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The great instrument by which the Bees, in their perfect state, collect their food, is their tongue. This they have the power of inflating, and can wipe with it both convex and concave surfaces; and with it they, as it were, lick, but not suck, the honey from the blossoms, for Reaumur has proved this organ acts as a tongue, and not as a pump.Id. vol. ii. p. 329.

BEE-CUCKOO AND HONEY-RATEL.

There is a genus belonging to the order Climbers, found in the southern parts of Africa, the species of which are called Bee-Cuckoos (Indicator major), and are remarkable for indicating both to the Honey-Ratel (Vivera mellivora) and the Hottentots the subterraneous nests of certain Bees, which they do by a particular cry

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morning and evening, and by a gradual and slow flight towards the quarter where the swarm of Bees have taken up their abode. The beast and the man both attend to the notice, and dig out the nest; and to the share of the bird generally falls, not the part stored with the honey, but that in which the grubs are contained: so that the bird, though it invites others to partake with it, has its own subsistence, which it could not otherwise readily come at, principally in view. Both this animal and its companion, the Ratel, are fitted by Providence for their function, and protected from the danger to which they are exposed from the stings of the irritated Bees, by a very hard skin. The Bees, however, sometimes revenge themselves on the treacherous bird by attacking it about the head and eyes, and so destroying it. It is singular, and affords a singular proof of design, that two animals which are so necessary to each other, the one to indicate and the other to excavate their common prey, should each be defended by the same kind of armour, and each seek a different portion of the spoil, suited to its habits.-Kirby, vol. ii. p. 464.

X

BEES IN SOUTH AMERICA.

From the Plaza we went to a house where a Bee-hive of the country was opened in our presence. The Bees, the honey-comb, and the Hive, differ essentially from those of Europe. The Hive is generally made out of a log of wood from two to three feet long, and eight or ten inches in diameter, hollowed out and closed at the ends by circular

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doors cemented closely to the wood, but capable of being removed at pleasure. Some persons use cylindrical Hives, made of earthenware, instead of the clumsy apparatus of wood; these are relieved by raised figures and circular rings, so as to form rather handsome ornaments in the verandah of a house, where they are suspended by cords from the roof, in the same manner that the wooden ones in the villages are hung to the eaves of the cottages. On one side of the Hive, half way between the ends, there is a small hole made, just large enough for a loaded Bee to enter, and shaded by a projection, to prevent the rain from trickling in. In this hole, generally representing the mouth of a man, or some monster, the head of which is moulded in the clay of the Hive, a Bee is constantly stationed, whose office is no sinecure, for the hole is so small that he has to draw back every time a Bee wishes to enter or leave the Hive. A gentleman told me that the experiment had been made of marking the sentinel, when it was observed that the same Bee continued at its post all day.

When it is ascertained by the weight that the Hive is full, the end pieces are removed, and the honey withdrawn. The Hive we saw opened was only partly filled, which enabled us to see the economy of the interior to more advantage. The honey is not contained in the elegant hexagonal cells of our Hives; but in wax bags not quite so large as an egg. These bags or bladders are hung round the sides of the Hive, and appear about half full, the quantity being probably just as great as the strength of the wax will bear without tearing; those nearer the bottom, being better supported, are more filled than the upper ones. In the centre, or lower part of the Hive, we observed an irregular-shaped mass of comb, furnished with cells like those of our Bees, all containing young ones in such an advanced state, that when we broke the comb and let them out, they flew merrily away. During this examination of the Hive, the comb and the honey were taken out, and the Bees dis

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turbed in every way; but they never stung us, though our faces and hands were covered with them. It is said, however, that there is a Bee in this country which does sting; but the kind we saw seemed to have neither the inclination nor the power, for they certainly did not hurt us, and our friends said, they were muy manso, very tame, and never stung any one. The honey gave out a rich aromatic perfume, and tasted differently from ours, but possessed an agreeable flavour.-Basil Hall's South America, chap. 46.

July 7, 1782.-Bees have thriven well this summer, being assisted by the honey dews which have abounded this year; some of the standard honeysuckles which a month ago were so sweet and lovely, being covered with aphides and viscous honey dews. These latter are probably occasioned by the effluvia of flowers being drawn up by a brisk evaporation in hot days, and then in the night falling down with the dews!!!-White of Selbourne, from Jesse's Gleanings, 2d Series, p. 172.

SIR THOMAS BROWNE ON THE BEE'S VOICE.

That Flies, Bees, &c. doe make that noise or humming sound by their mouth, or, as many believe, with their wings only, would be more warily asserted, if we consulted the determination of Aristotle, who, as in sundry other places, so more expressly in his book of Respiration, affirmeth this sound to be made by the allision of an inward

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spirit upon a pellicle or little membrane about the precinct or pectoral division of their body. If we also consider that a Bee or Flie, so it be able to move the body, will buz, though its head be off; that it will doe the like if deprived of wings, reserving the head, whereby the body may be better moved. And that some, also, which are big and lively, will hum without either head or wings. Nor is it only the beating upon this little membrane by the inward and connaturall spirit, as Aristotle determines, or the outward air, as Scaliger conceiveth, which affordeth this humming noise, but most of the other parts may also concurre hereto, as will be manifest if, while they humme, we lay our finger on the back or other parts, for thereupon will be felt a serrous or jarring motion, like that which happeneth while we blow on the teeth of a comb through paper; and so if the head or other parts of the trunk be touched with oile, the sound will be much impaired, if not destroied. For those being also dry and membranous parts, by attrition of the spirit doe help to advance the noise; and therefore, also, the sound is strongest in dry weather, and very weak in rainy season, and toward winter; for then the air is moist, and the inward spirit growing weak, makes a languid and dumb allision upon the parts.-Vulgar Errors, book ii. ch. 26, 10.

The humming of insects seems still involved in mystery, nor do I clearly see what experiments can be made to clear it up.