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ring, as the fituation of the planet has hitherto not afforded me any other. The fouthern one, which is lately come to be expofed to the fun, will shortly be opened fufficiently to enable me to give alfo the fituation of its belts, if it should have

anv.

From my obfervations it appears, that the zone on the northern plane of the ring, is not, like the belts of Jupiter or thofe of Saturn, fubject to variations of colour and figure; but is moft probably owing to fome permanent conftruction of the furface of the ring itself. That however, for instance, this black belt cannot be the fhadow of a chain of mountains, may be gathered from its being visible all round on the ring; for at the ends of the anfe there could be no fhades vifible, on account of the direction of the fun's illumination, which would be in the line of the chain; and the fame argument will hold good against fuppofed caverns or concavities. It is moreover pretty evident, that this dark zone is contained between two concentric circles, as all the phænomena answer to the projection of fuch a zone.

With regard to the nature of the ring, we may certainly affirm, that it is no lefs folid and fubftantial than the planet itself. The fame reafons which prove to us the folidity of the one will be full as valid when applied to the other. If we deduce the quantity of matter, contained in the body, from the power whereby the fatellites are kept in their orbits, and the time of their revolution, it must be remembered, that the ring is included in the refult. It is alfo in a very particular manner evident, that the ring exerts a confiderable force upon thefe revolving bodies, fince we find them ftrongly affected with many irregularities in their motions, which we cannot properly afcribe to any other caufe than the quantity of

matter contained in the ring; at leaft we ought to allow it a proper fhare in the effect, as we do not deny but that the confiderable equa torial clevation of Saturn must also join in it.

The light of the ring of Saturn is generally brighter than that of the planet.

I come now to one of the most remarkable properties in the conftruction of the ring, which is its extreme thinnefs. The fituation of Saturn, for fome months past, has been particularly favourable for an inveftigation of this circumftance; and my experiments have been fo complete, that there can remain no doubt on this head.

When we were nearly in the plane of the ring, I have repeatedly feen the first, the fecond, and the third fatellites, nay even the fixth and feventh, pafs before and behind the ring in fuch a manner that they ferved as excellent micrometers to estimate its thickness by.

I cannot leave this fubject without mentioning both my own former furmifes, and thofe of feveral other aftronomers, of a fuppofed rough. nefs in the furface of the ring, or inequality in the planes and inclinations of its flat fides. They arose from feeing luminous parts on its extent, which were fuppofed to be projecting points, like the moon's mountains; or from feeing one arm brighter or longer than another; or even from feeing one when the other was invifible. I was, in the beginning of this season, inclined to the fame opinion, till one of thefe fuppofed luminous points was kind enough to venture off the edge of the ring, and appeared in the fhape of a fatellite.' Now, as I had collected every inequality of this fort, it was eafy enough for me afterwards to calculate all fuch furmifes by the known periodical time of the firft, fecond, third, fixth, and

arm

feventh

feventh fatellites; and I have always found that fuch appearances were owing to fome of thefe fatellites which were either before or behind the ring.

I am, by imperceptible steps, brought to the difcovery of two fatellites of Saturn, which had efcaped unnoticed, on account of their little distance from the planet, and faintnefs; which latter is partly to be afcribed to their fmallnefs, and partly to being fo near the light of the ring and difk of Saturn. Strong fufpicions of the existence of a fixth fatellite I have long entertained; and, if I had been more at leifure two years ago, when the difcovery of the two Georgian fatellites took me as it were off the fcent, I fhould certainly have been able to announce its existence as early as the 19th of Auguft 1787, when, at 22 h. 18 56", I faw, and marked it down as being, probably, a fixth fatellite, which was then about 12 degrees past its greatest preceding elongation.

In hopes of great fuccefs with my forty-fect fpeculum, I deferred the attack upon Saturn till that should be finished; and having taken an early opportunity of directing it to Saturn, the very first moment I faw the planet, which was the 28th of laft Auguft, I was prefented with a view of fix of its fatellites, in fuch a fituation, and so bright, as rendered it impoffible to mistake them, or not to fee them. The retrograde motion of Saturn amounted to nearly four and a half minutes per day, which made it very eafy to afcertain whether the stars I took to be fatellites really were fo; and, in about two hours and an half, I had the pleasure of finding, that the planet had vifibly carried them all away from their places. I continued my obfervations conftantly, whenever the weather would permit; and the great light of the forty-feet fpeculum was now of fo much ufe, that I alfo, on the 17th of Septem

ber, detected the feventh fatellite, when it was at its greatest preceding elongation.

By comparing together many ob❤ fervations of the fixth fatellite, I find, that it completes a fidereal revolution about Saturn in one day, eight hours, 53' 9". And if we fuppofe, with M. de la Lande, that the fourth is at the mean diftance of 3' from the center of Saturn, and performs one revolution in 15 d. 22 h. 34 38", we find the distance of the fixth, by Kepler's law, to be 35,058. Its light is confiderably trong, but not equal to that of the firft fatellite.

