APIARLE. 



125 



the rows of cells on one side of the comb may deviate from 

 their true direction with regard to those on the other, to the 

 extent of 30." 



"Thus, if a piece of normal comb be held in the position in 

 which it was built, two of the opposite angles of the hexagon, 

 Fig. 75, A, a, will be in the 

 same vertical line, and two 

 of the sides will be parallel 

 to this. The same is true 

 of the opposite side of the 

 comb ; and thus all the cor- 

 responding parts of the cells 

 on the two sides will be par- 

 allel. In the deviation we 

 are now noticing, the change 

 is like that represented in A, 

 where the cell a is in its 

 true position, while the cell 

 b, Avhich is from the oppo- 

 site side, and is in contact 

 with o, varies from it by 

 about 30. If we look at 

 these two cells in the direc- 

 tion of their sides as at B, 

 the prism a will have one 

 of its angles towards the eye, and b one of its sides. 



In consequence of this deviation and the continual crossing 

 of the rows on opposite sides, the pyramidal base is not made, 



and the cell is shortened. 



" 7. In curved or bent combs the 

 cells on the concave side tend to be- 

 come narrower, while those on the 

 other tend to become broader to- 

 wards their mouths. In Fig. 76 

 1 ' (this and Figs. 77 and 78 are made 



Fl - 77- from impressions obtained directly 



from the comb and transferred to wood ; they represent the 

 form of the cells exactly), as in the central line of cells, there 

 are a variety of hexagons, each resulting from the union 



