refolved
to labour, merely upon feeing a royal cell clos'd
up. They, indeed, worked but very flowly du-
ring the two or three firft days. Among man-
kind, hope is vigilant and active, and pofleffion
flat and languid ; but 'tis the very reverfe as to
Bees. They began flowly, but the fucceeding
days they proceeded very ftrenuoufly in their la-
bours, whence I concluded that a mother was born
among them. This being duly enquired into, a
mother was difcovered, who yet was an alien.

CLAR. Nothing can be more convincing
than this experiment. To proceed now to other
matters. I fee that our fwarm muft have been
formed of a prodigious number of Bees, they
dragging down the bough on which they are
Plate X. clufter'd. I fhould be glad to know how much
?'^' ^' this affemblage of Bees may weigh.

EUGEN. That I am able to tell you. But
as I perceive your gardiner is going to take the
fwarm, fufpend your curiofity a litde, till fuch
time as you (hall have feen his operation. I'll
firft inform you of the fcveral preparations he
has juft now made, to make the hive fit for the
reception of his guefts. In the firft place, he

cleaned

of B E E S. 335

cleaned it with the utmoft care. He afterwards
rubbed the inward partitions carefully with herbs
or flowers, the fragrance of which is grateful to
the little tenants. I faw from hence that *twas
balm. Bean- flowers are likcwife employed to
very good purpofe on this occafion. Another
thing which I think of ufe, and of as much be-
nefit as the pleafing their fmell, is to gratify their
tafl:e ; by rubbing fome parts of the infides of the
hive, with matter which may be agreeable to
them, as honey, cream, i^c. Precautions of this
kind cannot be of prejudice, but I don*t think
them elTentially necefiary. Every thing has fuc-
ceeded perfectly to my wiflies, in the like circum-
ftances, though I did not make ufe of them.
Obferve, now, the manner in which your gar-
diner goes to work, in order to hive the Bees.

CLAR. The old man was very much in the
right, in arming his head with a kind of helmet-,
in covering his face with a gauze mafk, and his
hands with a fl.out pair of gloves.

EUGEN. I yet have feen peafants, in their
fhirts, perform this operation with their naked
hands and face.

CLAR. Thofe who firfl: attempted this muft
have been not a little bold. With regard to my
gardiner, he is not only of a contrary difpofition,
but feems to me fomething clumfey ; he not ma-
naging his litde broom dexteroufly, whereby all
the Bees don't fall into his bafket. I perceive
that large clufl:ers of them are fallen to the ground,
and many others are flying away.

EUGEN.

336 The Natural History

EUGEN. *Tis enough that a confiderable
part enter it, and flay there -, be affured that the
reft will Toon follow. See, the operation is end-
ed -, and the hive is fixed on its ftand with the
Bees in it.

CLAR. I perceive that thofe who fell to the
ground, take their way towards the hive ; and
that fuch as had winged their flight aloft, and
were gone aflray, haflen to rejoin their compa-
nions. Neverthelefs, many of them return to
the bough whence they were taken, and where
they were To difadvantageoully fettled.

EUGEN. Thefe would do more ; they would
continue there, and return hither fo often as they
fliould be drove away, if care was not taken to
oblige them to quit it ; by rubbing this bough
with leaves whofe fmell is diflafteful to them,
fuch as thofe of the elder- tree and rue -, or elfe
to force them thence, with the fmoak of burn-
ing linnen.

CLAR. Of what ufe are thofe four flakes
which old James fixes about the hive .''

EUGEN. This is a precaution abfolutely ne-
cefHiry. When a hive has been filled with new
Bees, the bafket is not carried away immediately,
and fet ip its place with the reft ; but 'tis left, till
the evening, in the fame place where the fwarm
was hived*, when, in cafe the tree at whofe foot
they were taken in does not projed fhade enough ;
and the fun- beams are exceedingly hot, as at this
inftant •, then make, with four ftakes and a cloth,
a kind of tent which fcreens the Bees from the

exceffive

of B E E S.

excefllve heat ; or elfe employ tufted boughs of
trees. The hive is fervedin this manner till after
fun-fet, when it is conveyed gently to a ftand al-
lotted for it, and on which it is to be fixed.

CLAR. I would gladly know what my gar-
diner would have done, had our fwarm, inftead
of fixing on yon dwarf-tree with a bufhy head,
flown and alighted on one of thofe lofty trees,
(landing at the end of my kitchen-garden.

EUGEN. This is an inconveniency to which
the induftry of man muft apply the bed remedy
in his power. Some fwarms fly and fettle on
little boughs of very lofty trees •, and this is the
worfl: fituation they could pofiibly be in with re-
gard to us. Diff^erent expedients mufl: be ufed,
according to the fliape or figure of the tree, the
difpofition of its boughs, and it5 height. The
good fenfe of the perfon who would willingly
fave his fwarm, mufl: fuggefl: to him methods
for doing this. If the tree upon which they are
fettled is not vafl:ly high, a man may go up a
ladder fet againft the trunk of the tree ; when
holding the hive turned topfy-turvy under tha
fwarm ; another perfon, who had climbed up the
fame tree, may drive the Bees, with a broom of
a proper length, into the hive. In cafe the fwarm
is too near the extremity of the boughs, and in
fuch a manner that the ladder cannot be fixed
againft: it ; the hive (turned as above) muft be
lifted up by means of a long, fl:out pole, till it
be pretty near to the fwarm *, after which the
Bees mufl: be drove into it with a long broom.

Z Several

337

33 S The Natural History

Several other expedients may be ufed, as circura*
fiances may require : but there is one which fecm-
ed to me the fimplefl and moft commodious
on many fuch occafions : and this is, to wait till
the fun is fet, and the Bees are, by the cool of
the evening,, become lefs animated and furioucv
In this cafe, the bough of the tree is fawed off
gently ; when being let down carefully, and the
fwarm upon it, they are eafily hived by this
means.

CLAR. Does it never happen that the Bees
tremble, the inftant of their departure, at the
boldnefs of their enterprize ? do they^ never fliud-
der at the fighr of the wide extended ocean of air
in which they plunge ? and are their bofoms ne-
ver fired with a defire to return to their native
country,' as did the companions of Chriftopher
Columbus ?

EUGEN. We frequendy perceive emotions
of fear and dread, but none of repentance, in ani-
mals. Their refolutions are fixed, carried
on, and never checked by after- reflexions •, and
they nev^r draw back, except when- they meec
with fuch obftacles as appear to them infur-
mounrable. We fometimes; find that Bees, after
leaving the hive in a fwarm j and their being
difperfed in the air, or aflembled on a tree, return
to their firft abode -, but this never happens, ex-
cept when the young queen, who flood at the
door, and was ready to accompany them, did
not follow •, and this for want of flrength, or
perhaps boldnefs enough to trufl to her wings fo?

the

of B E E S. 339

the firfl: time. PofTibly too a young mother
may perceive that (he is come forth unimpreg-
nated ; a circumftance which will prompt her to
return to the hive j and the feveral Working-Bees,
her dependants, to go back with her.

CLAR. I muft put you in m.ind of the pro-
mife you made me, I mean to tell me how
much a fwarm weighs.

EUGEN. I am now able to gratify your cu-
riofity in that particular. All you need do, for
this purpofe, is to iiften patiently, whilfl I ac-
quaint you with the particulars of an experiment
which informed me of what you dtfire to know.
A hive of mine produced me, on a certain day,
one of the largeft fwarms I had ever then feen.
This fwarm went and fettled fo very feafonably
on the extremity of a bough of one of the trees
in my garden, that I took the opportunity I then
had, to weigh it with eafe. All the Bees were
aflembled in fuch a manner, that their whole
mafs was fhaped like a long pyramid, two foot
high •, and that hid every part of the bough round
which they were clufter'd. The Bees were fo
very numerous, that I was afraid the bough
would break •, for which reafon I propped it
with a forked poic, in the fame manner as boughs
over-loaded with fruit ; notv^^ithftanding which, it
bowed fo low, that it was within two inches of the
ground. To find out the weight of them, I bound
the bough pretty near the upper-part of the fwarm ;
and the packthread employed for this purpofe ter^
ipinated in a bow or loop-hole. Our matters be-
Z 2 ing

The Natural History

ing thus prepared, I ordered a man to come for-
ward, who thruft his fteei-yards (for weighing)
into the loop-hole of the packthread •, and whilft he
raifed a little the bough, by drawing the fteel-
yards upwards, others cut it above the place where
the ligature had been made ; but all this gently,
and without difturbing the fwarm ; by which means
the bough and the fwarm being thus feparated
from the tree, remained fufpended to the fteel-
yards. I then eafily found, that my fwarm weigh-
ed eight pounds.

CLAR. You mean, branch and all.

EUGEN. You are very accurate, and won't
let the moft minute thing efcape you. I'll now
anfwer you. After having hived all thefe Bees, I
weighed the bough feparately, and found it to be
fix ounces. However, I won't fubftrad thefe
from the eight pounds ; I having wherewithal
(and over and above) to compenfate for this.
Though the fwarm in queftion was very large,
yet all the Bees belonging to it were not yet fet-
tled upon the bongh. Several little clufters of
them lay upon the ground, wliiJft others were in
the air ; and none of thefe would join the great
clufter or aflemblage, though I had given them
time to do it. Thefe feveral parts difperfed were
equal, at leaft, to the weight of the bough. We
thene may conclude ('and that without over-
rating) that the Bees weighed eight pounds.
But, unluckily for us, all fwarms are not fo pon-
derous. They ufually are of all weiglits under

the

ofB E E S, 341

the above-mentioned; and I have met with a
fwarm which did not weigh above a pound.

CLAR. Since you thus calculate and weigh
every thing in nature, you doubtlefs will be able
to inform me, how many Bees are contain*d
in eight pounds of thefe infeds.

EUGEN. You fmile in putting this queftion
to me, as though you imagin'd you had defired
me to count the number of fands in the ocean.

CLAR. I really concluded, that fuch a cal-
culation would take up a long time.

EUGEN. This may be difcovered by a very
fliort method, which I employed. I put, into a
fcale, a half-ounce weight ; and, in the other
fcale, as many Bees as made the equilibrium.
You will fuppofe that I was obliged to employ
dead Bees for this purpofe. I mufl obfervc, by
the w:iy, that thefe were Bees who had been
killed in a dreadful battle ; occafioned by a band
of aliens, who endeavoured to feize upon a peo-
pled hive. One hundred and fixty eight of thefe
dead Bees weighed but half an ounce. There
confcquently are twice an hundred and fixty
eight Bees in an ounce, that is, three hundred
and thirty fix. Now, if three hundred and
thirty fix Bees weigh an ounce, there mufl
be five thoufand three hundred and fixty fix
in fixteen ounces or a pound •, and confequently
forty three thoufand eight hundred Bees to weigh
eight pounds. To avoid all fufpicion of error
in our calculation, we'll reduce the number of our
Bees to forty thoufand. This ftill will be a good

Z 3 hand-

Tlie Natural H i s t o r v

handfome quantity -, and n^ore confiderable than
that of the inhabitants of many great cities. I
mufl neverthelefs confefs, with regard to this
hive of eight pounds, that many more Bees fecmed
to have gene forth from it, compar*d to the num-
ber who continued in it ; that they were not all
of the new brood, but that many of them were
of the former one.

CLAR. Do you think this fort of fwarms
better than the lefs numerous ones ?

EUGEN. I don't look upon them as the
befl. The fwarm I am fpeaking of did not do
me the fervice I cxpcded. There were fo great
a number of drones among them, that they
could not be all deftroy'd during the fummer.
Some remained, who furvived the whole winter •,
and thefe, in all probability, perplcx'd the work-
ing Bees to fuch a degree, that this hive was
abandon'd in fpring. 1 fliould rather chufe a
fwarm weighing five or fix pounds. Butler, who
does not always give into romance, informs us
that an excellent fwarm weighs fix pounds Eng-
Jifh, a good one five pounds, and a tolerable
good one, four.

CLAR. What ! did Butler alfo weio;h fwarms ?

EUGEN. He does not tell us how he
weighed them ; but there is a very eafy method
which I will teach your gardiner, in order that
he, being well fkill'd in fwarms, may be able to
diflinguilh between fuch as are fit for coupling,
or mixing together 5 and thofc which ought to be
\TCaken'd.

CLAR.

of BEES. 343

'CLAR. Teach me this method likewlfe, for
1 would not willingly have my gardiner more
knowing than myfelf.

EUGEN. Emulation is a laudable principle.
"You know that we ufually leave, at the top of
the bafket, a fmall wooden pin or peg, or a
tuft of ftraw, by which we take or hold up the
hives. Now, if a ring, either of iron or cord,
was added, this would give us an opportunity of
weighing the feveral fwarms which thefe ba fleets
were to lodge, before we introducfd a new one
into them. But when every thing is prepared
for this purpofe, we muft weigh the empty hive,
and afterwards turn the Bees into it. In the even-
ing, when they a-re all come back from the fields,
and benumm'd as it were with cold, we muft
weigh it a fecond time. You conceive that the
furplus of its then weight, will be that of the
Bees which were introduc'd into it ; and hence
-you'll eflimate the fwarm, and know what mutl
be done with it.

CLAR. I frequently obferve, and perceive
with pleafure, that your weights, your mea-
-fures, and calculations, are not mere ufelefs cu-
riofities.

EUGEN. Some continue ro be fuch,. which
yet will be otherwife to our fuccelTors, who will
■make them of fervice.

CLAR. I don't perceive that any of our Bees .
newly lodg'd go foith from the hive, and wing'
j&heir way into the fields. Is this repofe and

Z 4 tf.in-

44 The Natural History

tranquillity an indication that they are going to
abandon it ?

EUGEN. When a fwarni of Bees are pleafed
with a new tenanted-hive, they are not long un-
adive. Though all the Bees in it feem to be at
reft and idle, and not one of them leaves it and
flies into the fields, yet fome are working at
combs. We often don't perceive, till after the
Bees have made pieces half a foot or a foot long,
and feveral inches broad, that many of thefe in-
fers which were fuppofed quite idle, had toil'd
very hard •, or rather, that they all work*d in
their turns ; a circumftanee which proves that,
at their quitting the former hive, they carried a
provifion of prepared wax in their ftomachs.
One fign that Bees are pleafed with the hive they
are put into is, when they afcend as high therein
as they can, which is an indication that they de-
fign to fix there -, this being the part where they
ufually build their firft cells, and lay the founda-
tions of their edifices,

CLAR. Will the fwarm we have now feen
hiv*d, produce another fwarm this year ?

EUGEN. Sometimes the fwarms which ap-
pear early produce a fecond generation. How-
ever, they commonly don't give birth to a new
jvvarm till the enfuing year.

CLAR. I beg my queftion^ may not tire
you. How many Avarms proceed from a good
hive in one year .''

EUGEN. Three, four, and fometimes five
fwarms ifllje from the fame hive, one after the

other ;

of B E E S. 245

other ; in the interval of five, fix, and fomc-
times ten or twelve days.

CLAR. What do you mean by coupling or
mixing fwarms ? What precautions mufl be ufcd,
in order to make them profper ?

EUGEN. The clearing up of thefe matters
depends on the knowledge of feveral previous
circumflancesj and thefe will be the fubjed of our
future converfations, in which I fhall treat of the
enemies to the Bees, their fickneffes •, and the
expedients that muft be ufed, as well to remove
whatever may annoy them, as to procure them
the feveral neceflaries.

CLAR. The particulars of this knowledge,
relating to the pradice, will be more agreeable
to me than the theory, or what relates only to
the hiftory of the Bees.

CON-

346 The Natural History

CONVERSATION XVI.

Of the enemies to the Bees, ajidfuch infers as
devour the u-ax.

CLARISSA.

I Am not furprized that Bees fhould have ene-
mies. As they poffefs riches, this circum-
iiance alone mud be motive fufficient. Are not
we ourfelves their enemies, though concealed be-
neath the mafk of friendfhip ? In cafe we could
not poffefs ourfelves of their treafures, any other-
wife than by killing them, ihould we fcruple an
inftant to do this ?

EUGEN. We are fo far from fcrupling ir,
that we daily put them to death very inhumanly,
and without any manner of neceffity. I cannot
forbear reproaching, for this cruel treatment, the
perfons who breed Bees.

' CLAR. I am not furprizM at it. Thefe
little creatures are laborious •, they perform fuch
works as it is not in our power to execute, but
which are for our purpofe. This is enough for
us: whether dead or alive, we muft plunder
their works. We treat them juft as we ufe one
another. The hu/bandman fows, reaps and ga-
thers in i at the Jaft mentioned feafon, what

numbers

of B E E S. 347

numbers of idle people come and (hare with
him in the fruits of his toil !

EUGEN. On which fide foever we caft our
eyes, we fhall fee nothing but wolves and iheep.
The Bees have more than one enemy. Among
the many that might be named, man is, indeed,
the moft barbarous. I will not particularize, in
this day*s converfation, his cruelty with regard
to our ingenious infeds ; we will now difcourfe
on thofe creatures only, whom a power, unknown
to themfelves, forces to be enemies to the Bees.

CLAR. I will know them, whoever they
be ; and, if poflible, make the life of Bees (my
favourites) more eafy and comfortable, and Icfs
expofed to perfecution. I now am ready to de-
fend them againft all oppofers, and fhall look
upon their enemies as mine. Point them out to
me, let me get acquainted with them, and I will
purfue them for ever.

EUGEN. D'ye fee the fparrow on yon
plumb-tree .'' He is one of their enemies. This
wretch laughs at your threats ; and is preparing
to devour the little creatures, to whom you in-
dulge your protedion, and are fo fond of ?

CLAJl. Ha ! that is an enemy I flian't run
after, but muft: defire you to rid me of him.

EUGEN. Had we but one fparrow to op-
pofe, our hive would foon be very fecure : but
there are fuch prodigious multitudes of thefe de-
vourers of Bees ; (not to mention the many ene-
mies, of other kinds, who infeft them) that we
had better pafs this day in enquiring who they
2 are,

348 The Natural History

are, and try whether we can't leflen their number -,
for, as to the deftroying of them all, that would
be impoflible. The enemies to the Bees are of
three forts. The firft are weak, heedlefs infcds,
who creep into a hive without knowing whither
they are going -, and only raife difturbances and
confufion therein. The fecond endeavours to
deftroy the Bees, and eat up their honey ; and
the malice of the third kind is levell'd only .-.t
their wax. In the firft clafs we may rank fuch
flugs and fnailsas creep heavily into hives ; beetles,
foreign or wild Bees, who go in queft of works
ready form*d to their hands. Thefe kinds of
enemies are eafily deftroy'd.

CLAR. I imagine that we need not be under
any concern about them ; and that our Bees have
weapons fufficient to defend themfelves againft
their attacks.

EUGEN. The fecond clafs includes the
fparrow you juft now obferved, and all fuch as
refemble him. I have often feen, with the ut-
moft uneafinefs, a parcel of fparrows flock round
my hives, and who, fpite of my prcfence, peck'd
and gobbled down the Bees, as tho' they had been
fo many ears of corn. No bird makes fuch dread-
ful havock among our infers as the fparrow, he
deftroying greater numbers of them than all the
other birds put together.

CLAR. I imagine that fwallows muft like-
wife be terrible devourers of Bees.

EUGEN. Tho' they are laid to feed greedily
upon our infefls, I yet am of opinion that they

take

of BEES.

take them but feldom, any more than toads,
lizzards, or frogs j tho* fome writers, among the
antients, advife their being drove from the hive.
But *tis othcrwffe with regard to another kind of
infefls, which, tho* of a fpecies related to our
Bees, are yet vaftly formidable to them : I mean
hornets and wafps ; and even wafps of the
mod common fort, fuch as are fcarce larger in
fize, than our infers. I have often feen fome of
thefe wind round and round a hive ; watching for
a favourable opportunity to attack a laborious
Bee, when returning from the fields tir'd, and
loaded with wax. The Bee, tho' arm'd with a
fting fo fatal to man, endeavour'd, but in vain,
to defend herfelf againft a wafp, who kill'd her
in a moment. I have fometimes feen a wafp fly
off with her prey ; fometimes fhe, immediately
after butchering her enemy, tore open her belly,
and fuck'd the whole contents of it. I have even
feen Bees, whilft bufied in fipping the nedlar on
flowers, or winging their way to them, carried
off inflantly by hornets or wafps ; in like man-
ner as an innocent turtle-dove is feiz'd by a hawk
or other rapacious bird.

CLAR. This is dreadful. How is it poffible
that even one of our infeds fhould be left in the
world ? For I imagine that there are as great
numbers, at leafl, of hornets and wafps, as of
Bees. Should a whole clafs devour the other,
the entire race of one or other of them muft foon
be extind.

EUGEN.

349

3 50 The Natural History

EUGEN. Nature, at the fame time thatihc
permitted fuch maffacres, has prefcribed limits
to them. Studious to preferve the particular
kinds form'd by her, flie has prefvented their en-
tire annihilation, as well as their too great in-
creafe. Were the hornets and wafps to come
armed, in a body, and attack a hive, the tenants
of it would doubtlefs be deftroy'd in a moment ;
but they never do this. Wafps, like all other
thieves and murthcrers, are errant cowards -, and
knowing that the Bees are able to defend them-
felves, they never attack them except when they
have an advantageous opportunity for fo doing.
The war wag*d againft them is wholly by fur-
prize, and merely, what we term plundering,
or making incurfions. And, indeed, this is of
no very fatal confequence -, and my opinion is,
that it would not be worth while for us to endea-
vour to dcftroy all the wafps nefts in a country,
as fome authors, who were fond of Bees, have
taught us.

CLAR. Thus I find that hornets and wafps
are, with regard to Bees, what lions and tygers
are to men. They now and then happen to feize
and devour one of our fpecies ; but this is done
fo feldom, that there is no occafion that the whole
world fhould take up arms, merely to extirpate
the race of them. Men muft make the beft de-
fence they can. Let us return, and enquire upon
what principle it is, that wafps make war upon
our hives. Is it from a pafTion for flaughtcr ? Is

it

of B E E S. 351

It from a jealoufy with regard to merit, or the
labours in which they are relpedlively concern'd ?

EUGEN. From none of thefe, but from
thofe principles which, among mankind, give
rife to cut- throat thieves, I mean gluttony and
idlenefs. The wafp, as well as the hornet, is very
fenfible that the Bee carries in her body, a por-
tion of wrought honey. Now whenever the
ruffian finds an opportunity of feizing, without
any hazard to himfelf, a Bee, he rufhes upon her,
rips up her belly inftantly, and fucks her bowels
for a dainty he other wife would have been forced to
go in queft of at a diftance, at the bottom of the
cups ot flowers.

CLAR. Let us talk no more of thefe ene-
mies ; they make my blood run cold. I'll cer-
tainly deftroy all that ever come in my way,
"What think you of fpiders ?

