of the practical part. That an egg was ever
detached from the bottom of one cell safely and successfully deposited
in another, without breaking or injuring it in some manner, to make the
bees refuse it, permit me at present to doubt.

NECESSITY FOR FURTHER OBSERVATION.

Cannot some experiments, practicable to all, be instituted that will
throw more light on this subject? The old hypothesis of limiting
drone-egg laying to two or three periods, is evidently at fault.

TWO SIDES OF THE QUESTION.

If we suppose that the eggs are all alike, and the subsequent treatment
makes either workers, drones, or queens, and look to analogy for
support, we shall find much against, as well as for it. For instance,
we find in almost every department of animated nature, that the sex of
the germ of a future being is decided before being separated from the
parent, as the eggs of fowls, &c. Another fact, some queens (averaging
one in sixty or eighty) deposit eggs that produce only drones,[8]
whether in worker or drone-cells, proving that sex is decided in this
case beyond controversy. Hence it would appear reasonable, if sex was
decided by the ovaries of the queen, in one case, it would be in
another.

[8] I have had several such. It made no difference whether the
eggs were in the worker-cells or drone-cells, the brood was all
drones. When in the worker-cells, (and the majority was there,)
they required to be lengthened about one-third. In an occurrence
of this kind, the colony of workers will rapidly diminish in
number, until too few are left to protect the combs from the
moth. It occurs most frequently in spring, but I once had a case
the last of summer. The first indications are an unusual number
of caps, or covers of cells, being under and about the hive; the
workers, instead of increasing, grow less in number. When you
fear this state of things, make a thorough examination, blow
under the hive some tobacco smoke, as directed in pruning, invert
the hive, part the combs till you can see the brood; if the
worker-cells contain drones, they are readily perceived, as they
project beyond the usual even surface, being very irregular, here
and there a few, or perhaps but one sticking out. The worker-brood,
when in their own cells, form nearly an even surface; so of the
drones. The only remedy that I have found is to destroy this