March or April, until the beginning of May, they divide them; first separating the sticks, on which the combs and bees are fastened, from one another with a knife: so taking out the first comb and bees together, on each side, they put them into another basket, in the same order as they were taken out, until they have equally divided them. After this, when they are both again accommodated with sticks and plaister, they set the new basket in the place of the old one, and the old one in some new place. And all this they do in the middle of the day, at such time as the greatest part of the bees are abroad; who at their coming home, without much difficulty, by this means divide themselves equally. This device hinders them from swarming, and flying away. In August they take out their honey; which they do in the day time also, while they are abroad; the bees being thereby, they say, disturbed least. At which time they take out the combs laden with honey, as before; that is, beginning at each outside, and so taking away, until they have left only such a quantity of combs in the middle, as they judge will be sufficient to maintain the bees in winter; sweeping those bees, that are on the combs

they take out, into the basket again, and again covering it with new sticks and plaister. All that I doubt concerning the practice of this in England, is, that perhaps they may gather a less quantity of honey; and that, should they take the like quantity of honey from the bees here in England, they would not leave enough to preserve them in winter. But this hinders not much: for by being less covetous, and not taking so much honey from the poor bees, the great increase and multiplying of them would soon equalize, and far exceed the little profit we make by destroying of them. This is done without smoak; wherefore the antients call this honey, unsmoaken honey: and I believe the smoak of sulpur, which we use, takes away very much of the fragrancy of the wax; and sure I am, the honey can receive neither good taste, nor good smell from it."

25th Feb. 1806.

No. XII.

The following Report was made by a Select Com mittee, in consequence of a reference from the Board of Directors of the ROYAL JENNERIAN SOCIETY. It was presented to the Board in July last; and having been approved by the Directors, was communicated to the Medical Council of the Society, who, upon reference to the Documents on which it was founded, also expressed their full approbation of the Report.

IN

IN pursuance of the reference from the Board of Directors of the 30th of May 1805, to the Committee to inquire whether, notwithstanding the Parliamentary grant of £ 10,000, Dr. Jenner is not actually a sufferer in his income and pecuniary circumstances, in consequence of the time which he has devoted to his valuable discovery of Vaccine Inoculation and of the various expences incident thereto, we have thought it better first to refer to the evidence which was delivered on the same subject, in March and April 1802, before a Committee of the House of Commons.-That testimony, indeed, appears of the highest authority; being given

by 46 respectable persons, 23 of them physi cians of the first eminence, and the others either persons of high rank, or well known and distinguished medical characters; con curring in the strongest and most consistent evidence, that has, perhaps, been adduced upon any subject.

The result of that examination went to prove that a period of near twenty years of labour and attention had intervened between Dr. Jenner's first investigation in 1777, of the circumstances which led to Vaccination, and the completion of a discovery which has proved so interesting and important to mankind, and has produced so extraordinary a reduction in the mortality not only of London, but of other places that when, at length, its nature and value were ascertained by him in 1796, it still remained in his power to have kept the secret to himself, and to have made by it £10,000 a year, or probably a much greater sum: but that by gratuitously divulging the secret, and publishing the detailed mode of operation, he had given up to the public the whole advantage, and had relinquished the opportunity of making his fortune.

Upon this evidence, the House of Commons voted Dr. Jenner the sum of £10,000, as a

compensation for his personal attention, private expense, and professional sacrifices anterior to that period; but, as the Committee conceives, without an idea of further services, or sacrifices, to be made by him, in diffusing the benefits of Vaccination. On the contrary, it appears that several members entertained an opinion, that Dr. Jenner's income and professional advantages would be greatly increased by the discovery; and that it would lead to much more extensive and lucrative practice as. a physician.

*The contrary of this, we are satisfied, from what Dr. Jenner has personally stated to us, and from other information, has been the case. The instructions which he gave as to Vaccine Inoculation in his publication in 1798, followed soon after by other directions, were so explicit and correct, that not only medical men, but other persons, who pay a a careful attention to them, may thereby be enabled to perform the operation and conduct the process with success. Besides Dr. Jenner has not only sus tained a diminution of professional income, but has had an increase of positive expense. In the year 1798, when he published this discovery, he resided at Berkeby in Gloucestershire, and possessed the medical practice of