EUGEN. I fancy that thefe make but very
little deftrudtion among our Bees. The fpider
is, in general, a creature whofe chief occupation
is to fpread her nets i and who fubfifts entirely on
what fortune happens to throw in her way. She
does not go forth in queft of prey, which mufl
come to her ; befides, fo great is her temperance,
that fhe is contented with a little. Eler only food
is a few gnats, or other diminutive game, which
fall into her fnares. But for prey of a confider-
able fize, (fuch as a Bee) this fhe rarely meets
with, and therefore is to be very little regarded.
We likewife muft not rank ants among the ene-
mies to our infefis ; tho' fome authors declare

them

352 The Natural History

tliem to be vaftly bad neighbours to hives.
But fo far from this, I'll prefently fhow you that
Bees and ants live very friendly as neighbours,
and are well enough pleas'd with one another.
The ant, tho' fo fond of fweet things, can better
reftrain her appetite than man ; and will inhabit
clofe by the forbidden fruit without once touching
it. I had a glafs hive, whofe fhutters I did not open
for fome time. During this interval, certain
ants obferved that there was a void fpace between
the fliutters, and the panes of glafs of my hive ;
and prefently concluded that this would be a very
good abode for themfelves, and much more
healthy and commodious than any other they
could make choice of ; fince they would always
have a conftant degree of heat there, fuch as was
not to be met with in any other part of the gar-
den. Accordingly they inftantly convey'd thither
their eggs, their nymphcCy and their worms, and
fixed upon this as their refidencc. Ants were with-
out the hive, and Bees within ; a fingle glafs only
feparating two nations, fo different in manners,
in cuftoms and genius. The Bees were abun-
dantly provided with a dainty of which ants are
exceedingly fond, I mean honey. The ants had
juft reafon to be apprehenfive that the Bees would
be uncafy, and jealous to preferve fo precious a
treafure. Neverthelefs, the utmoft harmony and
concord prevail'd between the two nations. Not
a fingle ant was tempted to enter the hive, how
llrongly foever flie might be invited by the Ira-
f^rancy of the honcv •, nor did any Bee difturb
I the

of BEES. 353

the ants, tho' infinitely fuperior to them in power,
the fevcral individuals, on each fide, went in and
out peaceably : they would meet in the way,
without fearing or molefting one another : refpedt
on one fide, and complacency on the other, were
the foundation of this peace.

CLAR. How delightful is fuch an union !
Why do not men live in as friendly a manner ?
But is not this double hive a fingular cafe, a kind
of tranfient phsenomcnon which has never ap-
peared fince ?

EUGEN. This is not a phenomenon, 'tis a
real thing, which I myfelf h:.ve often feen and
admired. We may, indeed, afcribe the modefty
and prudence of the ants to fear. They feem
fenfible of the danger to which they would ex-
pofe themfelves, fhould they be tempted to
plunder the honey of a very populous hive. After
leaving, during fome hours, hives whofe Bees
were dead j I obferv*d that then the ants, having
nothing to dread, went and fed upon the honey
left in it.

CLAR. The fame thing is feen among man-
kind. More of thefe are made wife, through
fear and weaknefs, than from reafon. Thus I
find that you exclude, from the number of ene-
mies to Bees, the fpider and the ant. This pleafes
me, and my fears for my darling infedts are
leflien'd in proportion. Do any other creatures
endeavour to mafil\cre them ?

EUGEN. I know three, the moft formidable

whereof is man himfelf, who, from a very in-

A a judicious

354 The Natural History

judicious intereft, is often the greateft deftroyer
of them. I'll treat more largely of this, when
we come to difcourfe concerning the beft manner
of managing hives. The fecond enemy is the
field-moufe, concerning whom I Ihall fpeak no
farther at prefent ; becaufe, as this enemy to the
Bees never appears except in winter ; Til poftpone
what I have to fay with regard to this animal,
'till I obferve how Bees are to be managed during
the rigorous feafon of the year. I proceed to the
third enemy, who is a little infed that fettles
upon the Bee, and lives by fucking her. This
is properly the vermin (fleas or lice) of the Bees.
Tis a fort of reddifh loufe, about the fize of a
very fmall pin's head. Its body is fliining and
fcaly, as likewife its fix legs. It has not any
part fliap'd like a true head, the foremoil end of

Plate XI. this feeming to be cut fquare-wife. *Tis almoft
^^ 5* always found {ticking to the Bee's breaft. How-
ever, I have frequently met with it near the Bees
neck ; in that part where the wings begin, and
fometimes near that of one of the legs. This
infe6l has a trunk, which, I believe, cannot pierce

Plate XI. through the fcalcs wherewith the Bee's breafl is
'*"■ ' arm'd -, but then fhe may thruft it into the joints,
which being necelTarily flexible, confequently no
fcales could be in that part. The young Bees are
never incommoded by thefe vermin, which prey
upon none but the old Bees, all of whom have
never more than one upon them.

CLAR. In what manner does this vermin
prejudice hives ^

EUGEN.

of BEES. 355

EUGEN. The hives whofe Bees are pefterM
with them, are not thought lb well of as others,
and perhaps with reafon ; becaufe thefe lice are
ottner found upon the Bees that inhabit old hives^
(where they have had time to multiply) than upon
the tenants of new ones. But I am not able to
fay, whether they really do great injury to Bees.
However," I am almoft fure that they don't put
them to much pain, and incommode them but
very little ; the Bees fcarce ever endeavouring to
fhake them off from certain parts of their body,
on which they fix themfelves ; and whence they
might eafily diQodge them with their legs. We
are told of various remedies to deftroy this fort of
vermin ; but I give little credit to them. As
therefore I take this difeafe to be of little con-
fequence, and the cure of it very doubtful, I'll
wave all further enquiry concerning it. I'll now
difcourfe upon a much more dangerous enemy ;
his malice being levell'd not only againft the Bees,
(he endeavouring to deftroy, devour and over-
throw all their works) but likewife againft man-
kind -, he bereaving us of the hopes of dividii.g, with
the Bees, a delicious food which we confder as
common between them and us. This enemy,
fingly, compofes the third clafs ; and 'tis he who
plunders the wax. Was I to inform you of the
feveral particulars I know concerning him, you
might think me very tedious. You furely would
not have me fufpend the principal hiftory for the
fake of entertaining you, a long time, with a
fubjecl that was rr.erely the accefibry ?

A a 2 CLAR,

The Natural History

CL AR. *Tis ftill the hiftory of nature. On
what fubjedts foever its wonders are exhibited, I
fhall be greatly delighted to fee and hear them.

EUGEN. Since you are fo difpofed, the
conclufion of this day's converfation, fhall be the
hiftory of this laft enemy (at leaft diat I am ac-
quainted with) to the Bees. I mean thofe worms
or moths who feed upon wax. Would you be
apt to give credit to a perfon who fliould affirm,
that there is a country where ten or twelve fheep,
can hunt and drive away more than eighteen
thoufand wolves, and force tliem to quit the
place ?

CLAR. This would feem quite a paradox.

EUGEN. And yet this country, where fo
extraordinary a circumftance is found, is now under
your eye : *tis a hive. If we fubftitute Bees in-
ftead of wolves ; and a fort of fmall caterpillar,
(which 1 will fhow you) in the place of fheep,
'twill be no longer a paradox, and my affertion
will be found literally true. The infed, term'd
the wax-worm or wax-motb, becaufe of the
havock. made by her in wax, is a diminutive,
caterpillar ; tender and delicate in its frame, un-
arm*d and defencelefs ; an in fed who can fubfift
itfelf in the midft, and at the coft, of the moft
populous hive ; a tiny creature, who feeds upon
the labours of above eighteen thoufand Bees, de-
fended with brcaft- plates, and arm'd with mur-
thering weapons i which they are ever ready to
employ againft all who annoy, or attempt to
annoy them i and who guard perpetually their

treafure.

of BEES.

treafure. You, poflibly, may difcover too foon,
and with the greateft regret, that ten or twelve,
and often a lefs number of thefe little catapillars,
have bor*d through, deflroy'd, and broke to
pieces, the honey-combs of one of your hives *,
and that, on the ruins of the cells, (fpite of the
formidable army furrounding them) thofe weak
enemies fhall have thrown up new edifices for
lodging themfelves •, fhall have built them with
the ruins of the cells ; and will, at laft, force the
Bees to quit the place, in order for them to refide
in it.

CLAR. This fnows evidently, that there is
no fuch thing as an impotent enemy ; and that
thofe perfons are very weak who cry, what pre-
judice can fuch a man do me ? Induftry will find
out many more methods to hurt, than ftrength
can fuggcft. The infed you fpeak of, muft be
endued with a very furprizing talent *, in being
able to compenfate (by induftry) for this weak-
nefs, and to overcome fuch mighty obftacles.
The particulars you now relate, make me ex-
ceedingly defirous of getting acquainted with fo
fingular a creature.

EUGEN. We call, by the general term
Moth, all thofe little worms, moft of which are
caterpillars, who prey upon our clothes, furniture,
hangings, wood, books, i^c. Among thefe
creatures, fome cut themfelves out clothes, which
they put on, walk with them, and live under
them, the whole time that they continue in the
ftate of worms or caterpillars. Others, whom
A a 3 nature

The Natural History
nature has not taught to make portable drelTcs,
have the art to make themfelves galleries, which
ferve them, at one and the fame time, for clothes
and houfes. The former are call'd by authors.
Moths ^ and the others, /iz//^ M?/^j. Both of them
owe their exiftence to Papilios or butter- flies.
Our wax-eater is of the fpecies of falfe moths.
Its Papilio is of the tribe call'd Phalcsnce, who
fly only in the night, and burn themfelves in the
candle. Let us trace the hiftory of thefe from the
egg. The egg whence it iflTues having been laid
by the female Papilio, in fome corner of a honey-
comb-, there arifes from it, fome days after, a
fmall caterpillar, which may jufl:ly boaft that
'twas born in the midfl: of the greateft dangers.
Being furrounded, on every fide, with enemies
who are adive, vigilant, and quick in their re-
venge i they efcape a certain death merely by
their extremely fmall fize, which, during the
firft moments after their birth, prevents their
being perceived by the infpetflors or overfeers ;
and by the fwiftnefs with which they fpin in-
ftantly, and enwrap themfelves with this little
fheath or covering of filk, which is then fufficient
to fecure them from all harms. This caterpillar
is of the tribe of thofe with fixteen legs. *Tis
fmooth, has a whitifh fkin, and a brown, fcaly
head. There are two forts of thefe caterpillars
who devour wax : but as T know no other dif-
parity between them, than that they vary in fize,
and that there is fome difference in their pa[iLios \
and farther, that their manner of living, work-
ing.

of BEES. 359

ing, and eating wax are the Hime ; I Ihall fpeak
only of the mod common of the two ; of that
which, when full grown, is about the bignefs of
a caterpillar of an ordinary fize. I juft now ob-
ferved, that our little caterpillar or falfe moth,
fpun itfelf, the inftant after its birth, a fheath or
tube proportionable to its fize. Thefe ttibes are
fix'd and glued to the wax ; and may be term'd
more properly galleries, as the infeft expatiates,
and is at large, and moves up and down them
with great eafe ; and by this name I fhall dlftin-
guifh them afterwards. The firft care therefore
of our falfe moth, at its birth, was to fecure its
life from external dangers •, the next mufl be, to
preferve and prolong it by fuftenance. She finds
very little difficulty on this occafion ; the wax on
which flie builds her gallery ferving her, at the
fame time, for food. 'Tis enough that fhe
thrufls her head out of her houfc, fhe finding
fuftenance all round her door. So long as fhe
meets with wax within her reach, Ihe is not
fparing of it; but feeds thereon, grows, and her
gallery foon becomes too narrow and too fliort for
her. As flie liv'd upon the flooring which ftood
oppofite to the entrance of her gallery, Ihe is
obliged to thruft her felf forward, in order to
find another floor to gnaw ; but then it is incum-
bent upon her to do this, without being exposM
to the vengeance of the Bees.

CLAR. I now perceive fuch an infed at

work. She is going to lengthen her gallery, in

A a 4 order

360 The Natural H I s T o R Y

order that fhe may always be under covert, as
fhe walks.

EUGEN. But this would not be fufficient.
She is more fenfible than we can be, of the fe-
veral dangers to which fhe is going to expofe
herlelf. The falfe moth being grown larger, and
advancing ftiJl farther into the enemy's country,
will thereby be Jefs conceal'd, and confequcntly
more expos'd to the infults of the Bees. To re-
medy this, fhe makes this fecond part of her
gallery thicker, flronger, and rrore capable of
defending her than the firft, which was only a co-
vering or barrier of filk.

CLAR. Forefight and precautions lliould
increafe, in proportion with dangers

EUGEN. I am noways furpriz'd> that reafon
Ihould fuggefl judicious reflcdions to you; but am
greatly fo to find them pradifed by inledbs.
That in qucflion, in order to flrengthen the par-
titions of her gallery, works her filk rovenng or
barrier with fragments of wax which fhe cuts
neatly, and in the fhape of a ball ; and in order
to forward her work, fhe joins to it her own
excrements, which, for colour and fhape, are
like fmall grains of gunpowder. As mankind
have their arts, the infects have theirs alfo. The
Bee is an excellent archited:. Our falfe moth is
a filk- weaver, who does not work at random, as
you will fee prefently. The inward partition of
her gallery, is a clofe texture of white fiik ; and fo
very fmooth, that her delicate tender body cannot
be any ways hurt by the fridlion. But the fmall

particles

of B fe E S. 361

particles of wax and the excrements are fix'd on
the exterior furface of her gallery : they are
join'd fo clofe together, that they quite hide the
filk into which they are introduced ; and pro-
bably fcreen the moth who inhabits them, fo
very effe<5lually, that the Bees cannot perceive
them, no more than we. Probably thefe grains
or particles may have this farther important ufe ;
I mean, they may form a wall almoft impene-
trable to the flings of the Bees.

CLAR. I am vaftly furpriz*d that creatures,
fo bold and courageous as our Bees; one of whom
is not afraid of attacking a giant of prodigious
bulk, a monfter in ftrength and fize (for fuch,
methinks, a man muft appear to the eye of a Bee •,)
I am greatly furpriz*d, I fay, that thefe haughty
creatures, tho* ftrongly arm'd with talons, with
jaw-bones, and a tremendous dart, Ihould yet not
rufli upon the galleries in queftion, and tear them
into a thoufand pieces. Bees can eafily tear paper,
and even fometimes cut wood ; how comes it
then that they fhow a regard, to artificers and to
works, which feem to me fo very crazy and weak ;
and at the fame time, threaten them with fudden
deftruftion ?

EUGEN. A thoufand conjedures might be
ftarted on this occafion, all which (tho* fpecious)
would, perhaps, befalfe. What appears to me mod
probable is, that the fmall hooks wherewith their
feet are arm'd, tangle in the filk which binds to-
gether the little particles ; and that the Bees find-
ing themfelves catch'd in it, in the fame manner
I as

The Natural H i s T o R v
as they would be in a fpider's web, relinquifh this
fort of fortification, which is fpread as a kind of
net to them.

CLAR. Our Bees muft furely be exceflively
ftupid. Since the demolifliing thefe galleries
would be fo very difficult an attempt, why don't
they, with their virgin-wax, feal and flop up the
door of thefe falfe moths, in the fame manner as
they flick or faften a fnail againft a wall.

EUGEN. This fhows, that the underftand-
ing of Bees is confin'd to pretty narrow limits ;
fince they have not thefkill to apply, in one cafe,
an expedient which fucceeds fo happily to them in
another very like it. Here nature leaves them to
the mercy of the weakeft of all their enemies.
The latter, indeed, ad with the utmoft prudence.
The falfe moth does not quit its gallery, fo long as
it exifts as a moth. As this infe(5l began its gallery
in proportion to its fize at that time, this gallery
increafes always in diameter, in proportion as the
creature itfelf grows ; fo that the portion or part
which was built firft, does not feem larger than a
thread when the infeft has left it ; but it increafes
in bulk, and at laft its diameter is equal to that of
a quill. Thefe galleries begin commonly near the
upper edge of a cell, and are carried on towards
the bottom of the fame. The end where the
gallery begins is clos'd ; but the extremity to-
wards which it will be lengthned, is always kept
open. When a falfe moth is full grown, its
length exceeds that of the depth of a cell •, and,
for this reafon, the galleries in queflion are car-
ried

of BEES. 363

ried direclly through the bottom of a cell ; and
force quite through it, in order to pafs into the
next cell ; and return, thence, to a third, a
fourth, i^c. fo long as the infed's life lafts, till
the inftant that its flieath or cafe is to be form'd.
Hence it is that thefe galleries are carried on in a
multitude of crooked direcftions ; they paffing
through every one of the cells, at whofe expence
they were fram'd.

CLAR. Though I have very little concern
for the lives of thefe falfe moths, whofe race I
would gladly fee extirpated ; I yet fhould be
glad to know, what contrivance they ufe, in
order to extend their gallery, and take their food ♦,
for it is not pofiible for them, to do either
v/ithout thrufting out their heads -, and thus ha-
zard their being feen by our Bees, and confe-
quently of being expofed to their vindi6live
lliafts.

EUGEN. I before obferved, that their head
is fcaly ; I mean, that it is cover'd with a flout
helmet, which would blunt all the flings in a
hive, were they levell'd againft it. But this is
not all. The firft ring plac*d next to the head,
is cover'd likewife with a large piece of fcale, no
lefs hard than the other. All this part of the in-
fed's body may be expofed abroad, and in open
day -light, without any danger -, and the falfe-
moth, in order to procure fuftcnance and per-
form its work, need not thruft forth a greater
portion of its body, than that jufl: mentioned.
In fine, when the moth is grown, at the expence
I of

364 The Natural History

of the wax made by the Bees, and is increafed to
its greateft fize ; it then muft make a fheath or
cafe, in order to transform itfclf into a chryjalis.
This I have not had an opportunity of obferving
in hives ; but then, I am able to judge of their
manner of proceeding, from what I have feen
them do in httle glalTes ; wherein I put a con-
fiderable number of thefe moths, with honey-
combs, to give me the better opportunity of view-
ing them at work. There they framed their
ilieaths againft the wax. Thcfe fheaths, which
are of the fize, and in the fhape of an oHve-
ftone, were compofed of the fame materials
with the galleries above-mentioned ; the outfide
of them confifted of a thick lay of particles of
wax, and their excrements workM up with, or
intwin'd in their filk -, and the infide was a tex-
ture of white filk, clofe, fmooth, and fo very
ftrong, that the Iheath refifted, in fome meafure,
to the finger which prefled upon it. It is com-
monly about the end of June, or beginning of
July, that the caterpillar we are fpeaking of
transforms itfelf into a papilio or butterfly.

CLAR. How do you think it poflible for
our moth, when grown to the fize of a middling
caterpillar, to leave its gallery, in order to frame
itfelf a cafe or fheath ; and that, when naked,
and deftitute of this rampart impenetrable to the
ftings of the Bees, thefe will permit it to work
or labour, undifturbed, at its own prefervation -,
and not revenge the injuries they had met with
from thcfe infcds ?

EUGEN.

of BEES. 365

EUGEN. Its (heath is only its gallery length-
ned. The Iheath begins where the gallery ter-
minates ; but the greateft difficulty does not lie
here. 'Tis this. It is neceffary that our moth
iiTue, in a butterfly- form, out of that very
Iheath in which it pafled its f)&rj;yi//i-flate. Nay,
feveral butterflies mufl: come forth, at the fame
time, from diflferent fheaths ; among which
there mufl: be males and females who engender,
and the latter mufl: lay eggs. All this takes up
a pretty confiderable time ; and yet the whole
paflTes in an enemy's camp, in every part where-
of are guards ; centinels, who never fleep •, ene-
mies ever ready to deftroy ; and no gallery for
fecurity.

CLAR. Oar moths feem to be here involved
in the greatefl: difficulties, for which reafon I am
the more defirous of knowing, in what manner
they will extricate themfdves.

EUGEN. I cannot fay whether our moths
efcape unpuniflied. Probably great numbers of
them may lofe their lives on thefe occafions, and
very few may efcape. However, it only a fingle
female avoids the feveral dangers, and has had
time to lay her eggs ; fhe is fo exceedingly proli-
fic, that this fecond laying may, alone, quite over-
fpread the hive •, and give birth, at once, to fo
great a number of falfe- moths; that the honey-
combs, are, in a very fliort time, undermin'd
and devour'd -, fo that the Bees, inconfolable for
the havock made in their hive, abandon it, and
feek an afylum elfewhere. I have obferved, by

means

3^6 The N&tural History

means of falfe-rr.oths kept by me in fand-glafTcs,

i^c. that fome of thefe butterflies fiide in between

two honey-combs (in thofe parts where t!ie combs

almoll touched one another) and whence it would

be fcarce pofTible for the Bees to drive them. In

thefe places they ufed to lay their eggs -, and, in

all probability, they do the very fmie in the

hives. This operation being performed, they

are forced to go in fearch of fubfiftence elfe-

where, the butterfly not feeding upon wax.

They then efcape as well as they can. Thefe

papilios are indued with a peculiar talent, and

which feems to have been indulged them merely

for this purpofe ; I mean, that they are fwift

racers. I don't know any creature of this kind,

who is fo nimble-footed ; it runs rather than

walks, and walks rather than flies ; even when

endeavouring to efcape the hand which purfues it.

I once faw, in the lower part of a hive, two or

three Bees run after a butterfly like that I am

fpeaking of. The papilio was chaced by the

Bees ; and play'd its part fo well, that, after

many windings, our favourite infedts grew tir'd,

and the butterfly efcap'd.

CLAR. I now conceive that the butterflies,
arifing from falfe moths, may engender, lay,
and increafe their race in hives ; and iflfue there
from falfe moths, hid in corners, whence the Bees
were not able to diflodge them. Their whole
life, though pafl: in toils and perfecution, may
yet be comprehended. Creatures who are
not afraid of life, may engage in attempts
though ever fo hazardous. But a circumftance

which

of B E E S. ' 367

which I can fcarce conceive is, how it was pofll-
ble for the eggs we are fpeaking of, to be con-
vey'd into thefe clofe, remote places. In order
for the effedling this, you mull fuppofe that a
female butterfly came from without ; had croffed
the whole hive ; pafTed in the midft of eighteen
thoufand enemies •, and alfo conclude that this
army, ever careful to drive away all creatures of
a difl^erent fpecies from their own, muft have
been afleep all the time ; otherwife you mufb
return to the opinion of my good old nurfe ', and
think that the firft falfe moths rofe from putre-
fadlion.

EUGEN. Without having recourfe to an
opinion that claflies directly with reafon ; we are
furnifhed with facls, which may perfuade us that
a fuppofition, though fcarce admitted by you, is
yet very polTible. lam certain that a prolific, fe-
male falfe moth, when driven from one hive, may
get accefs to another j and winding into the mod
fecret recefles of it, may lay its eggs there. I
obferved to you, that our butterfly was a bold
racer. 'Tis enough for her purpofe, if flie gets
into a hive fuddenly and unawares. She runs
with fo fwift a pace, that fhe is able to pafs
through the enemy's camp almoft unperceived •,
at leaft, without allowing time for her being
attack'd ; and then Aides into fome narrow place
between the honey-combs, there to lay her eggs
in fecurity. Having done this, fhe makes her
way out as well as fhe can. She is fo fond of her
poflerity, that, for their fakes, fhe will run any

hazard.

J>

68 The Natural History

hazard, provided fhe can but fecure them.
Whether ilie efcapes afterwards, or is punifhed
for her boldnefs, is little or nothing to the pur-
pofe : the evil is done, and this is what we were
afraid of.

