sirous of avoiding some interposing substance having a smooth or glassy surface,—these are results which seem to manifest something more than simple instinct; they afford a wonderful proof of the resources of this faculty, when compelled to deviate from the ordinary course; they imply, in fact, the possession of a certain degree of intellect, or of reasoning power, by which their instinct is modified and counteracted. We cannot, indeed, but be filled with astonishment, when we see their ingenious expedients in getting the better of difficulties, which would not have occurred in their natural state,—and with admiration of the wisdom and goodness of the Almighty Parent, so conspicuously visible, even in the unconscious instinctive operations of these tiny creatures of his hand.
The material of which the bees construct those beautiful combs, which deserve so much admiration, is Wax—the nature and production of which will be considered in a subsequent chapter. No sooner has a swarm been safely lodged in a hive, than the industrious labourers commence the operation of building. One portion of the population employs itself in cleaning out their new abode, whilst a large number hastens to the fields, some of them to collect honey, the saccharine part of which is the source of the wax used in the construction of the combs,—and others to gather propolis, which is a tenacious substance employed in fixing the less adhesive wax to the roof of the hive, and in stopping up any crevices that might give entrance to vermin, or admit the cold.
