farina, the observer will perceive the little active forager, on her arrival in the interior, hurrying over the surface of the comb in search of a proper cell in which to deposit her burden; and having found one, fastening herself by the two fore-feet on its superior border, then bending her body a little forward, that her hinder feet may catch hold of the opposite edge of the cell. In this position she is next seen thrusting back her second pair of feet, one on each side, and sweeping with them from top to bottom along the two hinder legs, where the farina balls are fixed, and by this means detaching them from the hairy linings of the cavities, and depositing them in the cell. To the workers, also, are committed the various offices of guarding the entrance of the hive by night and day, during the honey season; of repulsing marauders—of keeping their abode free from all offensive matters—of renewing the air within by an ingenious mode of ventilation—of replacing a lost Queen, and of destroying the drones at the decline of the honey season. Receiving from nature these weighty charges, they labour assiduously to fulfil them; and, while each member of the community acts by the impulse of its individual instinct, it works less for private than for the general good. These labours appear unceasing; yet do the weary labourers sometimes snatch an interval of repose. During the busy season, we have seen hundreds of the workers retiring into the cells, and exhibiting all the marks of profound sleep. This fact is very easily observable, especially in those cells which are con-
