bee keepers and bee-book writers who take things for 

 granted. Thus I have given a brief statement of the 

 hexagonal cells as formed by the honey bee. Now let me 

 remark that this hexagonal form of cell has been, and, in- 

 deed, is even now generally acknowledged by all philoso- 

 phers to be the result of the mechanical laws which in- 

 fluence the pressure of cylinders composed of soft materials. 

 They state that the nests of solitary bees, and the royal cells 

 in a bee hive, are uniformly circular j and the cells in the 

 pith of wood, which are hexagonal in the central parts, are 

 circular towards the circumference, where there is 

 diminished pressure ; hence it is inferred that the hex- 

 agonal form is produced by the general reaction of the solid 

 parts on each other. Now I must express my surprise at 

 Buch a theoiy being held by any naturalist. Indiarubber 

 tubes, peas, or soft balls placed within a space, and equally 

 compressed, we all know do show the hexagonal forms, but 

 thatthe cells are built in a circular form and then pressed into 

 hexagons is one of those wild imaginations I cannot com- 

 prehend « • • • • 

 I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. Frederick Smith, of 

 the British Museum, who has allowed me to exhibit this 

 Brazilian wasp's nest (" Tatua "), or rather one sheet of it 

 or floor, to prove the cells are hexagonally built on a plane 

 surface ; and I may add, to strengthen ray position, that 

 Mr. F. Smith read a paper, as President of the Entomologi- 

 cal Society in London, and may be found in the transac- 

 tions of 1864, in which he gives three further convincing 

 proofs of the fallacy of the circular construction, and adds, 

 " combination of labour is deemed essential " by " one 

 philosopher," and " no solitary bee or wasp could construct 

 hexagonal cells." This is refuted by the fact that the queen 

 wasp is a solitary builder in the spring of each year. 

 Another naturalist says, " the hexagonal form of cell may 

 be accounted for simply by the mechanical pressure of the 

 insects against each other during the formation of the 

 cell. In consequence of the instinct that compels them to 

 work with reference to a plane, and of the cylindrical form 

 of the insects' bodies, the cells must bo hexagons." This is 