CLAR. What madnefs can thus urge this
creature to attempt, at the hazard of her life, to
carry her eggs, and lay them, at the bottom of a
hive ? Is this the only place in the world where
fhe could get rid of the eggs which burthen
her?

EUGEN. Perhaps it may. You give me oc-
cafion to take notice of a wonderful providence
of Nature, with regard to the feveral fpecies
formed by it, and which may ferve to clear up
your difficulty. The Creator, in fentencing ani-
mated creatures to a very limited courfe of life ;
determin*d that, by a continual, uninterrupted
fucccfTion of children to their mothers, the revolu-
tion of ages, given to the duration of the world,
fhould be accomplifhed ; and, in order to force
thefe Beings to multiply their kind, he indued
them with two very flrong, and almofl invin-
cible pafTions. The firfl is the union of fexes,
and the fecond maternal love. The one preferves
what the other has form*d. Maternal love is felt
when the female is infpir'd merely with the hopes
of becoming a mother. The bare reflexion on
the near approach of this, roufes, diflurbs, and
makes her take proper cautions for preferving the
life of a future objeft. She is ftruck with love
for a Being, though yet wholly unacquainted with

it.

of B E E S. 369

it, I appeal to you, Clarifia, who are a motherj
for the truth of this.

CLAR. I have been fcnfible to what you are
fpeaking of

EUGEN. This pafTion is ftronger in fome
creatures than in others. Nature feems to have
proportioned it to the difficulty of meeting with
food fuitableto the younglings. 'Tisefpecially in
infers that this ardent love for poflerity is predomi-
nant i and which prompts the females to expofe
themfelves, for their fakes, to the mod evident
dangers. This exceedingly flrong pafTion is ac-
companied likewife, in them, with a knowledge
of a very fingular kind •, I mean, iheir being
able to difcover, among a million of objefts,
the kind of food fuitable to their young. Of
this I could furnifh many examples which would
furprize, in cafe you don't know them. That a
butterfly who, as fuch, lived merely on the juice
of flowers ; Ihould be fenfible that, from the eggs
fhe carries, worms will arife, which can fubfift
only on certain plants ; and fliculd chufe, with-
out being able to miftake, that very one in which
it is proper for her to lay her eggs i in order that
her younglings, at their birth, may inftantly find
the food proper for them ; fuch a knowledge
muft be wonderful. But what will you fiy of
that of certain flies, fome of whom know that the
fuflenance, fuitable to the yourg they are going
to bring forth, is found only in the brain of a
fheep ; others in the neck of a (lag •, and others
ao-.^in in the entrails of a horfe ; and that the fe-

B b males

The Natural History

males in queftion have the courage to force into
places fo very remote, and which feem fo well
defended, to depofite their ifl'ue in a place where
they may eafily get food ?

CLAR. You have exhibited to me (Eugenio)
and demonftrated fo many wonders, that I now
can conteft no longer ; but muft implicidy be-
lieve, at once, whatever you may pleafe to tell
me. The only objeflion I can make is their be-
ing too concife. Be fo good, therefore, as to
enter into a greater detail, with regard to the
three fpecies of flies, who lodge their eggs in fo
fingular a manner.

EUGEN. Iwill do this ; but will mention
fuch circumftances only, as relate to the fubjedt
concerning which you defire to be informM ; I
mean, to fhew that there are creatures, who are
forc'd, by nature, to lodge their pofterity in one
place, and in that only. A fly, lomething larger
than thofe which wing up and down our rooms ;
that has a fluggilh, fleepy air ; that fcldom ufes
its legs and wings : is yet able to rouze itfelf,
and can find both wings and legs, when, after
having been impregnated, the time is come for
her to depofite her eggs in a proper place. She
is taught that the only food which her younglings
can eat, is a certain flime •, a mucous fubftance,
found only in a cavity, lying at the top of the
■fnout of fheep, called finus frmitalis. Maternal
tendernefs renders the female, on thefe occafions,
diligent, aflive, and induftrious ; makes her
find out fheep •, and, fpite of the fnuffing, and

the

of B E E S. 371

the perpetual agitations of the beaft in queftion,
our fly finds an opportunity of gliding into its
noftrils, where fhe gets to the finus frontalis.
It was there, and no where t\k^ that the egg was
to hatch ; and accordingly a worm is brought
forth, who lives in that place, and fubfifts at the
expence of the fheep -, pafles its whole infancy in
this retirement -, iflfues afterwards from thence,
by falling on the earth ; and, hiding itfelf there,
becomes a fly like to the parent whence it
fprung.

CLAR. Is not the diflraflion, which fome-
times feizes my flieep, owing to thefe worms or
maggots ?

EUGEN. Nothing can be more probable.
Thefe worms are prickly about the belly •, and
have two fcaly, and very fharp-pointed hooks, with
which they walk. Now, if they happen not to
lie fl:ill, in the finus frontalis of a fheep, but fhifc
their place -, their thorns and hooks muft necef-
■^rily put the fheep to excefTive pain ; which,
probably, may caufe thofe fort of fits of vertigo
on frenzy, to which a creature, naturally fo mild
and pacific as the fheep, is fubjeift. 'Tisdoubt-
lefs on thefe occafions that we fee them leap, fly,
and dafli their heads feveral times together againfl
the hardefl bodies, fuch as trees and frones.
Another fly which I am acquainted with no other-
wife than by the maggots, v/hence they fpring ;
is fenfible (like the fly juft mentioned) that the
food proper for her young is depofited in two
flefliy veficles or bags, lying at the entrance of

B b 2 the

The Natural History
the throat, and on the root of the tongue of
flags •, flie alfo knows the way to thefe veficles.
Accordingly fhe takes her opportunity ; glides
into the flag's nofe, and creeps up its noftrils.
Did this fly go merely at random on thcfe occa-
fions, fhe might flop by the way ; or proceed,
like the llieep-fly, into i\\Q ftnus frontalis : on the
contrary, fhe is not at a lofs, but knows perfed;ly
the courfe fhe is to take, though 'tis the firft time
fhe ever attempted it. She pierces, at once
and without hefuation, through the moil pitchy
gloom •, and fhapes her way through all the wind-
ing pafTages leading from the entrance of the
nofe to the root of the tongue, where the two
veficles in queflion lie. Being arrived at the de-
fired recefs, fhe lays her eggs, and returns back
quite fatisfied, fmce her family is lodged in
fafety.

CLAR. I mud confefs that the particulars
you now tell me are exceedingly fingular. The
mod fruitful, romantic genius, does not fugged
fidlions equally wonderful with thofe prefented
by nature, when duly enquired into.

EUGEN. I mud likewife take notice of
the horfe-f^y, who is no lefs wonderful than the
two former ones. The particulars I fhall here
relate, are from one of our naturalids, who du-
died this infcd: attentively, and traced all its mo-
tions. This fly dwells only in the fields, it ne-
ver coming near our houfes, at lead in thofe of
cities •, and, indeed, fuch horfes only as live in
padure ground, are infeded by them. The na-

turalid

of B E E S. 373

turalifl: I now hinted at, had the good luck to get
a fight of a fly of this kind, in one of thofe in-
ftants (fo feldom met with) when they creep in-
to the inteftines of a horfe or mare. As the
gentleman in queftion was one day looking in
the fields, at his mares, which were feeding
peaceably i he perceived them, on a fudden,
grow uneafy •, leap, caper, prance about and
fhake their tails. He did not doubt but that thefe
fudden motions, were owing to the humming of
a fly, which hovered round them j and endea-
vour'd to force its way through the anus of one
of thefe beafts. The fly mifllng its opportuni-
ty, winged its way, with lefs noife, towards a
mare, who fed at a diftance from the refl:. Oa
this occafion the fly was more fuccefsful ; ^t get-
ting under the tail, and gliding till flie reached
the anus. Probably the infe6t, at firfl:, excited
only an itching, which prompted the mare to
force outward the border or edge of its intef-
tine ; to open it, and widen its aperture. Our
fly made a proper advantage of this difpofition,
file advancing farther, and concealing herfclf in
the foldings of the anus. 'Twas then, in all pro-
bability, that flie finiPned her operation, and was
enabled to lay her eggs. Soon after this, the
mare feemed quite diftraded ; fhe beginning to
run c-jper and prance ; and, at iafi:, threw her-
felf on the ground -, and *cwas a quarter of an
hour before flie was eafy, and fell to feeding
again. The infl:ances I have here given, in thefe
flies and the butterfly arifing from a falfe moth,
B b 3 fuffice

The Natural History

fuffice to fliow, that if the author of nature has
thought proper to allot, tor the food of certain
embrios, certain fubftances which fcem fo remote
from them •, he, at the fame time, has taught
the females in queflion how to know thefe fub-
llancesj the places in which they are lodged;
the way of arriving at them ; in fine, all the in-
duftry and fortitude requifite, in order for fur-
mounting the various obftacles which oppofe the
difcovery of them. The Creator even required
that this Ihould be done at the hazard of their
Jives : for the life of every individual is lefs pre-
cious than the prefervation of the whole fpecies.
I fhall here conclude all I had to fay with regard
to the enemies of Bees. I might have added the
ill treatment they meet with from men ; the
difcafes they are fubjeft to ; and the multitudes
of them who perifh by cold and hunger. But
ihefe articles will furnifli matter fufHcient to com-
pofe entirely our next converfation.

CON-

of B E E S. 375

CONVERSATION XVIL

Cofjcerning the bejl manner of taking the hone)\
and the waXy out of hives ^ without deftroy-
ing the Bees. Of the necejjity of fe curing
thefe, during winter and fpring, from cdd
and hunger.

CLARISSA.

OU R lafl: converfation put me in mind of a
reflexion I have often revolved, viz. that
there are few creatures, upon earth, but have their
antagonifts among other fpecies of animals ; and
that man is the general opponent of them all.
Pie looks upon himfelf as their king, and ac-
cordingly exercifcs a tyrannic fway over them.
He imagines that the whole earth, with all things
contained therein, was made for his ufe only ;
that he has an incontroulable right of life and
death over all things who breathe. Methinks 'tis
whimfical enough that man, when he eats his ox
or fiieep, fhould imagine he poffeiTes himfelf of
a thing to which he had a juft and lawful
title.

EUGEN. The lion may, with equal juftice,

fancy himfelf impowered to feed upon man, and

the wolf on fheep. But *tis my opinion, that

neither the one nor the other could find any

B b 4 other

The Natural History

OLher original title, of their fovereignty, than
force or cunning. But let us engage no farther
in a queftion, as this would raife up a multitude
of gainfayers, whofe intereft it would be to dif-
fer from us in opinion. I fhall only obferve, that,
if our anceftors were ufurpers of the empire they
obtained over brutes -, long poflefTion has given
us a fort of title to this fovereignty •, but yet,
this will not permit us to exercife fuch a power,
any othervvife than with oeconomy, prudence,
temperance and difcretion. Befides the right
which we claim over their perfons ; we have
others, (and thefe feem better founded) on the
things belonging to them. Some creatures have
fuch a fuperfluiry as would be utterly loft j where-
fore then fhould we not make advantage of it ?
This is feconding the views of nature, who feems
to offer them us. Hens lay a greater number
of eggs than are neceflary for the propagation of
their fpecies. Cows gives milk with fuch a pro-
Jufion, as plainly fhows that all was not deftin*d
as fultenance for their calves. Sheep Jet us flieer
their wool, which afterwards grows again. Bees
have the art of renewing their wax, whenever they
are difpofleffed of it. Let us therefore divide
thofe feveral things with them ; but then let us
imitate, on thefe occafions, good kings, who
exad no more contributions from their fubjecTts
than what may enable fuch monarchs to com-
penfate for thofe, by adminiftring juftice to their
fubjeds i by indulging them protedion, and pro-
curing them plenty. We behave thus towards

fuch

of BEES. 377

I'uch creatures as are kept In our yards : why then
iliould Bees only feel the effefts of our cruelty ? We
deftroy every year, in fcveral provinces of the
kingdom, and efpecially about Paris, a great num-
ber of hives ; and this merely for deft ruclion fake.
In the places I am fpeaking of, a cuftom, equally
ridiculous and cruel , prevails. The perfons
hinted at, employ no other method, in order to
get the honey and wax out of the hive, than to
kill all the Bees who inhabit it. For this pur-
pofe they make a hole in the ground, large enough
to receive the bottom of the hive. In the bottom
of this hole, rags fmeared with brimftone, and
fet on fire, are thrown. The hive is fet on the
vapour ; when immediately fo much earth is
drawn round it as may fuffice to prevent the Bees,
and even the fmoak from getting away. The flench
of the brimftone, with which the hive is inftant-
jy filled, foon ftifles all the ill-fated Bees. There
are other kinds of death, the invention whereof
various authors thought meritorious i but which
I fhall think it a merit to conceal. In the places
where this praiftice, equally unfkilful and barba-
rous, is ufed ; people apologize for themfclves by
declaring, that, they deftroy, on thefe occafions,
none but the old Bees, from whom no farther
harveft can be expeded ; Bees who would furnifh
no more fwarms j but would ear, during the
winter- feafon, a confiderable quantity of the ho-
ney ftor'd up by them. In this manner would a
tyrant argue, who, after he had cut to pieces all
the inhabitants of one of his cities, merely for
J the

The Natural History

the flike of plundering their gold and filver ;
Ihould endeavour to juilify his monftrous cruelty,
by declaring, that all the inhabitants were very
antienr, and incapable of furnifhing pofterity
next year.

CLAR. This is a perfeft picture of the ava-
rice with which man is fired. All his arguments,
as well as his condaft, are big with horror.
Whenever I fee injuftice and cruelty go hand in
hand, I conclude from thence that they are led on
by avarice •, and I am feldom or never millaken
in my conjedures.

EUGEN. Your reflexion, Clarifla, is ex-
ceedingly juft. Who told the perfons hinted as
above, that all the Bees in a hive are old ? We
ourfelves have feen, when a fwarm was iffuing
forth, that it confifted of old and young Bees ;
and that many, of both forts, remained in the
abandoned hive. When the Goths and Saxons
fenc colonies into Gaul, did they leave, in their
own country, none except old men, who were
unable to get faccelTors ? Elives recruit themfelves
perpetually like cities and governments. Tho*
the Bees of a hive happen to be deftroyed by
fome accident, yet many exift eight or ten years.
I knew a peafant who preferved a hive above
thirty years. The murtherers above-mentioned
add, that Bees would devour, during winter, all
the honey ftored up by them. But this is ano-
ther argument didlated by avarice, which ever
millakes its true interefl. It mull be confefTed,
iliat our infedls would eat the greateft part of

fuch

of B E E S. 379

fuch honey, and perhaps all ; fince they hoard it
up merely as provifion for themfelves. But does
it not argue more wifdom m us, to be contented
with taking away a portion at different years, and
in various feafons of the fame year, as is the
practice in many countries ; than to carry off the
whole at once ? By what name would you call a
peafant, who fliould kill his goat, merely that he
might, at once, take all the milk contained in
the bladders of the animal ?

CLAR. How delighted am I to hear you
confound covetoufnels ; and undertzike the de-
fence of innocence, in oppofition to oppreffion
and tyranny ! Would I could enad laws, a dread-
ful proclamation fhould then be publilhed in-
ftantly againft Bee-cide,

EUGEN. There is really fuch a one. Alex-
ander de Montfort, whom I before mentioned,
cites a law, enaded by a grand duke of Tufca-
ny ; forbidding all perfons to put Bees to death,
upon pain pf being punifhed arbitrarily.

CLAR. Delightful prince! how juftly did
he deferve to command over others 1 Why was
not this laudable example imitated by all the mo-
narchs upon earth ? Myfelf will make fuch an
injundion, and caufe it to be publifhed through-
put the whole extent of my little territories.

EUGEN. This will be well •, but then you,
at the fame time, muft reftore another pradice ;
I mean, the gentler method of taking away the
>vax and honey.

CLAR.

ngQ The Natural History

CLAR. 'Tis from you that I expe<5l to be
taught this.'

KUGEN. When a perfon has ufed his ut-
moft endeavours to preferve Bees, and to multi-
ply, and produce large harvcfts from them •, fuch
a one may juftly exped to fhare the fruits of
their labours witli thefe infeds i I fay divide with
them, and not feize upon the whole, and butcher
them at the fame time. This fharing or dividing
with the Btres, is performed by only cutting off
fome portions from every hive. Such is the cuf-
tom in feveral countries, where they are cut in
different feafons •, in fome this is done at the end
of February, or in the month of March. We
then may, without injuring the Bees, take away
a confiderable quantity of their wax •, and at the
fame time, of the honey remaining of their
winter-hoard. There need no more be left
them, than what may be neceffary for their fup-
port, during the inclement days, between the end
of winter and May. We alfo may take out fe-
veral of their combs, which are empty of honey -,
particularly thole, the wax whereof is grown
too black. What is thus taken away from Bees,
at a time when they have an opportunity of re-
cruiting it foon, is a fuperfluity which, fo far
from injuring, gives them more room, and an
' opportunity of making new work. However,
as the time, for this operation, differs in many
places •, it muft vary according to the different pro-
vinces or countries ; and according to the more
or lefs ckm.ency of the feafons. Our harvefts are

not

of B E E S. 381

not all gathered in the fame month. In propor-
tion as the flowers fpring forth, or are kept back,
the labours of the Bees are either forwarded or
retarded. In fome provinces the honey-combs
are not cut till July or Auguft.

CLAR. This article, of cutting the honey-
combs, feems to me a very bold attempt. D'ye
know, Eugenio, that, ever fince I have kept
Bees, I never had the courage to be prefent on
fuch occafions ?

EUGEN. D'ye think you'l dare to liften to
the defcription of it? *Tis a military expedition,
(and one of the boldeft) to carry off, from the
infide of a hive, honey-combs which thoufand ot
Bees, flrongly armed, are always prepared to de-
fend. And, indeed, he who engages in this
enterprize, (hould be armed cap-a-pee •, he muft
ufe the fame precautions obferved by your gar-
diner , when he took a fwarm from a tree, in
order to remove it into a hive •, I mean that he
muft well cover his face, his hands and legs.
Neverthelefs, fome peafants, as I obferved be-
fore, ufe none of thefc precautions. With re-
gard to the time of day fit for this operation,
fome conclude noon to be the bed ; from a fup-
pofition that the greateft part of the Bees are then
in the fields. However, I would not advife any
perfon to truft to this. About twelve at noon,
during the hot days, the leaft v/ork is done by
the Bees -, and confequently moft of thefe infedts
are then in the hives. In cafe the noon, of tem-
perate days, is chofen •, the more Bees there are

abroad.

382 The Natural History

abroad, the greater number will be returning,
home every inftant. AH thefe little inhabitants^
exafperated to find, at their return, their city de-
molifiied, and their poircflions plundered, will
hafle to vengeance ; and the enraged fquadron
will not give quarter to the common enemy.
Others are of opinion, ( which is alfo mine)
that the beft time is the morning •, as our infefts
are then flill pinched by the cold of the preceding
night. To quiet the Bees the more, and make
them lefs furious, the fmoaking them will render
thefe infcdls yet more fenfelefs. To efredl this,
the hive muft be lifted up a little, when the fmoak
of a rag, held in one*s hand, being introduced ;
this makes the Bees giddy, and forces them to
move towards the fummit of the honey-combs.
We then feize the inftant, and turning the hive
fidev/ays. Jay it on a chair or bench •, of fuch a
height as may facilitate the intended operation.
And now, a fingle glance direfted to the hive,
fhov/s at once what combs are fit for cutting.
Then with a knife, whofe blade bends like that
ufed for cutting vines, we pare away whatever
may be thought proper. The furvey of fuch
combs as are full of honey, and thofe which are
very old, determine the operator where to cut ;
and either to take whole combs av/ay, or only
parts. In a word, 'tis allowed to be jufl in fome
meafure, and even necelTary, to leave the Bees
about half their honey, 'Tis proper to keep the
rag burning during the v/hole operation ; and to
let its fmoke defcend in the hive, in order to
keep the Bees in.

CLAR.

of BEES. 3S3

CLARo All thefe precautions are extremely
feafonable. But do not the perfons who thus take
away honey and wax, run the hazard of carrying
ofF, and deftroying at the fame time, a great
number of little worms or maggots, which might
foon have turn'd to Bees ; and confequently in-
cur the penalties hinted at in the duke's cdid: ?

EUGEN. Your obfervation is quite right •,
this being an error which many, through careiefs-
nefs, often commit. However, a little experi-
ence in honey-combs ; in diftinguifhing thofe
whofe cells are fhut ; and, among thefe, the be-
ing able to difctrn fuch as are ftore-houfes of
honey, from thofe which contain nymihi?^ will
prevent our committing any miftakeson this oc-
cafion. By firfl: breaking off a little piece
from the honey-comb, and examining its cells,
we eafily difcover whether any worms, nyraph^
and eggs, are inclofed in them •, in which cafe
we muft not touch them. Some authors ad-
vife us to cut fuch combs only as are towards
the back of the hive -, but this rule is too general.
The bed is, to pitch upon fuch combs as are ful-
led of honey. After having taken what we
think proper from a hive, v/e then fct it in its
place again. That fide , whence the largeft
quantities have been taken, ought to be fet for-
ward ; that is, be molt expofed to the fun •, the
Bees chufing rather to work on this fide. Some
perfons have thought upon an expedient on thefe
occafions ; and which is judged by them as a me-
dium, between the defire of taking the produce

2 of

3^4 The Natural H i s-t o r y

of a whole hive, and the cruelty of putting all
irs inhabitants to death. The expedient I here
mean is, the removing the Bees of a full hive
into an empty one. However, this practice is
not convenient except in fpring ; and during
feafons when the fields may abundantly fur-
nifh Bees wherewithal to repair, with fpeed, the
lofles they thus fuftain. Neverthelefs, by this
praftice, the eggs are deftroyed ; which is always
a confiderable lofs, and confequently fhould be
prevented as much as poffible. I know but one
cafe in which this is abfolutely requifite, and that
is i when the falfe moths above-mentioned are
multiplied to fuch a degree in the hive, that the
fafeft courfe the Bees can take is to abandon it
to them.

CLAR. You have made me quite eafy, by
thus teaching me to reconcile our interefts with the
lives of our diminutive fubjefts. I muft now
intreat you to inform me, what methods muft
be employed, in order to enable the Bees to
pay us their contributions, without opprefling
them i or giving them the leaft caufe of com-
plaint againft us.

EUGEN. To effed this, we muft protect
our infedls to the beft of our power, againft all
fuch baleful accidents as we only can make them
efcape. Befides the living creatures who make
war upon Bees, there alfo are, in the frame of
the univerfe, various fcourges or calamities,
which it is fcarce poffible for them to Hiun. 'Tis
enough that they themfelves furnifh the admira-
ble

of B E E S. 38^

ble induftry and contrivances of which we have
taken a view ; and join dih'gence and affiduity to
a toil, the fruits whereof we defire to fliare with
them. 'Tis therefore juft that we, on the other
hand, endeavour to make their lives commodious
and eafy ; and remove from them whatever may
annoy. The two fcourges which prove moft fa-
tal to Bees, and fometimes deftroy more than
half our hives, in one year, are cold and hunger.
If therefore you are defirous of preferving your
Bees, you muft guard, as much as poffible, a-
gainft thefe.

