CuAP. VII. CELL-MAKING INSTINCT. 221 



other. Now bees, as may be clearly seen hy examining' the 

 od^e of a ^rowinp^ comb, do make a roug'li, circumferential 

 ^vall or rim all round the com)) ; and they g'liaw this away from 

 the op])()sitc sides, always workinj]^ circularly as they deepen 

 each cell. They do not make the whole three-sided pyramidal 

 base of any one cell at the same time, but only tliat one rhom- 

 bic plate Avhich stands on the extreme growing marg-in, or the 

 two plates, as the case may be ; and th(>y never complete the 

 upper edges of the rhoml)ic plates, until the hexagonal walls 

 are comnifmced. Some of these statements dilTer from those 

 made by the justly-celebrated elder Uuber, but I am convinced 

 of their accuracy ; and, if I had space, I could show that they 

 are conformable with my theory. 



Huber's statement, that the very first cell is excavated ouJ 

 of a little parallel-sided wall of wax, is not, as far as I liavo 

 seen, strictly correct ; the first commencement ha^'ing always 

 bben a little hood of wax ; but I will not here enter on these 

 details. We see how important a part excavation plays in the 

 construction of the cells ; but it would be a gn^at error to sup- 

 pose that the bees cannot l)uild up a rough Avail of M'ax in the 

 proper position — that is, along the plane of intersection be- 

 tween two adjoining si)heres. I have several specimens show- 

 ing clearly that they can do this. Even in the rude circum- 

 ferential rim or wall of wax round a growing comb, flexures 

 may sometimes be observed, corresponding in position to the 

 planes of the rhombic basal plates of future cells. But the 

 rough wall of wax has in every case to be finished ofl", l)y being 

 largely gnawed away on both sides. The manner in which 

 the bees build is curious ; they always make the first rough 

 wall from ten to twenty times thicker than the excessively 

 thin finished wall of the cell, which will ultimately be left. 

 \\^o shall understand how they work, by supposing masons first 

 to pile up a broad ridge of cement, and then to Ix^gin cutting 

 it away erjually on l)()th sides near the ground, till a smooth, 

 very thin wall is left in the middle ; the masons always piling 

 up the cut-away cement, and adding fresh cement on the sum- 

 mit of tilt; ridge. "We shall thus have a thin wall steadily 

 growing upward but always crowned by a gigantic coping. 

 From all tlu; cells, both those just commenced and those com- 

 pleted, Ijcing tluis crowned by a strong coping of wax, the 

 bees can cluster and crawl over the comb without injuring the 

 delicate hexagonal walls. These walls, as Prof. Miller has 

 kindly ascertained for me, vary greatly in thickness ; being, 