The most diftant obfervations of the feventh fatellite, being compared together, fhew, that it makes one fidereal revolution in 22 h. 40′ and 46"; and, by the fame data which ferved to afcertain the dimenfion of the orbit of the fixth, we have the distance of the feventh, from the center of Saturn, no more than 27366. It is incomparably smaller than the fixth; and, even in my forty-feet reflector, appears no bigger than a very fmall lucid point. I fee it, however, alfo very well in the twenty-feet reflector; to which the exquifite figure of the fpeculum not a little contributes. It must nevertheless be remembered, that a fatellite once difcovered is much easier to be seen than it was before we were acquainted with its place.

The revolution of this fatellite is not nearly fo well ascertained as that of the former. The difficulty of having a number of obfervations is uncommonly great; for, on account of the fmallnefs of its orbit, the fatellite lies generally before and behind the planet and its ring, or at leaft fo near them that, except in very fine weather, it cannot easily be feen well enough to take its place with accuracy. On the other hand, the greatest elongations allow fo much latitude for mistaking its truc fituation, that it will require a con

fiderable

fiderable time to divide the errors that must arise from imperfect efti

mations.

The orbits of these two fatellites, as appears from many obfervations of them, are exactly in the plane of the ring, or at least deviate fo little from it, that the difference cannot be perceived. It is true, there is a poffibility that the line of their nodes may be in, or near, the prefent greatest elongation, in which cafe the orbits may have fome fmall inclination; but as I have repeatedly feen them run along the very minute arms of the ring, even then the deviation cannot amount to more than perhaps one or two degrees; if, on the contrary, the nodes fhould be fituated near the conjunction, this quantity would be fo confiderable that it could not have escaped my observation.

In our next, we fhall proceed with this great aftronomer's obfervations on the planet itself.

INTERESTING PARTICULARS OF THE BEE.

hares. This is the foundation of the first cell. She labours inceffantly for five or fix days, till the whole be completed, when it refembles the figure of a thimble. Before the cell is entirely finished, the mafon-bee collects from the flowers, and depofits in the cell, a large quantity of farina, and afterwards difgorges upon it as much honey as dilutes it, and forms it into a kind of paste or fyrup. The egg is now inclofed on all fides in a walled habitation.

The honey-bee has in all ages been the fubject of wonder. That order and fubordination so conspicuous feem to argue a degree of intelligence, and fuggeft the idea of a republic, governed by fixed laws.

In the formation of their combs, bees feem to refolve a problem which would not be a little puzzling to fome geometers; namely, a quantity of wax being given to make of it equal and fimilar cells of a determined capacity, but of the largest fize in proportion to the quantity of matter employed, and disposed in fuch a manner as to occupy in the

[From Smellic's Philofophy of Natural hive the leaft poffible space. Every

Hiftory.]

THE nefts of the mafon-bec are fixed to the walls of houfes, and appear like irregular prominences formed by chance. The fagacity and fkill of this infect are aftonishing, She goes to a bed of fand, and felects, grain by grain, the kind which is best to answer her purpose. With her teeth, which are as large and as ftrong as thofe of the honey-bee, fhe examines and brings together feveral grains. From her mouth fhe pours out a vifcid liquor, with which the moiftens the firit grain pitched upon. To this grain fhe cements a fecond, which the moiftens in the fame manner, and to the former two fhe attaches a third, and so on, till fhe has formed a mafs as large as the hot ufually employed to kill

part of this problem is completely executed by the bees.

The cells of bees are defigned for different purposes. Some of them are employed for the accumulation and prefervation of honey; in others, the female depofits her eggs, and from thefe eggs worms are hatched, which remain in the cells till their final transformation into flies. The drones or males are larger than the common or working bees; and the queen, or mother of the hive, is much larger than either. A cell deftined for the lodgment of a male or female worm must, therefore, be confiderably larger than the cells of the fmaller working bees. The number of cells deftined for the reception of the working bees far exceeds thofe in which the males are

lodged

lodged. The honey cells are always made deeper and more capacious than the others. When the honey collected is fo abundant that the veffels cannot contain it, the bees lengthen, and of courfe deepen the honey-cells.

By a long and attentive obfervation, Reaumur found that the bees actually eat the farina which they fo induftriously collect; and that this farina, by an animal procefs, is converted into wax. This digeftive procefs, which is neceffary to the formation of wax, is carried on in the second stomach, and perhaps in the intestines of bees. When a bee comes to the hive with its thighs filled with farina, it is often met near the entrance by fome of its companions, who first take off the load, and then devour the provifions fo kindly brought them. But when none of the bees employed in the hive are hungry for this fpecies of food, the carriers of the farina depofit their loads in cells prepared for that purpofe. To these cells the bees refort when the weather is so bad that they cannot venture to go to the fields in queft of fresh provifions. After the farina is digested and converted into wax, the bees poffefs the power of bringing it from their stomachs to their mouths. The inftrument they employ in furnishing ma terials for conftructing their waxen cells is their tongue, which is fituated below the two teeth or fangs.