CLAR. Is it fo very difficult to fecure Bees
from cold and hunger .?

EUGEN. Much rnore fo than is commonly
imagined. Frequently , by an endeavour to
fcreen them from cold, we expofe them to die
with hunger. This happens in manner following.
They, like all infeds, pafs the winter ; are fen-
fible to its inclemencies, and do not take any
food.

CLAR. What ufe then will they make of
thofe clofed ftore-houfes, in which they had laid
up their provifion of honey ? Hitherto I fup-
pofed, that this was to fubfifl: themfelves, after
the feafon of flowers v/as ended.

EUGEN. Thai's very true 5 but not in (o
great a latitude as you imagine. Let us refume
matters a little higher, in order to acquire a juft
idea of this. Among the infinite variety of crea-
tures formed by nature, fome of them, efpecially
in feds, cannot find food neceflfary for the fup-

C c port

The Natural History

port of their lives, except during part of the
year. Thefe, for inftance, who fubfift on the
leaves of trees, plants and fruits, are reduced to
the neceffity of exifting without food during the
other part of the year, when there are neither
leaves, plants or fruits. *Tis not difficult to
conceive, the poffibility of their undergoing fo
Ion? a faft. The only reafon of our taking fuf-
tenancc, is to repair the lofTcs we fuftain perpe-
tually by motion and perfpiration. Was it in
Gur power to Hop, in ourfelves, all motion and
diflipation of our parts ; there is no doubt but
\we then might fubfift without food, during the
whole time that we fhould continue in fuch a
ftate. The infeds do what it is not in our power
to efFedt. They are able to keep their bodies in
perfect reft during the whole winter-feafon ; in
all probability they do not wafte many animal
fpirits in thinking ; as to their perfpiration, which
is during the very 1 oL feafon, 'tis ftopped by the
cold •, hence there is no farther diffipation of
them i they have no farther occafion to recruit,
or confequently to eat. The cafe is therefore the
fame with Bees, as with oiher infc6is, in fome
few particulars excepted. Moft infecfts are able
to refift cold weather, though exceedingly rigo-
rous. You are but too well acquainted with the
fpecies of caterpillars, who make fuch cruel havock
in your orchards and woods ; fpin webs, and
pafs the whole winter at the extremity of the
boughs of trees. This infedl can refift fuch a
degree of cold, as is four or five degrees ftronger

than

of B E E S. 387

than that of 1709. Others would perifh in fo
rigorous a feafon •, but all, or moft of them, (be
the cold ever fo fharp) are a"ble to wait, abfte-
mioufly and in repofe, till the feafon comes round
again, during which the earth will produce the
fuftenance fit for them. But the Bees are not in-
dued with this talent -, they being able to refift
only a certain degree of cold, and this not over
fcvere. That which flops vegetation, and the
fpringing of flowers, reduces them to a flatc in
which fuflenance feems not neceflary ; it keeps
the Bees in a fort of lethargic ftate, during
which they don't perfpire ; at leaft on fuch fmall
quantities, that their bodies fuffer very little from
it. Were the winters always equally cold ; in
fuch a degree as would only throw them into a
kind of kthargy, till fuch time as the fpringing
forth of flowers, they then would have no occa-
fion for the honey ftored up by them -, but, du-
ring the feafon we are fpeaking of, the days are
far from being like one another. I will fup-
pofe Bees cramped or benumb'd by the degree c f
cold above-mention'd : now fhould the froft break,
or the air foften ; fhould the beams of a refplen-
dent fun play on the hive and warm it, our in-
fers would roufe inflantly from their drouzinef s
This fudden heat revives, and draws them out cf
their lethargic flate -, they flutter their wings,
and are in motion ; they are refl:ored to their
former adivity, and at the fame time to their
appetite. 'Tis then they are reduced to the ne-
ceflity of taking fuflenance. As the fields will

C c 9. not

The Natural History

I'jGt fupply them with food, they open their ma^
gazines, and have recourfe to the honey and
crude wax which had been laid up in them. They
begin by opening the lower cells ; they not
touching the upper ones till afterwards, though
thefe were firft filled by them. They certainly
mull have good reafons, for feeding upon that
honey firft which was gathered in laft. I imagine
that the fummer or autumn honey is not thought
by them fo fit for keeping, as that of the fpring ;
and that it perhaps thickens fooner. In a word,
whenever the cold increafes, they revert to their
lethargic ftate •, and when it foftens, their craving
for food returns. Thus, the fofter the air conti-
nues during winter, the more honey the Bees
confume j the larger confumption is daily made
of the quantity ftor'd up by them •, and confe-
quently, they run the greater hazard ofconfuming
their whole ftock, before the flower-feafon comes
round again. Thus they are in danger of being
ilarved. On the other hand, if they are not nu-
merous enough in the hive, or if the winter is too
inclement, they very probably maybe killed by
the cold. A certain degree of cold is therefore
fcivourable to Bees ; that which only pinches or
benumbs them, fecures them from the danger of
ftarving -, that which does not pinch them, may
occalion their being flimiflied j and that which
pinches or benumbs them too much, is mortal.
Hence 'ds plain that Bees, during fevere winters,
are expofcd to perifh through cold ; and, in foft
'winters, to be ftarved to death. Our Bees

know

of B E E S. 3S9

know perfeflly well, that they are expofcd to
thcfe two calamities; and for this reafon they
exert their iitmoft to fecure themftlves from them.
They love to be exceedingly numerous in their
hives •, they, doubtlefs, knowing that the more
populous they are, the warmer their inward air
will be J and by this means they preferve them-
felves from the feverity of the winter. They
likewife fecure themfelves from the famine to
which a too mild winter would expofe them, by
laying up ftores of honey and crude wax.

CLAR, Since thefe little creatures are fo
vigilant with regard to their own intereils, what
need we concern ourfelves about them ?

EUGEN. Tho' nature has endued Bees with
fo much knowledge, as to be lenfible of their own
wants, it yet has not thought proper to rjve them
powers fufficient to guard enough againft them.
Nature, very probably, thought it requifire that
we fhould lend a helping hand on thefe occafions ;
and partake in their toils, in cafe we defired to
fhare in the fruits of them. For this reafon, if
we are willing to preferve our Bees during the
winter-feafon, we mufl attend efpecially to two
things •, I mean, to preferve them from perilling
through cold -, and to take care that they may net
be in want of fuftenance, when the winter is
mild, or continues too long fo. I'll now inform
you, with refpefl to thefe two articles, of al: the
particulars which experience has taught us.

CLAR. I fhall liften to you with p]?afjre.

My Bees may depend upon being tenderly us'd,

C c 3 the

The Natural History

the inflarit I fliall be told, how to fix upon fuch
a degree of cold as is neceflfary for their prefer-
vation.

EUGEN. Every Bee is not able fingly to
refift, for a long time, a degree of cold much
fofter than that which can congeal water. I don't
know any infe<5t to whom heat is fo neceffary.
Bees die with cold in an air, the temperature of
which would be found foft enough, by all the
other infedts of our climate.

CLAR. How is it pofTible then for them to
live in gardens, during very fevere winters ? For,
tho* great numbers of them die, you yet muft
own that fome furvive ; nay, that multitudes of
them refift this rigorous feafon, and are alive in
fpring.

EUGEN. This is becaufe the air of a hive is
not the fame with that of a garden. 'Tis ever
hotter; and this heat is greater or lefs, according
as the hive is more or lefs populous. Figure to
yourfelf thatahive refemblesa play-houfe, on the
occafion we are fpeaklng of. Was fuch an edifice
to be in the middle of the fields, during a fine
winter's day •, when the feverity of a froft was
exccfilve, and there was but a fingle perfon in
this theatre ; you'll naturally conceive that fuch a
perfon muft be almoft as fenfible to cold, as
others who fhould ftand on the outfide of it.
But (hould a thou land perfons come into it, the
cold would begin to lelfen. After this, fhould
benches be fixed fufficient for ten or twelve thou-
fand perfons to feat themfelves 5 as every indivi-
dual

of B E E S.

dual would furnifh his quota of natural heat, the
air within this play-houfe might then change to an
agreeable temperature ', whilft the air out of the
theatre, would be ten or twelve degrees colder
than that which can freeze water. But how great
would be the alteration, lliould the ten or twelve
thoufand perfons we are Ipeaking of, take it into
. their heads to rouze all together, run up and
down, and exert the moft vigorous motions?
There is no doubt but thefe would at laft work
themfelves into a fweat •, and communicate to the
air in the theatre, a degree of heat equal to that
of the hotteft fummcrs. In applying this com-
parifon to our hives, you'll eafily conceive that,
accordingly as they are more or lefs populous,
the better they'll be enabled to bear up againft the
extremeft cold. Thus you perceive how eafy it is
for us to fecureour inftdls from this calamity. Our
only bufinefs is to take care, at the approach of
winter, that fuch hives as we are defirous of pre-
ferving during this feafon, may be well ftock'd
with Bees. Hence arifes a maxim of great im-
portance to the prefervation of thefe infe6ls,
which is, that when fome of our hives are thinly
peopled, we need only make one hive of two -,
I mean, remove all the Bees of one hive into the
other, and this we term coupling or marrying
them. By this means our infedls will be fo po-
pulous, as may enable them to pafs the v/interj
lefs liable to dilaftrous accidents.

CLAR. I had been told of th's pradice be-
fore, but was unacquainted with the reafon why
C c 4 it

The Natural History

it was done. However, I can Icarce imagine
that Bees, who, when I touch them, don't make
a fenfible impreflion of heat upon my finger •,
Jhould yet be able to communicate to the air with
which they are furrounded, a heat like to that
you would have me fuppofe, by your comparifon
of twelve thoufand perfons in a play-houfe. Man-
kind may be endued with fuch a natural heat as
is not found in Bees. You know much better
than myfelF, that comparifons are no proofs.

EUGEN. I therefore muft convince you by
experiments. One day in January, I had
placed in my garden, and at the fide of a glafs
hive, a thermometer. It Rood at three degrees
below froft ; that is, the air was three degrees
folder, than was neceflary to freeze fbanding water.
A pane of glafs was broke in one of the corners of
my hive j when, taking away what I had put to
flop this opening, I thruft my thermometer into
the hole of the hive, after taking it from its
wooden frame. Notwithllanding that the honey-
combs, on which the ball of the thermometer
flood, were at a pretty confiderable diftance from
the center, and from the place whither the Bees had
retired for fhelter; the fluid rofe neverrhelefs
quickly, and afcended to ten degrees above frofl.
Thefe ten degrees denote that of the temperature
of cellars. Had it been pofTible for me to ad-
vance the ball of my thermometer, among the
groop of Bees in. the center of the hive ; poffibly
the fluid would have rofe as high, and perhaps

higher,

of B E E S. 393

higher, than it does in many of our hot fummer-
days.

CLAR. Methinks this experiment muft be
unanfwerable.

EUGEN. But I don't intend that you fliali
be fatisfied barely with a fingle experiment.
Here follows another of the fame kind, made by
me in the month of May. I let down the ball
of a thermometer through a hole left by me pur-
pofely at the top of the hive. On this occafion
the ball was in the center of the clufter of B^es
who were at reft ; and the fluid rofe to thirty- one
degrees above frcft, which mufb ha.ve been done
by a heat ftronger than that of our moft fultry
days in fummer.

CLAR. What you tell me is furprizing.

EUGEN. And yet this is nothing % the Bees
procuring themfelves a much greater heat, when
they are in motion. I had kept, during winter.
Bees in a hive, into which they had been re-
moved, without being allowed the leaft portion
of honey-comb : in fhort, they were quite defti-
tute, in fome meafure, of neceffaries. At the
time I am fpeaking of, the external air was very
little above froft. The glafs panes of my hive
were cold to my finger. But whenever I di-
flurbed thefe Bees, either purpofcly or undefigned-
ly ; whenever they difperfed themfclves, and that
they began to move tumultuoufly up and dov/n ; to
flutter their wings, and to make a ftrong hum-
ming ; the hive grew, on a fudden, fo very hot,
that when I touch'd the very fime panes of glafs
'/h- ■• T K ■'■—-' ■^-inj, - !d J they now felt as hot

as

The Natural History

as if I had held them near the fire ; and in fuch
a degree of heat as is fcarce fupportable.

CLAR. Here we have an image of the ten
thoufand men fweating in the theatre you were
fpeaking of; at the fame time that the froft
without, was as violent as poflible.

EUGEN. This proves to you, that the more
Bees there are in a hive, the lefs we need to fear
that the air fhould grow cold enough to deftroy
them. Where thefe are very numerous, they
have heat enough among themfelves to keep one
another warm.

CLAR. I yet have heard my gardiner fay,
that the Bees of fome hives, after refilling the
winter, died with cold in the fpring.

EUGEN. The fame has happened to my
Bees, the caufe of which I found, and alfo a
remedy for it. The caufe is, when the Bees,
at the clofing of winter, take their flight too
foon. As they go from an exceffively hot air,
to another that is too cold for them to bear, they
are (truck with it and die. If thefe too impa-
tient Bees happen to be very numerous, the hive
is depopulated by fo many •, for then the hive we
are fpeaking of, which, by its being fo numerous,
could refifl; the rigours of the winter -, is not able
to bear up, againfl: the cold days Hill felt in
March and April. Plowever, this might be
remedied, by not letting them out too foon.
As 'tis v;e who are acquainted with the ftate of
the weather out of tliC hive -, it confequently is
our bufinefs to regulate the time when it will be

proper

of B E E S. 395

proper for the Bees to fally forth. I'll ioon in-
form you how this is to be done. But let us not
quit the meafure or degree of cold which our
infeds are able to fuftain i *till we have particu-
lariz'd every thing which experience may have
taught us on thefe occafions, I before obferved,
that a degree of cold which would be flightly felt
by mankind, and the generality of infedls, is too
violent for Bees. Farther, an air which is pretty
foft with regard to us, is too cold to them -, I
mean of every Bee in particular ; of fuch of our
infedls as are alone, at a diftance from their body j
or where they are but very few in number. Here
follows a proof of this. I fhut up about the end
of November, two dozen of Bees in a fand-glafs.
I then placed it in a clofet, whofe air, during the
whole day, was between four and five degrees
above froft. In lefs than an hour they appcar*d
dead. Being defnous, in the evening, to know
whether they were really dead, I caus*d them to
be warm'd, when they revived with the heat,
and all gave figns of life. I then carried them
inftantly into the fame clofet whence I had taken
them ; and immediately they fcem'd to fall dead
again. The next morning I warm'd them anew,
and they again rofe to life. I made them un-
dergo, for three days alternately, this cold and
heat •, but at lad my experiment prov'd fatal to
them, they rifing no more to life after the third
day. Another experiment made by me (if I
remember well) was on the firft of December.
I then put a dozen and half of very fprightly

Bees

396 The Natural History

Bees into another fand-glafs, which I fet in my
clofet, and in a much fofter air than the above-
mentioned. The fluid in the thermometer flood,
in the day time, at fifteen degrees *, and eleven at
night. Neverthelefs this air, tho' gentle like that
of a foft Tpring, reduced them in three hours to a
lethargi: ftate. I left them in it three days ; after
which I endeavoured, but in vain, to reftore them
to life.

CLAR. How fhall we reconcile this with
their going abroad in fpring", during a feafon
when the fame air, fo far from killing, revives
and invites them to work ?

EUGEN. This is eafily reconciled. ^The
preceeding experiment related to Bees confined in
a fand-glafs ; Bees who were very few in number,
and at reft : But fuch as iffue from the hives
during the firft fine days, come from a place that
was very hot ; and acquire, by labour and motion,
the requifite heat. An air which, were they few
in number and una6live, would be too cold ; would
be found fupportable when they are in morion.
'Tis juft the fame when Men, during winter,
preferve, by fwift walking, the heat they had got
by fetting before a good fire.

CLAR. I underftand you. In what pofition
are they, in the hive, when it freezes ; and that
they find themfelves falling into their lethargic
ftate ? Do they hafte and hide themfelves in the
cells ? Do they take up their ftation between the
honey-combs ^

EUGEN.

of B E E S. 397

EUGEN. This you yourfclf may eafily fee,
and without any danger to your perfon, next
winter. You fliall make choice of a day when
it freezes j fhall then order one of your hives to
be laid on one fide, and even turn*d upfide down,
if you will : you then will fee the Bees between
honey-combs, clufter'd and fix'd quite clofe one
to the other -, they'll take up but little fpace, and
this towards the lower part of the hive ; at moft,
towards the middle of its height. They'll appear
fo benumb'd to your eye, that you'll imagine
them dead : fuch is the pofture and condition in
which they pafs a great part of the winter. I
will obferve on this occafion, that one of the
duties we owe our Bees is, to vifit their hives
every morning, not only during winter, but
efpecially after the cold nights of the fpring ; for,
in cafe the degree of heat they procur'd to them-
felves, is not ftiong enough to refift the violence
of the cold, their lives will be in danger. To
enabls.you to guard againft this, 'twill bs enough
to obferve, that the firfl" effed which cold has
upon Bees is to benumb them -, and that in pro-
portion as the fevere weather incrcafcs, it has fo
llrong an influence upon them, that they appear as
dead •, and their flrength is enfeebled to fuch a
degree, that the mufcles of their legs ioie the
contradlion neceflary for keeping them hook'd
one in the other. Little clufters of them will
break away, and fail to the bottom of the hive ;
here they will feem as dead, on which occafion
v/e may handle and take them up by heaps,

without

The Natural History

without fearing their flings. However, the*
they are found in this condition, you yet need
not be alarm'd j for in cafe they have not been
too long fo, you may eafily extricate them from
the danger with which they are menac'd : only
fet them by the fire, and they'll recover. This
fdcret was not unknown to the antients. Varro
and Columella, two writers on rural affairs, who,
agreeably to the opinion cntertain'd in their time,
thought this lethargic (late a real death •, declare,
that the way to recall thefe Bees to life, is to lay
them on hot aflies. I fancy that you have no
manner of notion of this fort of refurredlion,
for which reafon I fhall not trifle away time, in
pointing out to you the abfurdity of that word.
I proceed therefore to the remedy. That of hot
afhes is good i but that of laying them upon dryers
is better ; or to put them in large boxes or glalfes,
and bring them near to a gentle fire, is beft of all.
I have fometimes had hives, all the Bees in which
appear'd lifelcfs, tho' they had laid between the
honey-combs. Then, to revive them, without
caufing any havock ; I plac'd, under the hive, a
fmall earthen pot, in which were a few burning
coals, cover'd with a large quantity of hot ajfhes.
This expedient is the fimpleft and moft eafy ;
however, as I obferved above, we muft not leave
the Bees too long in this lethargic ftate ; for,
fliould it be fuffer'd to continue many days, the
remedy I am fpeaking of would be attempted
without fuccefs.

2

CLAR.

of B E E S.

CLAR. The particulars I have now heard
are exceedingly curious •, however, I don'c yet
know how to find the exadt degree of cold ne-
ceflary for keeping my Bees in a lethargic ftate ;
and this I am impatient to be taught.

EUGEN. I fliould firft give you a com-
pleat idea of the theory, on which the pradlice
I defign to inftrudl you in is grounded. The
degree of cold requFfite for Bees, during the
winter- feafon, is not a fix*d point, nor eafy to
be prov*d. The difpofition of the place in
which they are kept during this feafon •, the
fituation, the greater or lefs number of Bees in a
hive ; all thefe caufe different degress of cold to
be required. A very populous hive will live in
a place, the air of which will be cold enough to
kill one that is more thinly inhabited. One hive
fhall be thrown into that ufeful lethargic ftate, by
the fame degree of cold, which would be a degree
of heat for another. Whilft the Bees, in one hive,
ftiall be confuming their provifions, the Bees in
another fhall be expiring. Should we enter into
fuch a detail, as might teach us to prcferve every
individual Bee from the feverities of winter and
hunger, we fhould be obliged to have recourfe to
expedients which v/ould perhaps, be found im-
practicable, at leaft by country people *, fuch
expedients as would require time and expence?,
which the profits made by hives could never pay.
The methods or expedients, for our purpofe, are
general ones •, fuch as may be eafily put in ex-
ecution, and v/hofe tendency is moft beneficial.

'Tis

99

40O The Natural History

*TIs on thefe I now intend to treat. 'Tis certain
that if hives, inftead of being left during the
whole winter in gardens -, there exposed to all the
rigours of cold, were remov'd, under covert 5
they, by this means, would not be in fo much
danger of perilhing by the cold, as when ex-
pos*d to the open air. One praftice of very
great antiquity, and ufed in feveral provinces or
countries, is, to ftop all the apertures of the hives
about the beginning of November *, and then
remove them to a green-houfe, or fome place
equivalent to it. However, this practice, fo far
from being fufficient, is expofed to many incon-
veniencies. Such hives as are ftrong and very
populous, will refift the extremes of cold ; but
thefe rigours will deflroy the weaker hives: for
we cannot compofe our hives of an equal number
of Bees, nor even in fuch a proportion as may be
pretty near one another ; and fome of our hives
will always be found weak, with regard to excefs
of cold. In fine, that method which propofes
the (topping up every opening or cranny of the
hives, and even the doors, in order to keep out the
cold, make the Bees fubjedl to many fatal difeafes.
A too clofe air corrupts daily, it being infedled
by the fmcll of the Bees. Their perfpiration
moiftens it very much -, and moid air kills, and
even rots them in the hive. From thefe confi-
derations, feveral perfons ( fpite of the great
rifk to which fuch hires, as are left in the open
air during the whole winter, are expos*d) think it
fafer to let them ftay abroad.

CLAR.

of BEES. 40X

CLAR. Mechinks fuch a medium might
very eafily be found on thefe occafions, as would
remedy all thefe inconveniencies : for diis purpofe
we need but leave our flrong or populous hives
in the garden, and remove all the weak ones into
the green-houfe.

EUGEN. Your obfervation is very juft •, and
therefore I fhall not compare it with another
mofl trifling one, which fome of the antients
have taught us, and this is, to lay fome dried
carcalTes of birds into our hives ; they aflerting
that thefe fecure them from the cold. As I am
perfuaded you will not lofe time in repeating
this experiment i I fKali confider only the divifion
of the hives jull now mentioned. This would
be the moft expeditious for fuch perfons as are
thrifty of their time •, but far from being the moft
falutary with regard to Bees. If you remember
how very difHcult it is to fecure Bees from cold,
you v;ill conclude that the warming of your green-
houfes will not be fufficient to preferve the weak
hives. Though thefe places be ever fo well fhut,
the extreme rigours of cold v/ill yet pierce into
them. To make them, therefore, fit for our
purpofe, a fire fhould be kept all the winter,
in thefe green- houfes -, in like manner as in thofe
where foreign plants are nurfed : but as this would
be an over-great cxpence for country people, and
take up too much of their time, it confequentiy
cannot be of ufe to them. To remedy this, I
hit upon a method, which, after feveral trials, was
found very fuccelsfL^l. To prevent any miflake
Dd in

The Natural History
in this cxperimem, I made it on hives of every
kind •, fome of them being very weak or thinly
inhabited, and compofed of only a handful, as it
were, of Bt^cs. I propofed, on thefe occafions,
to unite together the three views, which all perfons
who defrre to preferve their Bees, muft attend to.
P'irfl:, to fecure my infects from the moft vio-
lent extremes of cold : fecondly, not to ftop the
door o( their hives, but leave them the liberty of
Tallying forth on fine days,, and thus make the
air capable of being renew'd -, thirdly, to let
them meet with food in their hive, in order that
they might not be forced to go and feek it
abroad ; and confequently prevent their being ex-
pofed to fuch feverities of cold as would prove fatal
to them. There cannot be a greater fimplicity
than in this method, and is fo v/ell Ibited to pea-
flmts, who commonly have plenty enough of the
utenfils employed by me on this occafion. I took
an old caflc, whofe head was knocked off; when
lifting' it upright, I threw, at the bottom of my
caflc, a lay or bed of dry and very clofe earth,
about four or five inches thick. After placing
boards on this lay, I fet my hive on this
oooring. I then filled all tiie void fpaces be-
tween the fides of the cafk and the hive, with
the fune kind of dry, clofe earth, quite to the
top of the cafk. You will natural!" fuppofe,
that, by means of fuch a clothing, which is
neither dear, nor difficult to be come at, my
Bees were well fecured from the feverity of the
winter.

