HONEY-COMB. 



263 



HONEY -C0M13. 



(not honey-bees) make sncli cells. The hex- 

 agonal form is due largely to mutual pres- 

 sure, and partly to optical illusion. Cells 

 near the edge of the comb, where it is at- 



m 



FIG. _. — CIKCULAR CET,T-S. 



tached to some support, are either circular 

 or elongated circular. 8ee Fig. 2. 



Worker-cells seem more closely crowded 

 together than drone-cells, and thus have 

 their angles, in most cases, more 

 sharply defined. In drone comb 

 some cells are almost without 

 angles, the spaces between the 

 tubes being filled in by a thick- 

 ening of the cell walls greater 

 than is customary. See Figs. 4 

 and 5. In such parts a casual 

 glance shows them to be almost 

 as hexagonal as the usual type. 

 But close examination or mag- 

 nifying shows many cells that are 

 cylindrical tubes. The more one 

 studies comb, the more firmly is 

 he Impressed with the belief that 

 the original "intention" of the 

 bee is to produce a hollow cylin- 

 der, and that the hexagonal re- 

 sult is due solely to a force of 

 circumstances, and is entirely 

 " unintentional.'' 



Much has been written about 

 the mathematically exact angles 

 of honey-comb. .Some philoso- 

 phers have stoutly maintained 

 that the bees have solved difficult 

 problems, and that their work is 

 an example of the wonderful per- 

 fection of nature or natural in- 

 stinct. Many of these claims 

 make interesting reading. Ab- 



struse theories and complex formulae have 

 been contributed to sustain these claims. 

 But they lack one essential feature, and in 

 this they do not stand alone, even in the 

 productions of writers on natu- 

 ral history — tliey are not true. 



Actual measurements of the 

 angles show that they greatly 

 vary. But, notwithstanding the 

 fact that the cells vary in size 

 and form, comb is none the less 

 a wonderful structure, with all 

 its parts arranged for the great- 

 est strength, the largest storing 

 capacity, and most perfect adap- 

 tation to circumstances. Wax 

 is produced by the bee at a 

 great expenditure of labor, 

 material, and strength. Well- 

 informed investigators say that 

 "The costliness of wax to the 

 bee, since it can be produced 

 only at the expense of many 

 times its own weight of honey 

 or sugar, has led to great econ- 

 omy, one pound of it being molded into 

 35,000 worker-cells," while still others have 

 observed £0,000 made from that amount. 

 To help the bee in this economy, apiarists 



FIG. 4. — A COMDIXATTON OF WORKER AND DRONE CEI.LP. 

 None of the angles are sharp, and most of the cells are circular. 