Bees, from the nature of their constitution, require a warm habitation. They are likewise extremely folicitous to prevent infects of any kind from getting admittance into their hives. To accomplish both thefe purposes, when they take poffeffion of the hive they carefully examine every part of it, and, if they discover any fmall holes or chinks, they immediately paste them firmly up with a refinous fubftance, which differs confiderably from wax. This substance was not unknown to

the ancients. Pliny mentions it under the name of propolis, or beeglue. This glue is not like wax procured by an animal procefs; the bees collect it from different trees, as the poplars, the birches, and the willows. It is a complete produc tion of Nature, and requires no addition or manufacture from the ani❤ mals by which it is employed.

Bees extract the honey by means of their probofcis or trunk, which is a kind of rough cartilaginous tongue, from the nectariferous glands of flowers. After collecting a few finall drops, the animal conveys them to its mouth and fwallows them. From the fophagus, or gullet, it paffes into the firft ftomach, which is more or lefs fwelled in proportion to the quantity of honey it contains. When empty, it has the appearance of a fine white thread; but when filled with honey, it affumes the figure of an oblong bladder, the membrane of which is so thin and transparent, that it allows the colour of the liquor it contains to be distinctly seen. It not unfrequently happens that, when on its way to the hive, it is accofted by an hungry companion, which, with the point of its trunk, fucks the honey from the other's mouth.'

Mr. Reaumur difcovered several important facts with regard to the natural history of bees; but in fome he was miftaken. Mr. Schirarch and Mr. Debraw have, by their recent obfervations, thrown great light upon this curious fubject. The drones are the males of the hive. The working bees are not neuters, as was formerly fuppofed, but are really females in which the diftinction of fex is obliterated. The queen-bee is the only perfect female, and is the mother of her fubjects. She depofits the eggs, which are of two kinds, in cells that are previoufly prepared; and, while these are in the gelatinous ftate, the drones inject upon them the feminal liquor, and impregnate them. The

form

form and fize of the cell, and the nature of the food furnished to the worms, determine the rank which they are afterwards to hold. The cell in which the worm is lodged which is destined to fill the throne, is large and fpacious. The plebeian race are confined in narrow apartments, the expanfion of parts is prevented, and, after they have acquired a certain age, they are for ever deprived of tafting the fweets of love! When bees lofe their queen, they are able, however, to provide a fucceffor. They enlarge a common cell, and fupply the fortunate caterpillar with nutricious food, and foon confefs obedience to their infant fovereign. Hence a fingle brood-comb is fufficient in a fhort time to furnish a new hive. By this discovery we are taught an eafy mode of multiplying without end fwarms or new colonics of thefe ufeful infects. Befide the great increafe of honey, if this difcovery were fufficiently attended to, confiderable fums annually expended in importing wax into this kingdom from the continent might be faved. The practice of this new art, fays Mr. Schirarch, has already extended itfelf through Upper Lufatia, the Palatinate, Bohemia, Bavaria, Silefia, and Poland. In fome of thefe countries it has excited and acquired the attention of government. The emprefs of Ruffia has fent a proper perfon to Klein Bautzen to be instructed in the general principles of this new and important

art.

THE HEDGE-HOG INNOXIOUS.

[In a Letter to the Editor.] THERE are many animals marked, by vulgar prejudice, for inftant deftruction; because they are, in themselves, confidered as unfit to rank as delicacies for the table. Among these may be reck

oned the Swallow, who, when shot by its enemy, almost always indicates its usefulness, by the number of dead fpiders with which its mouth and belly abound. I may mention the Tom Tit as the next injured fufferer, who in reality never deAroys the plum or cherry, but as his endeavours are neceffary in deftroying a worm, which inhabits and kills the bud. While I am on the fubject, let me befeech the clemency of the vulgar towards that poor, forlorn, and proscribed animal, the Hedge-Hog, condemned to perfecution, and a prize put upon its head by every parifh in the kingdom, and I believe by law, under an erroneous idea that it fucks and injures cows. I have kept feveral, and do not know a more inoffenfive, fimple animal. By my obfervations, I found them to feed on beetles, worms, fmall fnails, &c. they get in gardens, and not on milk, or apples, as is generally fuppofed. I have placed bread, milk, cheese, apples, flefh, raw and dreffed, and never found them to touch either; but every evening after fun-fet, they crept out (never stirring in the day. time) and ran under the margins of my borders where any edibles grew, and there took their food. fall of the year, when that nourishment ceafed, they crept amongst old mats, that were under cover, rags, ftraw, or any thing that would make a neft, and there lay until fummer produced their natural food; like the tortoife, but not torpid, never once ftirring from their neft. Now, was milk their food, it could be found in winter as well as fummer.

In the

On the whole, I am certain that they are useful, instead of noxious. When I felt in their neft, they were warm, and free from filth of any fort, as not having any evacuations, like other beings that lived, or what only the fun brought forth, such as fwallows, swifts, bats, tortoifes, &c.

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