CLAR.

of BEES.

CLAR. This I can eafily imagine, and I
€ven fuppofe that they were quire ft! fled *, an
infallible fecret to prevent their dying with
cold.

EUGEN. You don't do honour to my in-
duftry and contrivance, i^c. I will now inform
you that I made a door which flood always open,
in order that the air might have a free paffage ;
as alfo the provifions, at fuch times as my Bees
Were not in their lethargic ftate •, for, being
buried in the earth, as 1 obferv'd, they will be
ofcner hot than cold ; and confequcntly be fre-
quently in want of food. In the firft place,
before I put them into the cafic, I laid, on the
flooring of the hive, an earthen pan fill'd with
honey ; and, over this honey, a fheet of paper
prick'd full of little holes, in order that the Bees
might cat the food juft mention'd, without any
of its fl:icking to their legs. By this means they
will be fecured from famine. /\nd now to fnow
you how I furnifhed them with air, I mud ob-
ferve, that a hole was made about the bottom of
my cafk, exadtly of the fame height with, and
oppofite to the door of my hive. Before I fur-
rounded my hive with earth, I had introduc'd,
by the hole in queftion, a wooden trough, of
fuch a length that it projected a few inches cut of
the calk -, and extended inward, to the door of
the hive. By means of this trough or gallery, my
infects had an opportunity of going in and cut, at
pleafure, and their air was renew'd perpetually.

CLAR. This method of preferving hives

feems to me a very happy contrivance, and

D d 2 eafily

The Natural History
eafily executed. Neverthelefs, a r.ian who Wa^
pofiefied of an hundred, or twice that number of
hives, would have a confiderable deal of bufmefs
upon his hands, fliould he be obh'gcd to provide
iO many cafl^s.

EUGEN. 'Eis really very hard to pleafe
you. Old calks are not fo dear a commodity as
you may imagine. However, to content you,
I will make the thing dill eaficr. If you happen
to be one day pofiefs'd of a great number of
hives, and only a lew old cafisis, you fhall keep
thefe for what ufe you pleafe, and employ long
boards in their Head ; or, to be ftill more frugal
(for I perceive that is what you aim at) you fhall
have hurdles, the holes of which mufl be nar-
row j thefe muft be a little higher than the hives ;
and fet in form of a partition, of a length pro*
portionable to the number of your hives ; you
need only fet up a few ftakes to fupport them.
There mufl; be kft^ between the two rows of
hurdles or boards, a diftance a little greater than the
diameter of the hives. Here a flooring mufl: be
laid like to that in the caflc ; and you mufl: place,
on this flooring, all your hives one after ano-
ther -, with each its earthen-pan and trough or
gallery of communication ; which mufl: extend,
from the door of the hive, without the partition :
after this, the whole void fpace, between the
partitions, to the height of the hives, mufl: be
fill'd with very dry earth. By tliis means, the
greateft cold, with regard to Ik^s, will be found
but moderate i fuch as a degree will throw our

infcdls

of BEES.

infecls into the gentle lethargic ftate, which is of
advantage to them. A moderate cold will, in
their hives, be of fuch a warmth as to invite them
to take their food ; and the provifion of honey
you will fupply them with, will compenfite for
the want of honey in their ftore-hoi-fts, which
will foon be emptied. The aperture I propofe
to be left in the hives, will give them an oppor-
tunity of ififuing forth during fine days i a cir-
cumftance that muft necellirily contribute greatly
to their health •, and preferve them from the di-
feafes to which they are fubjci::!, when too long
fhut up. You likewife will not be obliged to
vifit them fo often, as I obferved would be ne-
cefiary during winter, in order to examine whe-
ther their lethargy is not of a deadly kind. In
fine, you likewife may defend them very eafily,
by this method, from an enemy who is extream.
ly formidable in the cold feafon. This is the
fort of field- miOufe, concerning whom I before
promJfed to treat ; and who, whenever he has
got into a hive, makes dreadful havock. This
creature does not dare to attack our Bees in ano-
ther feafon, as knowing that he would be made
to pay dear for fuch an attempt. He ftays till
the Bees are benumb'd v/ith cold •, on which cc-
caficn he ruflies into the hive, and devours all the
inhabitants of it, who are then unable to make
the leaft refiflance. I have fcen fomc very
populous hives dtftrqy'd by them in one night.
The manner of his cacinrj; them is likewile wor-
thy of our obfervarion. The belly and intralls

D d 3 of

The Natural H i s T o r v

of animals are ufually the parts which excite the
voracioufnefs ol thofe creatures who feed upon
them •, but thek very parts are not regarded by
the field-moufe •, he preferring the head and
breaft, though thefe parts are drier, and much
more fcaly.

CLAR. I am lefs (Iruck with the fingularity
of this creature's tafte, than defirous of knowing
how I muft drive him from my Bees.

EUGEN. Tlie common way is to put up
moufe-traps, near the hives : but then thefe traps
don't deftroy all the mice, fome of them never fail-
ing to get clear off. The fliorteft way is to prevent
any of them from being able to reach the Bees ;
and this may be done, in our cafks or hurdles, by
fixing little plates of tin round the holes which
fcrve them for doors •, in like manner as at the
windows of dove-houfcs, to prevent pole-cats
from creeping into them.

CLAR. I give you my word that my hives
fliall be well buried, all winter, between two
partitions of hurdles. Whatever my gardiner
may fay to the contrary •, what refped foever
may be due to anticnt cufloms, I will give no
credit to them -, and buried they fhall be in
earth, tho' I myfclf lliould be forcM to do this.

EUGEN. You fay well. The belt method
for inftruding country people, is to fet examples
before them. They arc commonly very dull
with regard to argumentations ; but prcportionably
fkilful in imitating whatever may produce profit.

CLAR.

of B E E S.

CLAR. I will enable them to imitate. How-
ever, before I enckav^our at this, feme illuflrati-
ons will be proper. Is it abfolutely necedary
that the earth, with which I furround my hive?,
and wherewith I fliall make the flooring to fup-
port them, be dry ?

EUGEN". It ought to be thoroughly fo, and
for this reafon. The fluid emitted by the Bees in
perfpiration, would overflow their hive •, it
would form a thick cloud which mufl: incom-
mode them greatly, fmee they would be thus
kept, continually, in a fort of drov>/n'd flate ;
their door would not fuffice to give a free pai-
fage to the vapour or fluid we are fpeaking of.
But if the earth employM on this occafion is dry,
it will imbibe this fluid like a fpunge ; and the
heat of the Bees, driving it out of the hive, thro*
the earth, will caufe it to evaporate.

CLAR. I comprehend this perfe6lly. Li
what manner mufl I prevent my Bees from iffu-
ing forth unfeafonably ; at a time that their ha-
tred of winter, and their tedious captivity, fnall
excite them to launch, imprudently, and Iboner
than they ought to do, into the expanfe of out-
ward air ? How fhall I be able to know that
the feafon proper for this is not yet come ?

EUGEN. I before obferv'd, that thefe pre-
cautions relate efpecially to the firft days in fprir.g ;
when fudden frofts arc unexpectedly fucceeded by
gentle weather •, when the Bees ;.re cheated by a
beautiful day-break, which feems to invite them ro
go forth early, and enjoy a delicious Zephyr-, inftead
D d 4 whereof:

40 8 The Natural History

whereof they meet with a cold, northern blafl,
that quite freezes them. 'Tis our bufinds, who
are abroad ; and confequently may know the
flate of the weather -, either to confine them, or
let them out, accordingly as the weather is colder
or warmer. We, in order to be informed of this,
need have recourfe to our fenfes only -, but here
our fenfes are frequently very unfaithful in this par-
ticular. The fenfition of Bees, on thefe occafions,
is infinitely more delicate than ours. If you de-
fire to be very accurate, employ the late invented
thermometers, for thefe are of admirable ufe for
our purpofe. Since you are poffefled of one
which you confult daily as an oracle, you know
that this inftrument has an exquifite fcnfition
with regard to heat and cold ; and points out,
with furprizing exadnefs, the ftate of the air at
the time defired. Place one of thefe thermometers
in your' hive -, and it will inform you, every
morning, whether your Bees may go forth from
their habitation without danger. If the thermo-
meter points to froft, you mull not fufier, upon
any account, your infe(5ts to go into the fields :
jbut when it points to the temperature of cel-
lars, it is then you may begin (o open their
doors. I have not yet told you, how doers may
be made to hives, without intercepting the paf-
fage of the air. This is done by fixing, to the
trough or gallery of every hive, a fmall grate
made (crofswife) of iron-wire, whofe holes mull
be too fmall for tlie Bees to pafs through. Now,
li' this iron-work is fixed m fuch a manner, as

2 to

of BEES. 409

to open and fhut like a window •, it will be eafy
for you, in the vifits you muft make every
morning to the hives, during this doubtful feafon,
to regulate by this thermometer, the ifluing
forth, or ftayjng at home of your Bees.

CLAR. This is an excellent contrivance.
How much honey is neceffary for fubfifting a
hive during the winter ?

EUGEN. That is according to the popu-
loufnefs of the hive. A pound is fufficient for
fuch an one as is moft numerous. The fureft
way is to put more rather than lefs.

CLAR. I could afk another quefrion, but
will forbear, I having fo good an opinion of
myfelf, as to believe that I am able to anfwer
it, without your affiftance. The hives we have
been fpeaking of, which are to be buried in the
middle of my garden, either between two parti-
tions, or in cafks ; would be expofed to rain
and fnovv, which would vyet and moiften the
earth ; the water would foak through, and con-
fequently drown my darling infers ; but I will
make them a little thatch'd roof, like to that
with which the country-people cover the flails for
their cattle. I imagine that nothing more need
be done.

EUGEN. This would be fufficient, pro-
vided that the roof in queftion projecfted a few
inches beyond the hives, in order that the rain
might be carried off at a confiderable diftance
from them. You mud own that I have furniflied
you, and all who are defirous of putting this

experiment

410 The Natural History

experiment in execution, with a very cheap me-
thod to preferve your hives during winter, and in
the beginning of Tpring. This is the mod eflen-
tial point with regard to thejr increafe ; by this
means you may lave above half, and perhaps
two thirds, of your Bees. The firft care of
every wife government is to be watchful over
the lives and health of the inhabitants. We will
confider, at our next meeting, of the duties we
owe our infefts, during the other feafons of the
year.

C O N-

of B E E S. 411

CONVERSATIOiN XVIII.

Of the methods for increafmg confidcrably the
traffic of wax. Of the produce of hives.
Of the jour nies which Bees are made to un-
dertake,

CLARISSA.

I NCE we are drawing towards the clofe of
our difcourfes on Bees, I intreat you, Euge-
nio, not to let me be a ftranger to any particular
which may add to the perfedtion of this art ; an
art I intend to make one of the pillars of the
ftate, and which will fave a great number of its
inhabitants.

EUGEN. This is a projed, CiarifTi, wor-
thy of yourfelf ; and muft neceflarily be the ef-
fect of a generous heart, and an enlightened un-
derftanding. In return for the inftruflions I
have given you, with regard to Bees ; let me
know in wh"t manner you propofe to reap fuch
valuable advantages from them.

CLAR. I will oblige our Bees to pay a great
part of the duties which the government draws
from our provinces. Thefe infeds, if my fcheme
takes place, fhall henceforwards pay a confidera-
ble part of our taxes. This projed, which no
doubt furprizes you, was fuggefted by my rc-

fieding

412 The Natural H I s T o R Y

fleding on the prodigious quantity of wax con^
fumed in France j on the price it bears •, on the
money fent abroad to procure it from foreign
countries ; and on the vaft advantages that would
accrue, from the making it as common as the fat
of cattle, of which candles are made. By re-
volving all thefe things in my mind, I fancy I,
at laft, have hit upon an eafy expedient, for pro-
curing to my native country a very valuable com-
modity, in one branch of trade ; as well by
multiplying this commodity prodigioufly •, as by
making it an occafion for eafmg the common
people, and introducing a greater oeconomy in
families.

EUGEN, This declaration of yours feems
to promife mighty things.

CLAR. And be affured that I'll make good
all my aflertions. My fcheme is founded wholly
on the infbruftions I received from you, and ftill
expe6l to receive, concerning the bed manner of
treating Bees. My firil flep will be, to oblige
every one of the inhabitants ot my hamlet to
get themfclves tv;o hives. Not a fingle family
Ihall be exempt from this injunction. I after-'
wards will teach them the ingenious methods you
have fo obligingly communicated to me, in order
to preferve our infedls during winter, and in-
creafe them from year to year. I myfelf will
firft fet them the example. In a word, I am re-
folved that, in Jefs than four or five years, my
village (hall have the reputation, of being the
fiaell \vax-manufa(fture in Europe •, and that

every

of BEES. 41

every one of my peafants Hiall be in the happy
condition, to which we are told our excellent
Henry IV would have raifed every individual in
his kingdom. I am determined that they, merely
by the produce of their hives, fliail be able to
procure themfelves the feveral fweets of life ; and
furnifh, without difficulty or regret, the taxes
laid upon them. I will bring matters fo well to
bear, that their felicity fliall excite the emulation
of their neighbours •, and as this emulation muft
fpread from town to tov/n, the whole kingdom
will confequently be affefted by it. My head is
fo full of my projeft, that I can't poffibly defer,
(till another opportunity) acquainting you with
my little fyftem. 'Tis impoffible for me to hold
any longer, and I muft difbjrthen myfelf of
it. I remember you told me, that a hive pro-
duced four or five fwarms annually. At this rate,
a perfon who fhould have two hives this year,
would have ten the next, fifty the year following,
and two hundred the fourth year.

EUGEN. Not fo faft, good Clariffa. Have
you forgot the fable of the vooman and her -pad of
milk* \ or the Afiatic who fold glaffes f. In
the firft place, I did not tell you that every hive
produced exa<5bly four fwarms annually ; but only,
that they fometimes did this. Secondly, fuch
hives, how numerous foever they may be, as have
already prodaced one or two great fwarms, foon
become thinly inhabited. For, not to mention

* See la Fontaine's fables.
f See the Perfian tale?.

th?

414 'T'he Natural History

the lofles fuftained by the perpetual diminution
which death (common to all living creatures)
makes among them •, other loffes arife alfo from
the mixture of old Bees, of which no fwarms
are without : and, if there comes forth a third or
fourth fvvarm, they are ufually too weak *, and
the only method to preferve thefe laft fwarms is,
to mix them, or join two in one. When a hive
produces feveral fwarms in a year, the fwarm
which ilTues firft is the mod valuable •, for, be-
fides its being the moft numerous, it falls to work
in a more favourable feafon. The fucceeding
fwarms always leflen in value ; confequently, a
confiderable fubftradlion muft be made from your
calculation.

CLAR. You quite ruin me. Be fo good then
as to inform me, exactly, how many fwarms I
may depend upon in a year ?

EUGEN. If your hives are well looked af-
ter ; and you take care to couple or join toge-
ther the weak fwarms, you may be affured that,
(one with the other) every hive will produce two
fwarms.

CLAR. Two good fwarms I That is fome-
thing. Well, if this be the cafe, 1*11 proceed in
my proje(5l. *Twill, indeed, not advance quite
fo fall: as I imagined -, but it perhaps will be more
fuccefsful in the end. I fay then, if every hive
produces two good fwarms annually j a man who
is now poffefled of two good hives, will have
fix next year, eighteen the following, fifty-fouf

the

of BEES. 415

the fourth, and one hundred and fixty-tvvo the
fifth, and fo on.

EUGEN. Your calculation is certainly juft,
bating hazards which, now and then, may make
fome diminution in your computation -, however,
the more care is taken of hives, the decreafes we
are fpeaking of, will be lefs in proportion.

CLAR. Your allowing me this, will very
much contribute to the fucccfs of my projeft.
However, it is neceffary that you inform me of
one particular, as my ignorance in it might e::-
pofc me to' the ill fate of the woman with her pail
of milk, hinted at above. What profit may a
hive, when well looked after, produce its owner
annually ?

EUGEN. This profit varies exceedingly,
according to the different places •, and *tis impof-
fible for it to be the fame, every year, in the
fame country. Bees have their years of barren-
nefs as well as of abundance ; farther, as the
queens, in all hives, are not alike prolific ; they
are not all equally furnifhed with artificers *, con-
fequently, much more work is done (I mean wax
made) in fome hives than in others. However,
to give you a certain ftandard, from v/hich you
may calculate exactly ; I will inform you what is
the general computation, in fuch parts of the
kingdom as are not mofl favourable to Bees. In
the places I am fpeaking of, every hive is fup-
pofed to produce two pounds of wax, and twenty
pounds of honey.

CLAR.

.i6 The Natural History

CLAR. I'll keep to this calculation. This
fhall be the common ftandard, from which 1*11
reckon the profits I intend that my tenants fliall
make. I believe you'll own that my lands are
vaftly favourable to Bees. The beautiful meads
which lie round my park -, the fhining rivulets
that lave my plants •» my flower and kitchen-gar-
dens ; my wood ; all thefe furnifh fo vaft a pro-
fufion of flowers, that my Bees may here riot
upon dainties of every kind. If Bees yield two
pounds of wax in other places, they ought to pro-
duce four upon rny eftate. However, I'll ground
my fcheme only on the foot of the ieaft profit,
in order that all perfons may find their account in
it. For this purpofe, I'll not take the honey in-
to the fuppofed gains. I'll imagine that the pea-
fant fliall make no other ufe of it than to fupport
his fiimlly j this will be an addition to his domef-
tic food •, an addition which will give joy to a
vv'ay of life which, generally fpeaking, is tqo
frugal. In a word, I am refolved that my eftate
fliall, to borrow an exprefilon from the fcrip-
tures, be a land flowing with inilk and honey. As
to the pecuniary profits, I propofe that thefe
fhall arifc merely from the fale of the wax,
which I fettle at ten-pence fer pound *. Me-
thinks I cannot impofe upon any one, in fixing
it at fo low a price.

* This anfwefs to about five-pence farthing, flerling
pioncy.

EUGEN,

of B E E S. 417

EUGEN. So far from it, that yoii wrong
yourfelf. Your eftimating the value of a hive
At only * twenty-pence, will take off every ob^
jedion that can be made to your project -, efpe-
cially as there are many provinces, in which three
or four times f that gain is made.

CLAR. I don't defire that my hamlet fhould
grow fo rich. As poverty forces the peafants to
abandon the tillage of the earth -, fuch an abun^
dance or plenty, ( from a contrary reafon ) as
iliould arife folely from thefeproduds, would caufe
hufbandry to be negleded ; and we ourfelves
would be the firfl:, who fhould feel the bad ef-
fects of ill-placed generofity. At only twenty-
pence a hive, the peafants (thofe worthy, induf-
trious creatures) would not have an opportunity
of growing idle. Neverthelefs, five years hence,
every family who, by their induflry, fhould be-
come poffeffors of an hundred and fifty hives,
would enjoy a yearly income of above one hun-
dred and fifty livrcs |]. In cafe this little fortune
amazes you, I'll fubflra6l half from it ( feventy-
five livres ) to obviate all cavils at my calculation.
'Tis ufual for projectors to magnify, in their
computations j whereas I'll diminifli mine. Ne-
verthelefs, mofl of the peaflmts who live up-
on my eftate, pay much lefs than feventy livres,
in taxes. Farther, they likewife will have, an-

* Tcn-pcnce half-penny fierling.

-j- Tlie original is, On en tire un ten, iff meme quatre
francs', " whence a crown, or even four livre.% are gained."
ii Six pounds, eleven fhillings, and three-pence.

E e nually,

The Natural History

nually, three thoufand pound weight of honey,
as well for the fuftenance of their Bees in winter,
as for the fupport of every family during the
whole year round, and even for other occafions ;
for although this fort of fruit of the earth, is far
lels valuable than wax, it yet has an intrinfic va-
lue : the government will thereby find a vaft in-
creafe of wax, which muft neceflarily leflen the
price of tapers ; a circumftance that will be of
advantage to my family. Thefe feveral benefits
will arife folely from my Bees ; and thus I have
compleated my projefl.

EUGEN. I think your fcheme an admirable
one. Give me leave to add the following re-
flexion. A diftant profit commonly makes but
a faint impreflion on the minds of the common
people. The hopes of a future benefit, of which
they have no example, will not be ftrong enough
to prevail over the fears they entertain, with re-
gard to the fatigues (how flight foever) they mufl:
go through, in order to fee thofe hopes crowned
with fuccefs. 'T would be even difficult for you
to rouze your tenants on this occafion, unlefs
they were animated by fome prefent advantage,
which may be as a furety, (to them) with regard
to futurity -, as if you, for inftance, could obtain
from court (where you have fome credit) a dimi-
nution of the taxes, in proportion to the number
of the hives, kept by all perfons fubjed: to
taxes,

CLAR.

of B E E S. 419

CLAR. You are certainly in the right ♦, and
nothing would excite their induftry fo much as
this. We may be perfuaded, that the miniftry
will give their utmoft attention to any projedt
calculated for the advantage of trade. Till this
favour is obtained, I myfelf will fupply this de-
feft, and endeavour to excite an emulation in my
tenants. By the way, will it not be of infinite
advantage to poor peafants, to be freed for ever
from the malice of an envious, revengeful col-
ledlor •, and the profecution of a mercilefs civil
officer ? To be enabled to fatisfy the colleclor,
by giving him fome pounds of a commodity,
which the owner of it pofltfled, without being ob-
liged to manufadlure it ; a commodity that will
not coft him any money ; and which he m.ay pro-
cure with little pains ?

EUGEN. I underfland you perfedly, and
will have my fhare in the good work. I am re-
folved not to leave you, till we fhall have carried
this ufeful and falutary fcheme to its greateO: per-
fection. To affedt this, I will continue to tell
you all fuch particulars as may conduce to it.
We attended, in our laft converfation, to the pre-
fervation and fuftenance ot the Bees during win-
ter •, let us now confider what is to be done for
them in the oeher feafons. The fpring vvhich,
with regard to us, is merely a feafon of hopes ;
during which we are ftill confuming the fruits ga-
thered by us in the preceding autumn, is, with
refpeft to Bees, the feafon wherein the mQft plen-
tiful harvefts are made. Nature, at this time,

E e. 2 dif-

420 The Natural History

difflifing a new heat, revives all fuch living crea-
tures as the rigours of winter had benumb'd. The
gentle breath of Zcphyrus purifies the air. Flora
difclofes her treafures. The fhepherds and Bees
are rivals with regard to flowers ; and *tis not till
after our little artificers have feized their firfl:
fweets and their fragrancy, that Cupid culls them,
therewith to adorn the bofoms of our fair fhep-
herdefles.

