THE HIVE BEE. 



429 



ments of Maraldi. The reader is requested to remember these 

 angles. Eeaumur, on receiviug the answer, concluded that the 

 Bee had very nearly solved the difficult mathematical problem, 

 the difference between the measurement and the calculation 

 being so smaU as to be practically negatived in the actual con- 

 struction of so small an object as the bee-cell. 



Mathematicians were naturally delighted with the result of 

 the investigation, for it showed how beautifully practical science 

 could be aided by theoretical knowledge, and the construction 

 of the bee-cell became a famous problem in the economy of 

 nature. In comparison with the honey which the cell is in- 

 tended to contain, the wax is a rare and costly substance, 

 secreted in very small quantities, and requiring much time for 

 its production ; it is therefore essential that the quantity of 



