56 THE HONEY-BEE. 



to the top of the hive ; but the fact is not thoroughly 

 ascertained. Evans graphically says : 



" Lo, filtered through yon flutterer's folded mail, 

 Clings the cooled wax, and hardens to a scale. 

 Swift, at her well-known call, the ready train 

 (For not a buzz boon Nature breathes in vain) 

 Spring to each falling flake, and bear along 

 Their glossy burdens to the builder-throng." 



It often happens that the fine scales fall by acci- 

 dent, or perhaps, when superabundant in quantity, 

 on to the floor-boards of hives, and it does not 

 appear, from our observation, that those bees who 

 happen to come upon these little portions of material 

 carry them up for employment in cell-formation. 



The wax is used in comb-building, and the sub- 

 ject is one of great interest on many accounts, but 

 especially from the following considerations : the 

 nature of the material ; the organs by which it is 

 produced ; the implements with which it is fashioned 

 into shape ; the manner in which the work is done ; 

 the form of the cells, the mathematical characters of 

 which are most surprising ; their different sizes and 

 shapes, according to the purposes for which they 

 are destined ; their perfect adaptation to the needs 

 of the bee community. 



With regard to the nature of the material, in addi- 

 tion to the facts already mentioned, we may note 

 that it is a substance easily moulded, especially when 

 exposed to a gentle heat, such as is generated in a 

 hive. It is light, so as to add little to the weight of 

 the contents which will be stored in the cells. It is 

 also a very slow conductor of heat, a matter of great 