CLAR. Methinks you are making a paf-
toral.

EUGEN. You really draw me from a poe-
tical delirium into which I was plunging. All I
mean to fay, in plain terms, was, that during
fpring and fummer, the Bees have no need of our
care. In thofe two feafons they can eafily fupply
themfelves. They then have a profufion of
honey, virgin-wax, crude- wax, in fhort, of
every thing neceffary. The only circumfbancc we
then need attend to, is, not to let them want
water. I am of opinion, that the neighbourhood
of rivers, of large water-ftrcams, of bafons or
refervoirs whofe margins are high, are difadvanta-
geous to them. Our infefts are very liable to be
drowned in them. Winds and ftorms whirl them
into thefe : not to mention that 'tis with difficulty
they can keep themfelves Heady on the margins
or banks •, fome of which are too fteep, and
others too much buffeted by the waves. I would
rather there fliould be fet, oppofite to the hive,
water in plates or diflies ; which, when not full,
will leave a flope, whereon a Bee may, when

drinking,

of B E E S. 421

drinking, ftand conveniently dry. This, as I
obferved, is the only office thefe infedls want
from us, with regard to food, daring the two
iirfl: feafons ; but about the end, and fometimes
in the middle of fummer, they muft be treated
varioufly, according to the different countries.
The plenty difpenfed by your meads, and their
cool iliades, will fupport your Bees till winter ;
but nature has not been fo lavifh of her favours
to all countries, as to your happy fpot. The
fpacious and wealthy plains of Beauce, of the
SofTonnois, of the ifland of France, which are fo
fruitful in corn, are fruitful only to men ; they be-
ing, with regard to Bees, an ungrateful foil. Thefe
places could not fupport fo great a number of
Bees, as many others. 'Tis a cuftom with the
country people I am fpeaking of, immediately af-
ter harveft, to grub up all the ftubble, and at
the fame time all the grafs and plants growing
among it : fo thar, after the hay is mowed ;
at lead, by that time the corn is ripe, every thing
is dry and parched in thofe parts. There, when
'tis a dry fummer, the Bees rove about the fields
in vain ; they don't meet with any flowers •, or
at leaft fo few, that fuch Bees as are moft fortu-
jiate in their progreffes, fcarce get a few pellets
of crude- wax •, or provifions enough, in the
fields, and out of their hives, to fuftain them-
felves. In how different a fituation are thefe
Bees from yours ? 'Tis not therefore fufficient that
psrfons, who may be extremely defirous of mul-
tiplying their hives, endeavour at this ; they muft
E e 3 firft

The Natural History

firfl: confider whether the places inhabited by them
are fit for their purpofe ; thpy mufl proportion
the number of little tenants to the quantity of
food which thefe fpots can furnifh •, and not at-
tempt, for inftance, to keep an hundred hives,
where only ten can be fupported.

CLAR. Methinks all the particulars you now
tell me, diminifii very much tlie benefits I pro-
pos'd to reap from my fcheme.

EUGEN. Very tr.ie \ but then 'tis of ad-
vantage to its fuccefs, as it will prevent perfons
from making an ill ufe of it, by pointing out its
proper limits and extent. Tho', by putting your
project in execution, you fhould eafe only half the
country-people, flill the attempt would be highly
worthy of you ; and I am perfuaded you would
be f.itisfied with it. There are in France as many
lands (at leaft) that continue a long time frefh
and green, as others which dry up prefently,
and becomiC barren with regard to Bees ; but the
defe6ls in fome (among the latter) may, by cer-
tain expedients, be made of fervice to our infedls.
The defe(5ls here hinted at are, that fome flourifti
too early, and others ceafe too foon to be in
flower ; by which means, a long interval is left,
during which the Bees would be quite deprived of
fuftenance. Now a method has been found, in
fome countries, to remove the hives, with their
inhabitants, elfewhcTe, and afterwards bring them
back again. This is done in manner following,
as related in Mr. Maillet's curious defcription of
Egypt. You have heard of the famous inunda-
tions

of B E E S. 423

tions of the Nile, which cover regularly, every
year, the dry, burning fands of Egypt •, where,
leaving a moft prolific flime, they convert the
fpots fo overflowed, into one of the moft beautiful,
and moft fruitful countries in the world. I am
of opinion that this country would be the moft
delightful upon our globe -, if the indolence of its
inhabitants, the mixture of numberlefs ignorant
nations, who all are enemies one to the other ;
and the avarice of conquerors did not oppofe
perpetually its natural advantages. Spite of the ,
ignorance and rufticity which have got pofleflion
of Egypt, there yet remain in it feveral fcot-fteps
of the induftry and fkill of the antient Egyptians.
One of their moft admirable contrivances is, their
fending, annually, the Bees into diftant countries,
in order to get fuftenance, at a time when they
could not find any at home ; and afterwards, to
bring them back, as fhepherds who fhould travel •
with their ftieep, and m.ake them fetd as they
went along. The inhabitants of lower Egypt
obferved antiently, that all the fruits of the earth
ripen'd fooner in upper Egypt, than in their
parts ; which made a difference, of above fix
weeks, between the two countries. Hence they
were prompted to make their Bees, if pofllble,
reap an advantage from this interval ; or, in
other words, to procure them food fix weeks
fooner than they would have done in their native
place. The expedient made ufe of by them, for
the purpofe we are fpeaking of, is employ'd in
this age. About the end of Odober, all fuch
E e 4 inha-

The Natural H i s t o r y

inhabitants of lower Egypt as poffefs hives,
embark them on the Nile, and convey them upon
that river, quite to upper Egypt ; they obferving
to arrive thither, at the time when the inunda-
tion withdrawing, the lands have been fow*d,
and the flowers begin to bud. " The hives being
*' come to this part of Egypt, are there placed
*' pyramidically in boats prepared for that pur-
" pofe ; after being mark'd and number'd by
" the feveral owners who fet them there. In
" this place the Bees feed, in the fields, during
" fome days. Afterwards, when 'tis fuppos'd
" that they have got in all the honey and wax
*' that could be met with within two or three
*' leagues round ; their condu(5lors convey them,
*' in the fame boats, two or three leagues lower ;
^' and there leave the laborious infeds fo long
" time as is neceflary for them to colleft all the
" riches of the fpot in queftion." Thus, the
nearer they come to the place of their abode, the
earth forwards its productions, and the plants
flourifli in proportion : fo that we may then fay
of the Bees, with fomething more truth than we
obferve with regard to the ladies, ; that flowers
fpring up under tht-ir feet. '* In fine, about the
"" beginning of February, after having travell'd
*' through the whole length of Egypt (gathering
»^ all the rich produce of thofe delightful banks of
" the Nile) they arrive at the mouth of that river
" towards the ocean -, whence they fet out, and re-
**■ turn to their rcfpec^Uve habitations. For care is
'-•■ taken, to fee down exaftiy, in a roll or regiftcr,

" every

of B E E S. 425

'•' every diftricfl whence the hives let out In the
" beginning of the feafon ; their number •, and
" the names of the particular perfons who fent
" them ; as likewifc the mark or number of the
" boats, in which they were placed, according
*' to their feveral habitations." *

CLAR. It muft be a fingular fpeflacle to a
traveller, to view whole fleets of Bees, failing
pompoufly on this noble river. Cleopatra's fleet
which went to meet Mark Anthony, was more
gaudy indeed •, but then it did not refled fo much
honour on the underfl:anding of the Egyptians.
But I have heard of fomething fl:ill more in-
genious, with regard to our infefts •, if we may
credit what we are told in Spe^acle de la Nature.\
'Tis there declar'd, that the Egyptians had found
the fecret of giving an education to Bees, fuch
a one as few animals are capable of acquiring.
That they had fhepherds, ^ho led them to
pafture, in the fame manner as a fliepherd leads
his flock ; that the Bees, more tradable than the
laft- mentioned animals, were prompted, merely
by a whittle, to leave their hives, or return to
them ; to go from one meadow to another ; to
fly to the banks of a rivulet ; in (liort, to follow
their leader, from village to village, whither-
foever he might think proper.

EUGEN. I alfo have read this relation, or
rather little romance ; and I remember that the

* Defcription of Egypt, torn. II. p. 24.
-f- Tom III. p. 37. Incur Englifh tranflation of this ex-
cellent work, 'tis Tom. III. p. 23, 24, of the 8vo edition.

author

426 The Natural History

author quotes, to prove his alTertion, a pafTuge
from the prophet Ifaiah,* and another from
St. Cyril. However, notwithftanding thefe ve-
nerable authorities, I believe we may doubt the
truth of this aflertion -, and apply this whittle
to failors concerned in the management of boats ;
I mean, that it was ufed about failing ; and to
otherwife direft the Egyptian mariners, rather
than govern the Bees.

CLAR. But, Eugenio, if Ifaiah declares
the very words mentioned in Spe5iacle de la
Nature, methinks we cannot but give credit to
them. Do you confider that 'tis a facred Writer
who fpcaks .?

EUGEN. I bear no lefs reverence to this
divine book than St. Jerom did *, and will obferve
to you (after him) that many things are told in
the fcripture, conformably to the opinion which
prevailM in that age, and not to the mod exacfc
truth. i" The ficred Writers exprefs themfelves,
fometimes, fuitably to the notions of the vulgar,
rather than agreeably to the accuracy of phyfics ;
and for this reafon, becaufe human fcitnces arc
of little confequence with regard to the know-
ledge of falvation and fandification ; which is
the only end propofed by the Almighty, in
giving us the fcriptures. Bees, in our age,
would not be capable of receiving fuch an educa-
tion ; and it is more than probable, that thole

* Sec luiah V. 26, and VIT. 18.

•{• luxta ophiionetn iUhis temporij, y ncn j-uxia quod rei
Veritas continebat. S. Hieron in c. 28.

of

of BEES. 427

of pad times were not better qualificfd to learn,
than our prefent bfe<5ts. But to rdume our iub-
jedl. Egypt is notliie only country in which
our infeds are made to travel. Alexander de
Montfort tells us, that the Italians who live near
the banks of the Po, treat their Bees in much the
fame manner as the Egyptians ; that they load
boats with hives, and convey them to the neigh-
bourhood of the mountains of Piedmont ; that,
in proportion as the Bees gather in their harveft,
the boats, by growing heavier, fink deeper into
the water; and that the watermen determine
from hence, when their vefiTels are loaded fuffi-
ciently ; and that 'ds time to carry them back to
the place whence they came.

CLAR, This proves to me, how exceedingly
advantageous it is for perfons to live in the neigh-
bourhood of a great river, when their fields are
not very abundant in flowers, or fufficient to fup-
port our infedls during every feafon. I conceive
that Bees, (by taking a little voyage upon a river)
and enjoying the fpring of a dry country, with
the autumn of a fat, Ihady foil, may thus be
fupported the year round. But in order to do
this, the owners of hives muft live near a naviga-
ble river, otherwife what I juft now obfervcd
would be defeated ; and you know that many
places have not fuch an advantage.

EUGEN. This defed may be fupplied by
land-carriage. Columella informs us, that the
Greeks conftantly convey'd every year Bees, from
Achaia into Attica i and this becaufe that, at the

time

428 The Natural History

time that the flowers in Achaia are gone, thofe of
Attica began to blow. Montfort relates, that
the people of the country of Juliers us'd the fame
practice ; and that, at a certain feafon of the
year, they carried Bees to the foot of moun-
tains cover'd with thyme, and that of the wild
kind. I, indeed, borrow thefe inftances from
remote times, and foreign countries -, but as
people are commonly apt to fubflra6l many things
from thefe relations j I muft give you an example
of what is done among ourfelves, in the center of
France, and of which you yourfelf may be eye-
witnefs. One of thofe men, born for the im-
provem.ent of the arts, and whofe name deferves
to be tranfmitted to pofterity, (Mr. Proutautj
makes his Bees travel like thofe of the Greeks of
Achaia. This ingenious artift has Cn up a manu-
fafture, for whitening wax, -fnear Petiviers, in the
diocefe of Orleans ; and there keeps a great
number of hives. This fpot is one of thofe in
which flowers become rare or fcarce very foon,and
where few or none are feen after the corn is
ripen'd. He then fends his Bees into Beauce, or
le Gatinois, in cafe it has rain'd in thofe parts.
This is a journey of about twenty miles * which
he makes them take. But, if he concludes that
the Bees could not meet, in either of thefe coun-
tries, wherewith to employ themfelves advantage-
oufly, he then has them carried into Sologne,
about the beginning of Auguft -, as knowing

f At YevrelavilJe.

• The original h, fix a fcpt I'.cucs, " fix or leven leagues "

that

of B E E S. 429

that they there will meet with a great many fields
of buck-wheat in flower, which will continue fo
till about the end of September.

CLAR. I eafily conceive, that hives may be
carried to a great diftance in boats. This car-
riage is gentle, and can hurt Bees very litde.
But then, methinks the conveying them by land,
niuft be attended with many difficulties. In what
manner does your induftrious artift ad: on this
occafion ? I prefume that he is not fo polite as to
convey our infefls in a coach or a litter.

EUGEN. The ancient hiftorians had not
acquainted him with the method by which the
Greeks us'd to fend away their Bees by land : but
here follows his contrivance, which he praflices
with fuccefs. The firfl: care is, to examine thofe
hives, fome of whofe honey- combs might be
broken or feparated, by the jolting of the vehicle ;
they are made faft one to the other, and againft
the partitions of the hive, by means of fmall
(licks which may be difpofed differently, as oc-
cafion will .(how. This being done, every hive
is fet upon a packing-cloch, or fomething like
it, the threads of which are very wide : they then
turn up the fides of this cloth, and lay them on
the outfide of each hive ; and tie them too-ether
with a piece of fmall pack-thread, obfcrving to
wind it feveral times round. They afterwards
place in a cart, built for that purpofe, as many
hives as it will hold. The hives are fet two and
two, the whole length of the cart. Over thefe,
others are placed, which make, as it v.eie, a

fecond

43 o The Natural History

fecond lay or bed of hives. Thefe muft be al-
ways put topfy-turvy ; 'tis for the flike of their
honey-comhs, ard to fix them the better, that
the hives are difpofed after this manner; for fuch
as have no honey- combs, or very fmall ones,
are placed in their natural fituation. Care is taken
in this (lowage, not to let one hive ftop up an-
other i it being eflentially necelTary for the Bees
to have air ; and *tis for this reafoh they are
wrapped up in a coarfe cloth, the threads of which
were wove very wide, in order that the air may
have a free paflage, and qualify the violent heat
which thefe infeds raife in their hives ; efpecially
when they move about very tumultuoufly, as
often happens in thefe carts. Thofe ufed for this
purpofe in Yevre, hold from thirty to forty-eight
hives. As foon as all are thus ftow'd, the caravans
fet out. If the feafon is fultry, they travel only in
the night ; bur, in cool days, they make a pro-
per advantage of them. You'll imagine that
they don't ride poll. The horfes muft not be
permitted even to trot -, they are led flowly, and
through the fmootheft roads. If any hives are
void ot honey-combs •, or have not fufficient to
fupport the Bees during their journey, which is
more than of one day, they are made to ftay in
the place where they happen to be. The fort of
hives we are fpeaking of, are taken out of the
cart •, are fet upon the ground ; and after re-
moving the packing-cloth, an aperture is made at
the bottom of every hive ; by v/hich the Bees iflue
forth in order to procure themfelves provifions
2 abroad.

of B E E S. 431

abroad. The firft field they come to ferves as an
inn to them. In the evening, as foon as they are
all returned, the hives are fhut up ; and being
placed again in the cart, they proceed in their
journey. When the caravan is arrived at the
journey's end, the bafkets are fet up and down
in the gardens ; or in fields adjacent to the houfes
of different peafants, who, for a very fmall re-
ward, undertake to Jpok after them. 'Tis thus
that, in fuch fpots as are not very abundant in
flowers, means are found to fupply the wants of
Bees during the whole year. Your lands want
none of thefe contrivances ; for which reafon
let us proceed in enumerating fuch precautions as
are neceflary, in all countries, for the profperity
of thofe infefls, and their labours. But I perceive
that I have employ'd your attention a long time ;
and yet I have enough to furnidi another compleat
converfation, for which reafon we*il break off
here.

CON-

432 The Natural History

CONVERSATION XIX.

Of the precautions necejfary for 7naking Bees
thrive. Of the difeafes to which they are ,
fubjeSti and their ?mtiiral death, - •

EUGENIC.

IMuft finifli to day, what I had to obferve,'
concerning the care we muft take of Bees, in
order to reap all the advantages pofllble from
their hives -, and pay ourfelves for the fervices
they receive from us. One of the firft objects of
our care, in fpring, is the looking alter the
fwarms. We muft watch their going forth, to
prevent our lofingany. You have feen the man-
ner in which they are taken •, the endeavours ufed
to make the hive, offerM to them, agreeable.
The Bees mud not be put, at random, into the
firft that comes to hand. 'Twill be proper to
have hives of different fizes •, and proportion, as
near as we can, thefe little manfions to the po-
puloufnefs of the fwarms. Bees don'c love to
refide in too wide-extended habitations ; and that
becaufe they would be too cold in them. Seafons
which would not be hurtful to our infcds in nar-
row hives, would incommode them in fpacious
ones. They likewlfe would not be fatisfied with
too narrow hives •, for, befides that fuch would
be too hot ; they would foon want room for
I build ins

of B E E S. 43

building a number of cells fuitable to their popu-
Joufnefs. However, after we may have taken
the utmoft care (which experience will foon teach)
for thispurpofe •■> yet Bees often want room. This
happens efpecially to good hives ; to fuch as
have a very prolific queen ; and in a favourable
feafon. For the fudden increafe of this little
people j their love of labour join'd to an eafy
and abundant harveft, foon enable them to fill
the hive with honey-combs. This we perceive
by the honey-combs themfelves, which defcend
to the bottom, and almoft touch the flooring.
This defedt, which is merely an excefs of abun-
dance, is eafily repair*d ; by putting under thefe
bafkets, a Raifer or Stand, * if I may fo term it.
Thefe (lands are circles made of the fame materials,
and of a like diameter with the bafket or pannier -,
and are as fo many broken pieces of hives, with
which thofe too fliort are lifted up. By thus
enlarging the hives, we give the Bees an oppor-
tunity of continuing and lengthning their honey-
combs.

CLAR. I am of opinion, that this muft
likewife contribute to the multiplication of the
fwarms,

EUGEN. The obfervation you now make,
Ihows that you do not yet fufficiently underftand
my m-eaning here. I here fpeak concerning lodg-
incy the fwarms to advantage. Now fwarms very
feldom produce other fwarms the fame year. The

f In French, HauJ/e.

F f bufmefs

->

434 The Natural History

bufincfs therefore here, is not concerning the pro-
ducing new fwarms •, but only how to contrive
matters, fo as that they may make a confiderable
quantity of wax and honey ; and to people them
well, in order that they may live warmer in the
winter. None but the fwarms of the preceding
year ; thofe which have gone through a winter,
give birth to three, four, and fometimes five
fwarms -, and this from the middle of May (at
fooneft) to the middle of June, at lateft. I
know not whether I obferved to you, that one
of the figns by which we know that a hive is
going to produce a fwarm, (the firft time in the
year) is, when we fee a great number of males or
drones appear.

CLAR. I remember your remarking this ;
but you did not then acquaint me with the reafon
of it. I will tell you that which is now fuggefted
by myfelf, tho' at the hazard of a corredlion,
which I poflibly may juftly defervc again. Since
there is a time when the Bees difpatch all their
males ; murther them without remorfe ; and that
none of them are fuffered to remain in hives the
Bees of which are to pafs the winter : whenever
we perceive any of thefe in the fpring, they muft
neceffarily have been newly hatch*d i and con-
fequently a certain indication that a fwarm will
foon come forth.

EUGEN. Your argument is fo very jufl,

that no part of it can be objeded to. I have but

one farther obfervation to make with regard to

thefe fwarms. It may, and no doubt often hap-

2 pens.

of B E E S. 435

pens, that Bees are fcarce fettled in the new
hive, but the weather changes, turns to cold or
rain, and continues fo many days. Now for
Bees to leave their habitation, at thefe times,
would be hazarding their lives. Neverchelefs,
they have not yet got any provifion of crude wax
or honey, and nothing to fubfift upon at home.
Confequcntly our infers, whether they go abroad
or continue in their hives, are equally threatned
with death.

CLAR. This is a horrid fituation. It gives
us an image of a city blockM up, and quite un-
furnilhed with provifions : a city which hunger
will reduce to the extremes of mifery, if your
humanity does not prompt you to throw provi-
fions into it immediately.

EUGEN. I have taken care of the Bees in

this particular. "When they happen to be in the

fituation here fpoken of, they muft not be left fo •,

fmall plates of honey muft be fet in the hive,

which yet muft be taken away again, as foon as

the weather becomes fine, and will permit the

Bees to faily forth. I proceed now to weak or

thin hives ; to thofe, the Bees in which are not

numerous enough to people a fmall hive. When

a hive has produced two or three fwarms, 'tis

often advifeable to prevent its producing a third

or a fourth, fince this would only weaken the hive

whence they fhould iffue. The applying the

Raifers or fands juft now fpoke of, are commonly

fufficient to prevent thefe fallies. As our in feds,

by this means, 'find themfelves more at large, and

F f 2 . lels

436 The Natural History

kk incommoded by heat, they don't think of
changing their fituation. But if endeavours were
uled, to no purpofe, to flop them ; we then muft
have recourfe to an expedient mentioned before,
I mean, the joining two in one j an operation
which I muft explain to you a little farther.
Such hives as have already given birth to one or
two great fwarms j tho* thefe hives were ever fo
populous before, they now are greatly thinn'd
or weakned ; and if a third or fourth fwarm
comes from them, the latter are ufually too weak
to be brought up feparately. The moft effeftual
method forpreferving thefe fwarms, asl obferved
above, is to join two in one -, and this is moft
cafily done in manner following. We take the
hive which is to be emptied, and bring it near
that to which we intend to join the Bees contain'd
in it. You'll obferve that fuch an operation,
which muft neceflarily confufe the Bees, ftiould
always be perform'd in the morning or the even-
ing j as the Bees are lefs vigorous at thofe times.
The two hives in queftion being brought near to
one another, the firft muft be fhook ftrongly
againft the earth, or on a table, when the Bees
will fall out in clufters ; tho' the fmall honey-
combs contained in them fliould fall alfo, very
little harm would enfue, as they arc yet very
fmall and light. Immediately the fecond hive is
fct over the groop or body of Bees that were
ftiaken out ; a litde after which the latter rife up
into it, and mix with the new companions before
fettled in it : and this they do at once, provided
there is a queen in both fwarms.

CLAR.

of B E E S. 437

CLAR. A much greater fimplicity appears,
in this operation, than I at lirft imagin'd. Is
the fame method ufed, for driving out the Bees
from a hive we want to deftroy, and to remove
the infeds into another hive ?

