little practice before trying the experiment away from home. Besides,
I want to see how the insect will behave in its magnetic harness. I
take a Mason-bee at work in her cell, which I mark. I carry her to my
study, at the other end of the house. The magnetised outfit is
fastened on the thorax; and the insect is let go. The moment she is
free, the Bee drops to the ground and rolls about, like a mad thing,
on the floor of the room. She resumes her flight, flops down again,
turns over on her side, on her back, knocks against the things in her
way, buzzes noisily, flings herself about desperately and ends by
darting through the open window in headlong flight.

What does it all mean? The magnet appears to have a curious effect on
my patient's system! What a fuss she makes! How terrified she is! The
Bee seemed utterly distraught at losing her bearings under the
influence of my knavish tricks. Let us go to the nests and see what
happens. We have not long to wait: my insect returns, but rid of its
magnetic tackle. I recognize it by the traces of gum that still cling
to the hair of the thorax. It goes back to its cell and resumes its
labours.

Always on my guard when searching the unknown, unwilling to draw
conclusions before weighing the arguments for and against, I feel
doubt creeping in upon me with regard to what I have seen. Was it
really the magnetic influence that disturbed my Bee so strangely? When
she struggled and kicked on the floor, fighting wildly with both legs
and wings, when she fled in terror, was she under the sway of the
magnet fastened on her back? Can my appliance have thwarted the
guiding influence of the terrestrial currents on her nervous system?
Or was her distress merely the result of an unwonted harness? This is
what remains to be seen and that without delay.