EUGEN. Wc mull firft know the circum-
ftances in which fuch a deftrudlion will be ne-
ceiTary. I am acquainted with only three. Firft,
when the body of the hive is grown too crazy,
and almoft worn cut : fecondly, when the falfe
moths have got fuch ftrong footing in a hive,
that the true owners will foon be forced to aban-
don it to them : thirdly, when a perfon is deter-
mined not to increafe the number of his hives.
The moft common way, of Ihifting Bees from
one habifation to another, is in manner follow-
ing. The hive, whence the Bees are to be dif-
lodged, muft be turned ypfide down. A thou-
fand ways may be found, for holding a hive
topfy turvy. The hive thus reverfed, being fet
firm, muft be covered with another empty hive,
plac*d upon it, bottom againft bottom. But as
it is fcarce poflible that two hives, when thus
difpofed, fnould match or tally exadly at their
lower brims j and as feveral holes or apertures
would be left, throughout the whole circumfe-
rence where they join, by which apertures the
Bees would efcape ; the circumference above-
mentioned muft be inftantly clofed or furrounded
with earth, mix'd with cow-dung ; and to fecure
this ftill better, the circle of earth and cow-dung
muft be incompafied (two or three times) with
F f 3 a cloth ;

438 The Natural History

a cloth ; and wrought fo clofe that all the Bees
may be kept in. Matters being thus prepared,
we flrike, with two fmall flicks, held in each
hand, againft the oppofite fides of the lower
hive ; when this noife difturbing the Bees, they
immediately are put in motion •, they humm ;
and this humming increafes, till fuch time as
many determine to quit an inverted habitation,
where they are fo much difturbed, and pafs into
the upper hive. When the mother-Bee is de-
termin*d to afcend into it, fhe is foon followed
by the major part of the Bees ; but then fhe is
too frequently indolent ; or fo flrongly attached
to her antient abode, that we fometimes might
beat whole hours upon the hive, and yet not
make the Bees diflodge. This is difcovered by
approaching our ear to the upper hive. "When a
great noife is heard in the latter, it is a certain
fign that a confiderable number of Bees are got
into it, and the mother-Bee likewife. We then
may feparate the two hives. However, if the
mother- Bee does not abandon the hive willingly,
but fhould perfift to continue in her firft abode,
I have difcovered a fpeedy way to finifh this con-
teft. We need only fhake the two hives with our
arms, as flrongly as we can, but without fevering
or parting them. This violent agitation determines
many of our infeds to pafs into the empty hive.
How inconfiderable foever their number may be,
they will be fufHcient to caufe the empty hive to
be tenanted by all the refl ; efpecially if we fe-
ver the two hives, and inflantly carry the hive

we

of B E E S.

we want to fill, to the place where ftood that
which we intend to empty. This is a very ef-
fential point. As foon as the former is fet
in its place (as I obferved) a Iheet or cloth muft
be fprcad on the ground ; then a little board
muft be taken, one end of which muft lie on the
Iheet, and the other on the prop, and oppofitc
to the door of the hive that is to be fill*d. This
being done, the old hive muft be ftrongly fhaken
over the fheet, in order to force out, upon it, all
the obftinate Bees. The Bees in queftion falling
in heaps, and being near to the place of their
abode, know it again, and always dired them-
felves towards it. We fee them advance, in
companies, that way ; walking upon the board,
which ferves them as a bridge. However if,
fpite of thefe precautions, fome Bees fhould ftick
faft, (how ftrongly foever the hives may be
Ihaken) the honey-combs muft then be cut ;
muft be fwept (as it were) with the feather of a
quill •, by which means the obftinate Bees will be
forc*d down upon the fheet, and thus be obliged
to go and join their companions. Another me-
thod employed in country-places, for diflodging
Bees, is to fmoak them as we do foxes. But
this is executed in fuch a manner, as generally
proves fetal to a great number of our infects ;
they running the hazard of being burnt to death,
either by the unfkilfulnefs of the perfons who di-
rect the fmoak ; or by the confufion into which
this throws the Bees, many of them rufhing then in-
to the flames. Neverthelefs, as this is the plain-
ts f 4 eft

439

44© The Natural History

eft and eafieft method that can be ufed, I have
endeavoured to corre(5t fuch things as may be
amifs in it, and that in manner following. I firft
get a board, a little broader than the bottom of
a hive ; and in this board a great number of
little holes muft be bored, fo fmall that the Bees
cannot pafs through them. I then lay this board
over a fort of pail ; and, over the board, the
hive whence I want to drive out the Bees ; taking
care to flop all the holes through which the Bees
might efcape, and leaving none open except
thofe of the board. Every thing being ready, I
make, at the top of the hive in queftion, a hole
about one or two inches broad ; and immediately
place, at the opening of this hole, the hive into
which I want to drive the Bees. I now lay, at
the bottom of my pail, burningpiecesof old linnen
rags that emit thick fmoak. The fmoak nowrifing,
and pafling through the holes of the board,
fpreads into the hive, and there forms a thick
cloud, which difturbs and tortures the Bees •, who,
in order to avoid being ftifled, alcend to the
top; where meeting with an opening, they thereby
fecure themfelves from the fmoak, and take fanc-
tuary in the empty hive, which is ready to re-
ceive them, and where they are eafily detain'd.

CLAR. I have much more efteem for thofe
who improve arts, than for the inventers of them •,
and have been told, that the invention of arts
was generally the etfecl of chance -, bur that the
improvement of them, was the refult of ftudy,
I appli-

of B E E S. 441

application, and genius •, hence I infer, that you
merit many encomiums, and thefe I will enter-
tain you with, whenever you think proper.

EUGEN. Praife is a fmoak with which
moft human brains are delighted, and take it in
even to intoxication. But I befeech you to fpare
mine, which the fainteft vapour would over-
power i and force it to feek for fome hole to
glide through, in like manner as the Bees when
fumigated.

CLAR. I promife not to offend you in this
particular, provided you will inform me what
materials are fitteft to make hives with, and the
form or fhape moft proper for them ?

EUGEN. The materials are neither rare nor
valuable. Oficr-twigs, thofe of the wild-vine,
ftraw, boards, and the trunk of a hollow- tree,
are the materials commonly employ'd ; and
fome of thefe are ufed, preferable to ours, in dif-
ferent countries.

CLAR. I know a country where much more
valuable materials are employ'd. I read the other
day, that the Englifh have, in Barbadoes, above
four hundred pieces of cannon *, moft of which
are employ'd as Bee- hives. This is what we may
juftly call raifing folid works.

EUGEN. I don't think it will be necefTary
to make fuch folid hives here. I take thofe to
be the bcft, which are raifed with wreathes ofrye-

* P'!ith-al State of Europe, Tom. V. P.irt II.

ftraw 5

442 The Natural History

ftraw ; like to yours, and moft of thofe in
Brabant and Bcauce.

CLAR. Why are they made of this ftraw,
preferable to the other materials you fpoke of ?

EUGEN. The Bees are better fecur'd, by
thefe hives, from extreme cold in winter, and
violent heat in fummer ; thefe heating and cool-
ing more flowly than the others. This forms a
fufEcient objedion againft hives made of brick,
which are ufed in fome places, they being the
very worft of all. But the beft, in my opinion,
are fuch as are made of the barks of cork-tree,
in countries abounding with them, Palladius, an
antient writer on rural affairs, prefers them to any
other. Thus much for the materials. I now
come to the figure mod fuitable to hives, and
this I take to be fuch a one as is nearly conical.

CLAR. You perhaps imagine that I under-
hand foreign Languages .''

EUGEN. I own my fault : I mean that
they muft be fhap'd like a fugar-loaf, but not
fharp-pointed at the top. The infide muft ter-
minate in an arch, in order that feveral honey-
combs may be the more eafiJy fixed in it. If
the hives are made of wreathes of ftraw, or fuch
like, whofe parts are not wove clofe ; it will be
proper to plaifter the outfide, or do fomething
equivalent to this ; to prevent the air and water
from penetrating, and to fpare the Bees the trou-
ble of flopping thofe apertures with virgin- wax.

CLAR. I am highly delighted with this laft
precaution ; nothing being more agreeable to me
than to fave the labour of fuch as ferve me.

EUGEN.

of B E E S. 443

EUGEN. People generally find their ac-
count in obferving this maxim ; and, in the pre-
fent cafe, the profit is vifible, fince the time
which the Bees would fpend in flopping the cran-
nies of their hives, will be employ'd in making
wax for you. Another circumftance, likewife
of the greateft importance, is to place your hives
in the mod favourable fituation you can. They
mull never be fet towards the north. The fouth
is bell ; in order that the Bees may enjoy the
rifing fun as foon, and the fetting fun as late, as
polTible. However, if neceflity Ihould oblige us
to difpofe of them otherwife, either from the
difpofition of the particular fpot, or that of the
place itfelf ; we then mull be contented with
the rifing or fetting fun. But particular care
mull be taken, that fuch a roof be raifed as may
fhelter the hives from rain and the fcorching rays
of the fun -, for fome days, in fummer, are fo ex-
ceflively hot, that the fun would melt the wax,
and make the honey-combs fall. Such perfons
as are not polTeired of hives enough, or are not
able to build one common roof, mull make each
of them a very thick covering of llrav/. Our
obligations to Bees are fo great, that we cannot
take too much care of them.

CLAR. I am of your opinion, and think
that we fhould endeavour to make their habitati-
ons as commodious as poffible. However, an
article no lefs eflential, is their food : let us
fpeak concerning it, and I mull intreat you to
free me from a perplexity with which I have

been

444 '^^^ Natural History

been long troubled, as well with regard to my
Bees, as for myfelf, I don't doubt but that
feme flowers are hurtful to them -, and that they
have their hemlock as well as mankind. There
are other plants (you nam*d one of them to me)
which produce a honey that is very unwholibme
to us. By the rule of contraries, fome flowers
mu{l be more falutary, with refpedl to Bees,
than others ; and certain flowers which produce a
honey more falubrious with regard to man, and
more pleafing to his palate. I therefore expedt,
from you, a didlionary of fimples for the ufe of
Bees. You perceive that my health is concerned
in this i and you perhaps will think me, at the
fame time, fomething of an epicure.

EUGEN. I fliould be exceedingly glad,
from the refpecl I bear to your tafte, and the
regard I have for your health, was it in my
power to draw up fuch a didlionary as you men-
tion. It would be of ufe to you, and do me
great honour, I imagining that it would be the
firfl: in its kind ; but then I don't care to ad-
vance any affertions at random. Our knowledge,
in the fubjedl we are fpeaking of, is exceedingly
imperfect. The only flowers I know v/hich our
infedls refufe, are thofe of elder and rue ; and I
am not acquainted with any which poifon them.
Experience indeed Ibews, that certain kinds of
honey agree with us better than others -, and fome
are found vaflly prejudicial. But, to pretend to
fix the degrees, with regard to the wholfomnefs,
or malignity of every flower, would, I believe,

be

of BEES. 445

be a very idle attempt. I am of opinion, that
fuch places as abound with thyme, wild thyme,
jeflamine, rofemary, broom, and other odori-
ferous plants, mull produce a good-tafted balfa-
mic honey j fuch as that of mons HymettuSy which
the Greeks fo highly priz'd ; fuch as our Nar-
bonne honey. I fancy that the flowers of our
corn of every kind, of our pulfe, of our fruit-
trees, produce a honey lefs agreeable to the
fmell ; but this honey may probably contribute
as much, or more, to procure as good nourifli-
ment. As to plants which may produce a honey
of a noxious quality, I have not made any expe-
riment with regard to fuch. However, I am
apt to think that hen-bane, milk-thiftle, hem-
lock, and fuch like, whofe juice is known to be
hurtful, may very polTibly communicate their
malignity to the honey that Ihould be extradted
from them. For this reafon, I would make no
difficulty to grub up all fuch pernicious weeds, in
the places adjacent to my hives.

CLAR. You have now pronounc'd their
doom •, for not one of them fhall be feen through-
out the whole extent of my demefnes. After hav-
ing thus provided our little tenants with fuitable
lodging and food, let us now confider their di-
feafes, for they are liable to fome : my gardiner
has often told me, of the great havock made
among our Bees by the meazles, and by purgings
both upwards and downwards.

EUGEX.

446 The Natural History

EUGEN. I don't doubt but that you'll
be gladly told, that the meazles are only an ima-
ginary diftemper. Abbe dc la Ferriere, who
has given excellent precepts with regard to the
management of Bees, miftakes (as many others,
have done) in fuppofing the meazles to be
a diftemper of vaftly fatal confequence to Bees.
He fays this difeafe arifes from a fort of wild
honey ; a red, thick fubjiance, which does not fill
above half the cells ; that it is ?nore bitter than
fweet, grows yellowijh, and breeds worms or mag-
gots which deftroy the Bees.

CLAR. Let me anfwer Abbe de la Fcrrere,
for methinks I have been taught fo much, that I
myfelf fliall be able to confute his arguments.
As he fuppofes that the meazles are a fubftance
which engender worms, I deny his whole fyf-
tem •, it not being poflible for inanimate matter
to engender or procreatCi

EUGEN. Your anfwer is quite conformable
both to reafon and experience. But this is not
the only circumftance in this writer that merits
cenfure. What he calls wild honey is not honey ;
it is crude wax; a fubftance exceedingly neceffary
for the fupport, as well as for the works, of Bees.
I obferved to you, fome time fince, that crude- wax
retained the colour of x.\\t fiamina of flowers, of
which it was form'd -, it being yellow, yellowifti,
white i fometimes green, and fometimes red.
Thus what he calls the meazles, was merely red
crude- wax j a fubftance fit to nouriftiBees, and not^
make them fick. But it is different with refped

to

of B E E S.

to the purgings hinted at above, thefe being
a real difeale j which fome afcribe to the new
honey they feed upon during the fpring, and oa
cold days. But methinks it is more probable to
fuppofe, that this diftemper arifes from the Bees
being forced, for a long time together, to live
upon honey only, and without a fupply of crude-
wax. I have frequently experienc*d, that fuch
Bees as I fed with nothing but honey, were
troubled with purging downwards. VandergroeUy
or the gardiner of the low-countries, affirms that
fuch of our infedts are troubled with purgings of
this kind, as are in want of bread ; for thus he
terms, and properly enough, crude- wax.

CLAR. How do you reconcile this, with
the pots or plates of pure honey, which you leave
in the hives, to fupport the tenants of it during
winter ?

EUGEN. This does not clafli in any man-
ner with that pradtice. Call to mind that our
infedls make a provifion of crude-wax, as well
as of honey *, and have ftore-houfes of each -, and
fmce experience has taught us, that we need only
furnifh them with pure honey, fufficient to make
up for the fcarcity of it during long winters *,
we thence may infer, that the quantity of crude-
wax hoarded by the Bees, is fufficient to fcrve
them, during the longefl: winters ; but that their
provifion of honey is foon confumed. Hence we
may fuppofe, that, during the feafon in queftion,
their confumption of bread is infinitely lefs than
that of honey i though the contrary happens dur-
ing

44-7

44^ The Natural History

ing fummer. But we likewife may take it for
granted, that as pure honey incommodes them ;
fome of this bread, tho' in ever fuch little quan-
tities, is abfolutely neceflary to them ; and the
want of it attended with fatal confequences.

CLAR. Be fo good as to inform me of the
fymptoms and effefts of this difeafe, as well as
the method to cure it.

EUGEN. Don't expedl, from me, a con-
fultation in form. The phyficians of Bees pro-
cure their licences fo very cheap, that the only
thing we can require at their hands is experience.
All I know concerning the diftemper we are fpeak-
ing of is this. Bees, when moft in health, evacuate
the dregs of their food in a liquid form. "When
groop'd or clufter'd in the hives, they fix them-
felves in fuch a manner, as not to incommode
their neighbours therewith •, all of it falling to
the bottom of the hive. But as pure honey does
not form a food fufficiendy fubftantial for them ;
whenever they feed too long upon it, without
having any bread, they grow weaker daily ; and
this weaknefs increafes to fuch a degree, that
they, at laft, are unable to quit their hives, or
even to difengage themfelves one from the other.
'Tis on thefe occafions that, not having ftrength
enough to move ever fo little ; thofe fix*d above
drop, on the others beneath them, a clammy,
liquid fubftance j which wets them, fpoils their
wings, and ftops up the canals through which
they perfpire. Such as fliould yet be quite free
from this diftemper, lofe their lives merely by

the

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of B E E S. 449

the contaa of the fick. An experiment I made
on this occafion, will give you a much better
idea of this diftemper, its fymptoms and effeds.
I had fix'd fome Bees in a hive, without leaving
them any honey-combs ; or even the liberty of
feeking their food abroad. However, to com-
penflue for this, I fupplied them with pure ho-
ney. At firfl I let them feed but fparingly, and
kept them alive above three weeks : however, I
afterwards was too bountiful -, they eating fo
much, that they foon had purgings ; they wetted
one another ; and, fome days after, they all
died ; and were as wet, on this occafion, as if they
had been dipp'd in water thickned with honey.

CLAR. This really is a diftemper of extreme
bad confequence : 1 therefore muft defire you to
inform me, as foon as poflible, how it may be
cur*d ?

EUGEN. Abbe de la Ferriere, above- men-
mentionM, fpeaks much better with regard to
this difeafe, than concerning the meazles. He
gives us a recipe which is very like feveral others,
that had been prefcribed before him •, and i^ as
follows : take half a pound of fugar, the fame
quantity of good honey, a pint of* red wine, and
about a quarter of a pound of fine bean- meal or
flower : mix all thefe together, and fet the mix-
ture, on a plate, for the Bees. This, very
probably, may be a good prefcripdon, but I
know one that is much fafer, and kfs compli-

* The French is chpine.

G (^ cated.

45© The Natural History

cated, viz. to take from another hive, a honey-
comb, whofe cells are fill'd with crude-honey,
and give this to the fick Bees.

CLAR. I am for your prefcription. As the
fole caufe of the weaknefs and infirmity of thefc
Bees, is from their wanting fuch fuftenance as
may ftrengthen them ; it would be needlefs to
ufe compofitions, the dofes or qualities of which
are always arbitrary ; when we ourfelves have,
within our reach, the very fuftenance on which
they naturally feed. Let us now proceed to fome
other difeafe ; and fmce we are on this topic,
we will even go through our whole courfe of
phyfic.

EUGEN. This will be foon done. The
diftemper I juft now treated of, is the only one
(at leaft that I know of) to which Bees are fub-
jefl. Perhaps they may have certain maladies
which are unknown to us, but then thefe mufl:
attack our infedls very rarely ; and we may af-
firm, that they don*t proceed from any irregu-
larity or excefs in the Bees. Moft of the difeafes
which attack man's life, are the confequences of,
and the punifliment for, the ill ufe he makes of
the things given him to prefcrve it. But the
Bees, faithful to the laws of nature, and keeping
within the limits prefcribed to them, fufFer no
other defca in their conftitution, than fuch as are
owing to the general laws of the univerfe. They
never die except through old age, or from fuch
accidents as are unavoidable,

CLAR.

of BEES. 45*

CLAR. The words old age remind me of
a queftion I often intended to alk you. How
long is the life of a Bee, that has efcap'd all the
hazards which might otherwife have fhortned its
courfe ?

EUGEN. Some authors affirm that they live
ten years, others feven •, and Abbe de la Fer-
riere, one of the mod knowing among thefe
writers, is of opinion, that they don't live above a
year. I made an experiment, which inclines me
to this Abbe's opinion. However, as my expe-
riment was not accurate enough, for me to pro-
nounce affirmatively on this occafion •, I fancy
that all we are told concerning the duration of a
Bee's life, is hitherto very uncertain. Was it
poffible for us to keep a Bee in a cage, as we do
birds, we then might fatisfy ourfelves fully in this
particular -, but a Bee does not live apart from
her companions. Hives are like cities, which
fhould have freffi inhabitants every year ; and
whofe houfes fhould exift much longer than the
fevcral tenants of them. In fine, I will not
fcriiple to clofe the hiftory of the life of the Bees,
with confeffing my ignorance concerning the
limits which nature has prefcribed to it.
I imagine, Clariflfa, that you, by this time,
know enough to eftablifh on your eflate, the
nobleft manufa(5lure of wax in the kingdom.
I could have mentioned feveral little operations ;
many pradtices ufed in the management of hives ;
but what you want to be inftrudted in farther, is
known to the meaneft peafant -, and the fuperin-
tendant of your Bees, v/ho has fo long had the
G g 2 diredlion

452 The Natural History, &c.

diredtion of them, will inform you fufficiently
concerning thefe matters -, not to mention, that
you will meet with feveral things, for your
purpofe, in books. I promifed you nothing but
the natural hiftory of Bees, and have told you all
I know on this fubjeft. To the inftrudlions I
have here given, do you. add your own fagacity,
your underflanding, and your zeal for the public
good ; you then will be enabled to carry the art,
of profpering and multiplying Bees, to its higheft
perfe(5lion.

FINIS.

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INDEX.

A.

ACHE M. The queen of achem has a feraglio
/g_ of men, Page ()j.

Age. How to difcover the age of Bees,
no, 169.
Ants. Thefe creatures, fpite of the common opinion,
don't annoy Bees, 352. They will live fociably
with them, ihid,
ArchiteSlure ef the Bees, 265,

B

B.

EARS. Not true that thefe creatures caufe

themfelves to be ftung by Bees, in order to reduce

their fat, 62.

Bees. Never fting any perfon unlefs difturb'd pro-

• vok'd, 8. Are of three kinds, 15. Errof of the

antients, with regard to tiie fmell of Bees, 9.

Reft or repofe of Bees, ii, i5c. Defcription

of the working Bees, 37. What thofe are which

compofe a fwarm, 109. How to diftinguifli the

voung from the old ones, 332, 333. They feeni

to know the ftate of their queen's body, v,'he'

ther fhe is impregnated, is ready to lay, ^V. 114.

The three ftates which a Bee pafles through, from

G g 3 its

INDEX.

its birth to its perfeftion, 140. In what manner
a nympha changes into a Bee, breaks her prifon,
and iffues from it, 167. She is not affifted by her
companions, ibid. They pay court to her, imme-
diately upon her coming forth, 169, 170, 171.
They ceafe from labour of every kind, whilft the
fupemumerary queens are put to death, 182. They
may be affeded by the fpiendor of gold, at the time
that the queen is to be chofen, 184. They have dif-
ferent hours for various works, 199. They flop
the crannies of their hives with virgin- wax, 201.
When a Bee enters the hive with two balls of pellets
of v.^ax, two of her companions difburthen her of
them immediately, 221. Hafty, meals made by the
Bees of that wax. Why, ibid. When not ftrait-
ned by time, they lay up their wax in ftore-houfes
or magazines, 222. Defcription of a Bee, who
employs her wax for building a cell, 223, 229.
They fometimes ufe the chips or fliavings, taken
from fuch cells as were repaired or mended, 229. Proof
that Bees take or get the wax, employed by them
only from their bellies, 225, tffc. Crude wax is the
proper food of Bees ; 'tis called their bread or am-
brofia, 229, 230. Error of Swammerdam as to
that particular, 230. Proof of the contrary, 231,
Prodigious quantity of crude-wax eat by the Bees,
232. Calculation of the number of journies into
the fields undertaken by the Bees, in one day, ibid*
Weight of the pellets of wax brought by them, 232.
At the end of the year, the Bees which compofe
a hive have ,eat above an hundred pounds weight of
it, 233. Defcription of a Bee who is eating honey,
276. She has two ftomachs, one for honey, the other
for wax, 279. A Bee hies to all flowers indifcriminate-
ly, 280. Arrival of a Bee at the hive, there to depo-
iite the honey brought by her, 282. How it is poflible

for

INDEX.

for her to fill a cell with honey, without the Jatter's
running out, 2S4. How fhe (huts up the cell, after
having fill'd it, 284, 286, 287. Employment of
the working- Bees in the hive, 299. They prefer,
during the great heats of fummer, morning to after-
noon, to get their provifions of honey, 301.
Fi<flion of the fmall ftone, with which they are faid
to freight (as it were) themfelves, in order to be able
to refifl ftornis, 302. They forefee bad weather,

305. They frequently, upon their arrival at the hive,
offer the honey brought by them to their companions,

306. They fometimes are ftopt at the door, in
order to force them to throw up the honey procured
by them, ibid. Other Bees go diredly to the ftore-
houfes, ibid. In what manner fuch Bees as bring
crude-wax, lay it up in their ftore-houfes, ibid.
Calculation of the number of journies undertaken by
the Bees, in one day, 310, 311. The Bees have
no talents, which are peculiar to fome more than
to others ; chance only diftributes the feveral works
in which they employ themfelves, 312. The num-
ber of Bees that make up the weight of eight pounds,
340, 341. 'Tis a very injudicious barbarity, to
kill Bees, merely for the fake of -plundering their
wax and honey, 377. In what manner they
are put to death, ibid. Trifling reafons giving, to
juflify thefe flaughters, ibid. In what manner
men fhould divide with them the wax and ho-
ney, 380. How to prevent their too early ifTuing
forth from their hives, 408. All places not equally
favourable for the fupport of Bees. Which are
thofe moft fuitable to them, 421. How to compcn-
fate for the unfruitfulnefs of places, by making them
undertake iournies, 422. What flowers are moft
proper for Bees, 445. Their difeafes, the meazles,

<? '^^ 4 44S

INDEX.

44,. Purgings, ii. ibid. ^a.(i. Plow to cure it,

449. Their natural death, 450.
Bee-^man. Father Labbat's bee-man, 17.
Brufljes^ which Bees have on their Legs, 42, 44.
Brutes, the mechanifm of Brutes or animals, 185,

212, 245, 247, 250, 251, 274.

c.

/CATERPILLAR. Singular fituation of a ca-
terpillar, in order to take its repofe, 12. The
metamorphofis of caterpillars. What, 135.

Cell (Queen Bee's) 263. Defcription of this fort of
cell, 265, 267. A queen Bee's cell weighs
as much as one hundred and fifty ordmary cells,
266. In what manner or pofitition a royal cell
is fixed on a comb, ibid. 'Tis narrower at bot-
tom than at top, ibid. How the worms or moths
can lie or keep in it, 267. Thefe cells are deftroy'd,
immediately upon the birth of the queens, 268.
How the Bees fill their cells with honey, without
the latter 's running out, 284. Store-houfes or ma-
gazines for keeping the daily food, 2S6. Clofed
or fhut ftore-houfes, for preferving the honey allotted
for winter, ibid. In what manner they clofe
them, ibid.

Clufler or groop : the Bees, in order to take
reft, fix or difpofe themfelves in that form,

^i, 13.

il^old. One of the calamities which defirovs great num-
bers of Bees, 385. How to fecure them from
if, 4 00. 7'hat moH infetSts are able to refift hunger,
and extremely fevere cold, ibid.

Combaii of the Bees, 68, iHc. Motives which prompt
rhejn^to'engage in them, 72, General battles, 75.

Combs,

INDEX.

Ccmhs (Honey-) Bees make feveral, at one and the
fame time, 260. Tiiey make iioles in them, in
order to pafs from one honey-comb to the other, ibid.
Irregularity of thefe hone j-eombs, 261. How they
repair this defe£l, 262. How they fallen thefe
combs, to prevent their falh'ng, 263. Situation of
the honey- combs in a hive, iz.

Copulation of the mother- Bee, 101, i^jc.

Crvw. Hunting of crows, 35.

D.

*T\ R O N E Sy are the males among Bees, 25.

"^ A thoufand of thefe are feen on a hive, for
the fervice of a fingle queen, jhid. The times
in which they appear, ibid. Defcription of the
drones, 26. Their life : their privileges, ibid.
They have no fling, 27. They always come to a
fatal end, ibid. Their ceils larger than thofeof other
Bees, 172. And ftopp'd or clos'd in a different man-
ner, ibid. Trial of their fex, 95. Reafon why
they are almofl infenfible to love, 104. Slaughter
made of them. See Maffacre.

Duel between two Bees, 69, 70.

Du(l of the Jiamina of flowers, is the true fubftance
of wax ; it is crude-wax, 42, l:^ fcq. 212. Dif-
ferent colours of thefe dufls, 43. Seafon proper
for feeing the Bees remove this dull with tiieir
brulhes, 44. Experiments, proving that thefe
dufts are the true fubftance of wax, 213. The
preparation of it, by the Bees, in order for its be-
coming wax properly fo called, 214. Wax, once
ufed, is no longer of fervice to Bees, 223. The
balls or pellets of wax are of various colours ; but
wax, when once employ'd or us'd, is always v/hite,

227.

INDEX.

227. It blackens in hives. Why fome forts of
wax can never be made perfe£lly white, ibid.

E.

Tp G G S (Bees) Ovarium of the mother- Bee, 91.

•^-' Number of eggs in a Bee's body, 94. How many
laid by her in a day, 124. Defcription of this egg,
and its pofition in a cell, 129. Stuck, by one end
at the bottom of the cell, 130. Bees don't brood,
or fit upon them, 132. An egg, in three or fc-eir
days, is laid and hatch'd, 133. How to prevenrt the
eggs from growing ftale, during a great number of
years, 165.

Egypt. How Bees are made to travel in Egypt, 423.
St. Cyril and Ifaiah fpeak very inaccurately of this,
426.

Elephant. Bee compared to the elephant, 231.

Enemies to the Bees, 347. The enemies to the Bees
of three forts, 348, fffr.

Eyes (Bee's) 28. Defcription of the eyes of infefts,
ibid. They have feveral thoufands, 29. How it is
poffible for them, with fuch a multitude of eyes,
to fee obje£b fingly, 31. All flies have, befides the
eyes above-mentioned, three other little eyes on
their head, 31, 32. Reafon of this multiplicity of
eyes, 32. Bees become blind, 34.

F.

J^JBLE of the hornets, wafps, and Bees, 281.

* Fejlivals or holidays. Error of thofe who ima-
gine that Bees had holidays and working days, 309.
That the time or feafon of the queen's laying, was a
feafon of feftivity, 1 14.

1 Flies.

INDEX.

Files. Three forts of thefe, the firft whereof lays
its eggs in the brain of fheep, 370. The fecond
in the throat of flags, 372 ; and the third in a horfe's
unus, 373.

G

G.

ENERJTIONof Bees. gy.

Grand-Duke of Tufcany . Ed i6l of a grand-duke,
to forbid the killing of Beafts. 379.
Grajhopper or Cicada. Whence its harmony or fong.

318.
Green-houfe. This not fingly, fufficient to fecure Bees
from cold. 396.

H

H.

EJTo( a hive, very great, 133.
Hives (glafs) convenient for feeing the Bees a^
work. Commonly eighteen thoufand Bees in a
hive, 7. Bees may live eight, ten, and even thirty
years, 378. The feafon when they are cut, 381.
The honey-combs proper for being cut, 382. Care
muft be taken, not to cut fuch combs as have eggs
in them, 383. The air of hives com par 'd to that of
a play-houfe, 390. Heat of a hive, difcover'd by
the thermometer. 392. Why Bees, which have
pafs'd the winter in hives, fometimes die with cold,
in fpring, 394. The Bees kill'd with cold ; by a
cold, gentle with regard to us, 394, 395. Why
the fame degree of cold, does not kill them, when
they fally forth in the fpring, 396. How to preferve
hive3 from the cold, 399. EfFeclual method to pre-
ferve them, at one and the fame time, from cold and
hunger, 401, 402. To keep them in old cafks, 402.
Or between hurdles, where they are buried, 404.
Why the «arth muft be dried, 407. Profits made

by

INDEX.

by a hive in one year, 415. How to remove the'
Bees from one hive Into another, 437, Another
method, by fmoak, 439. The materials moft pro-
per for making hives, 441, Their beft fhape or
form, 443, Beft way to place them, ibid.

//(7;«^^i? paid by the Bees to their fovereign, 116. Care
they take of her, during public calamities, 1 19,

Honey. The Bees draw it from flowers, 46. Dew
and rain very noxious to honey, 271, 272. Origin
of honey, 272. Becomes perfed in the Bee's firft fto-
mach, 278. 'Tis brought, in the Bee's fto-
mach, to the hive, 279. Defcription of a Bee eating
honey, 274, 275. Ufe of honey with regard to
health, 288. Highly efteem'd by the antients, ibid.
Opinion which two ceJebrated phyficians, entertain'd
of honey, ibid. Why honey not fo much efieem'd
as antiently, 2S9. What fort is the beft, 291.
Story of a fpecies of honey, which made Xenophon's
whole army Tick, 292- An attempt, to ca ufe Bees to
make honey, from fugar only, 293. Honey of

. Various colours ; white, yellow, and even green, 294.
How much honey neceflary for the fupport of a hive,
during winter, 409.

Hiiviming heard, when a fwarm is preparing to fet out,
314, i^c.

Hunger. One of the calamities fatal to Bees, 385,
How to fecure them from it, 402.

I.

JMPREGNJTION. How flowers are impreg-
nated, 43. That of the Mother-bee. See J^ecfi.

Infcriptioti^ to be put over hives, 287.

Infects. We may ftiorten or lengthen the life of infeds
at pleafure, 155. Why we cannot enjoy this pri-
vilege, 160.

3. Journies

INDEX.

yournies undertaken by the Bees. See Egypt. How
made to travel, 428. Calculation of the number of
times the Bees go forth from a hive, daily, into the
fields, 232.

L.

J ANGU AGE (Bee's) 256. UniverH'.! Language,
"^ for all nations of the earth to undcrfland one

another, 257.
Laying. Bees don't brood over their eggs. Error

of the antients, in that particular, 131, 132.
Laying of the mother- Bee, 106. She gives birth to a

whole people, with their chief or head, 107. See

queen.
Leather gilt. How this is done, 209.
Lice (Bee's) 354.

Life. The life of infedls may be lengthned or fliortned,
^ 385. Why the fame cannot be done with regard

to us, 386.
Lifters. What thofe are which are put under hives ;

and why, 435.
Lungs of Bees and infeds, 38, &c.

M.

TUiAGAZINES or flore-houfes of honey, 281.
Some allotted as receptacles for the honey con-
fumed daily, 286 ; and others clofed or fliut, for
treafuring up the honey preferved for winter, ibid.
Males of the Bees. See Drones.

Majfacre or flaughter of the fupernumerary queens,
174, ^c. Slaughterof the Males, 1S7. Permitted
to live fix weeks. Hid, Reafon of this, 188.
Dreadful butchery of thefe males, 159. In what
months thefe mafTacres are made, ibid. Ti:^ worms
of alien-Bees treated after the fame manner, igi.

On

INDEX.

On fome occafions the Bees treat the worms engen-

der'd among them after the fame manner, ibid. ^c.

Sometimes the males happen to efcape the Jflaugh-

ter, and pafs the winter in the hive, 195.
Mechanijm of Brutes. See Brutes.
Meafure. A Bee- cell may ferve as univerfal meafure to

all nations, 257.
Monfe (field) an enemy to Bees, 354, 405. How to

fecure Bees from them, 406.
Metamorphofts oi xnk^s. What, 134, i^c. Error of

the antients in that particular, 136.
Mixings or coupling hives, 39 1.
Moth (wax) is a caterpillar who makes prodigious ha-

voclc in honey-combs, 356. Its Hiflory, 357, ^r.
Mouth of the Bees, 49.

N.

-Tk-rYMP HA. The fecond ftate of the Bee, after
•^^ its ifluing from the egg, 140. Difference be-
tween Nympha and Chryfalis^ ibid. How the worm
or maggot of the Bee changes into a nympha, 154,
and its nympha into a Bee, ibid. The time that a
7Z)w/)/^tf continues (hut up, 154, 155. Pofition of a
royal Nympha in its cell, 171.

o.

ODOURS. Error of the antients, in aflerting
that Bees could not bear ftrong odours, 9. Urv-
certainty, with regard to what we may term a good
or bad fmell, 10.
Old-age of the Bees, how known, 169.
Old-men, kill'd out of humanity, 74.
Oil of Olives, not a cure for the flinging of Bees, 63.
Other remedies, no lefs ineffedual, propos'd, 66.

PAPPr-

INDEX.

P.

"pjPP T-Siibjlance, The food of the worms of Bees
of this kind, 143. That of fuch worms or mag-
gots as are to be queens, of a different tafle from
others, 146. That of the Working-bees, ibid. Its
different taftes proportion'd to the different ages, 147.
Its various colours, ibid. Its origin, ibid.

Patella (triangular) is a cavity in each of a Bee's hinder
legs, where fhe lodges the wax gathered by her in the
fields, 45.

Palace (queen's). See cell.

Poifon oiBeeSy 58. Experimenta to prove its ftrength
and malignity, ibid. ^c.

Propolis. See wax virgin.

PutrefaSlio7i. Infefts do not rife from it, 2o,
Strange opinions of the antients, with regard to the
birth of Bees, 81, l^c.

(QUARRELS ol thtBtQS. See Combats. Quar-
<\ rel or difpute, to force a Bee to deliver up the

honey with which (he is loaded, 78.
^een-bee. Sometimes feveral are found ; but there muft
be only one, during the grcateft part of the year, 15.
Lofs or deftruflion of a hive, where there is no queen,
ibid. Two examples, of the wonderful attachment
of the Working- bees, to their queen, 17. How
Ihe caufes all the Bees in a hive to follow her,
ibid. Fiction of the antients with regard to the
queen, 20. Surprizingly prolific, 22. Defcrip-
tion of a Queen-bee, ibid. Difficulty to find her,
ibid. Herfting, 23. She can employ it. 24. Why
fhe feldom ufes it, 25. Her behaviour towards all
her hufbands, S8. Her loves, 97. The place where
(he copulates, 98. The feafon for this, ibid. Her

copula-

INDEX

copulation, 99, ^c\ Reafon why flie makes the
firft advances, 104. How fue may be call'd the
mother of her people, iii. Defcription of a queen
who lays, 116. Homage paid her, //^id. FicPcion,
concerning the curtain which the Bees rnakcs before
her, during the time of her laying, 117, ^c. The
choice fhe makes of cell^, for' laying her eggs, 123.
She knows of what fpecics thofe eg2;s, which {he is
going to lay, will he, il-id. The number of eggs
laid by her in one day, 125. Singularity peculiar to
her, viz. her being able to keep in her body, eggs
impregnated i'evcral month.s before, i2y. She fome-
timcs lays feveral cg^s in the fame cell, 131,
Does not do this, with rewrd to thofe eggs whence

' c? too

queens are to ilTue, 132. The queen never goes into
the fields J (he meeting Vv-iths.all neceffaries in the
hive, 171. She gives birth, daily, to feven or eight
females; and fometimes to twenty, 174. Reafon of
this multiplicity, 175. The antients knew the mul-
tiplicity of queens, (call'd by them kings) and in-
vented fidions on that occafion, ly^., 176. Arifto-
tle's^and Virgil's opinion, 176. Ridiculous defcrip-
tion of thefe kings, by Alexander de Montfort, 177.
Of the fupernumerary queens, 174, 175. Several
follow a fwarm ; many remain in the hive ; and all
of them, one excepted, are put to death, 175, 178,
iffr. Murther of two queens, i8j, 182. The
circumflance wjiich contributts to the choice of the
queen whofe life is prefervM, 1B3. Primogeniture,
one of the motives pf tiis choice, 183, 184. By
whom the reft are put todcath, 187. At wbatfeafon,
jbitl. A queen who ifTues fiom a hive, with a fwarm,
can pprpetuate the fpecies the very fame day, 188.
Sometimes there are two queens in a hive, 195, Ar-
rival of a queen in a ne\v hive, 29S. A queen may
be given to a fwarm, when it is In want of one. Ex-
periments

INDEX.

perlments for this purpofe, 329, ^c. The bare
hopes of foon having a queen, will (alone) prompt
Bees to purfue their labours, 333.

R.

n E P 0 S E or reft of Bees. Singular fituation
^ of a caterpillar, when going to reft, 1 1 ,

s.

O E N S J T I O N (i\ztur&]) not eafy to be deter-
min'd. Examples, 73, &c.

Sex. Both fexes in flowers, 42, 43. Sex of Bees.
Opinions of the antients on that fubje£t, 86. Sex
of the mother-Bee, demonftrated anatomically, 89,
Proof that the working- Bees have no fex, 95, 96,
Proof of that of males, 9 5 .

Si/k-worm. Its metamorphofis, 136, A filk- worm's
life, as that of many other infedls, may be prolonged,
159. If the lengthning their days be of fervice to
them. This may be doubted, 161, dffc.

Silk. The Bee's worm or maggot fpins filk, 150.

Snai/, fix'd or ftuck, with virgin-wax, by Bees againft
a paneof glafs, 211, and 348.

Spider. Not a very dangerous enemy to Bees, 3^1.

Stamina of flowers. On thefe lies the duft, which is
the true fubftance whereof wax is form'd, 42.

Stays or faftnings, with which the Bees faften the
combs, 263.

Sting (Bee's) 52. Why the Bee's flinging is death to
herfelf, 54.

Stinging. Bees never fling, except annoy'd, 8. The

Bee's ftinging fatal ; and, repeated to a certain point,

may kill the greateft animals, 62. Their ftings not

equally painful in all feafons, 60, No sure for th«s

H h ftinging

INDEX.

flinging of Bees, 63, &c. Some perfons not an-
noy'd by them, 66. Beft to draw out the fting,
immediately after the hurt, 67.

Stomach. The Bee has two ftomachs, the one for
honey, the other for wax, 278. Defcription of
thefe two flomachs, ibid, and 308.

Stone. Fidion of the fmall done, which Bees are
faid to carry, to enable them to bear up againft the
wind, 302.

Sivallowsj don't make a great havock among Bees,

349-
Swarm. The queen of a fwarm is always a young

mother, 108. When a fwarm divides, at the iflu-
ing from a hive, 'tis a certain indication that there
are fe vera 1 queens, 17 8. A gentle humming heard,
the evening before a fwarm ilTues forth, 314. Signs
. by which the approaching going forth of a fwarm is
known, ibid. What this gentle humming is, 315.
Whimfical notion of Butler, with regard to this
humming, 3 16. The organ by which the Bee fends
forth this found, 317, 318. Swarms don't take
their flight, till about noon, 320. What it is that
determines them to fally forth, ibid. In what
months of the year they go out, 321. All work or
labour ceafes in the hive, when a fwarm is to depart,
321. Swarms would never leave a hive if they
were not headed by a queen, 322. A queen, for
leading out a fwarm, may be wanting, 323,
Defcription of a fwarm which leaves a hive, 324.
Sand thrown at the Bees, to force them to de-
fcend, when they fly too high, ibid. Swarm
clufter'd or groop'd round the branch of a tree,
325. A noife made with kettles and pans, a need-
lefs ceremony, 326. Fable of the fpies and quartcr-
mafters, 328. Swarms begin to make honey combs,
on the very tree where they firft fettle, ibid. A

queen

INDEX.

queen may be given to a fwarm which is in want of
one, 330. Preparations made with regard to a hive,
before a fwatm is lodg'd in it, 337. The Bees are
brought into it, by the help of a broom, 336. All
fuch Bees as were difperfed, aflemble together, ibid.
They fometimes obftinately perfift in returning to
the tree whence they were taken, 337. A
hive, into which a fwarm is juft introduc'd,
muft be fcrecn'd from the fun, ibid. What is to be
done when fwarms fettle on the tops of tree?,
ibid. Sometimes fwarms return to their former
hive. On what occafion, 338. What a populous
fwarm may weigh, 339. The number of Bees
which weigh eight pounds, 341. Which are the
beft fwarms, 342. How to weigh them, 343.
The manner how we know, whether the Bees are
pleafed with the hive into which they are introduc'd,
344. Swarms commonly don't produce another
fwarm, the firft year, ibid. How many fwarms
are produc'd by a hive, in a year, 345. Num-
ber of fwarms which fucceed one another, in a
year, 413. How many fwarms we may depend
upon annually, 414. The fize of the hive, muft
be proportioned to the populoufnefs of the Bees, 432.
Why the appearance of drones, is a fign of an ap-
proaching fwarm, 434. Precautions that muft be
us*d, with regard to fwarms newly arriv'd ; and,
which are prevented, by bad weather, from flying
into the fields, 435.

T.

n^HE RMO ME TE R. Proper for one of thefe

to be kept in places where there are hives, in order

to difcover the temperature of the air, proper for Bees,

408.

Trunk (Bee's) 49. Not a channel, but a tongue which

laps, 50, 51. 'Tis even a fecond tongue, 277.

1 ' IF AS PS.

INDEX.

W.

J/f/'A S P S and hornets, great enemies to Bees,

^^ 349. What it is that prompts them to attack
the Bees, 351.

Water. Bees ftand in need of drink. The befl: manner
of furnifliing them with water, 420.

JVax. Whither tlie Bees go, in order to find it, 42.
How gather'd by them, 43. What it is. Ibid.
Sometimes devoured by falfe-moths, 356. Method
how to increafe confiderably the trade of wax, 4.1 1.

JFax (Virgin-) 20 J. Of ufein phyfic, ibid. Its ori-
gin unknown, 202. Virgin-wax dsfcrib'd, ibid.
Why Bees prefer it to every other fubfiance, for
flopping the chinks of their hives, 203, Bees are
angry when paper is ftuck over the crannies of their
liives, they tearing it ofF, and putting their virgin-
wax in its place, 204. When a Bee brings virgin-
wax to the hive, her companions come and unload
Iier of it, 205. In what part of the body they put
the virgin-wax, 206. Defcription of a Bee, loaded
with virgin- wax, 207. Virgin-w^ax proper for mak-
ing varnilhcs and gilding, 208. Ufed by the Bees,
to embalm fuch infects as they cannot carry out of
their hive, 210. Snail fluck by them againft a
pane of giafs, 211.

I fright of a good fwarm, 340. Of the balls or pellets
of wax, 222.

J Fire- drawing. Inftrument with which Bees fpin lllk,
150.

U'crm or maggot, is the Bee's firft ftate, after its iffu-
ing from the egg, 130, 140, ^c Defcription of
this worm, 141. The Bee's worm fpins like the
filk-worm, 142. Its food, 143. The working-
Bees are nurfes, 1 44. How they bring in provifions,
^Lid. How the worms, whence queens arife, are
fed, X45, Their pappy fubftancc different from
thatof the others, 146.

^^Ikcknuui &Ji

^^ *TTJLY.66