82 HUMBLE CREATURES. 



powers of man, they point to the fact, that the most 

 talented mathematicians have avowed themselves un- 

 able to substitute a more suitable design than this 

 particular form of hexagon ; iadeedj they have ac- 

 knowledged the Bee as their preceptor, and adopted 

 this as the most perfect shape. But there are other 

 observers who declare that there is nothing at all 

 remarkable ia the fact of the cells assuming the hexa- 

 gonal form, inasmuch as they are normally or na- 

 turally cyhndrical*, and acquire the former shape 

 only in consequence of the pressure caused by the 

 multitude of bees engaged upon them. 



This assertion, however, is at once controverted 

 by the advocates of the "instinctive" theory, who 

 declare that, as only one bee at a time works upon 

 each cell, and then makes way for another, the press- 

 ure cannot exist, to which the change of shape is 

 attributed. A third theory propounded by naturalists 

 is, that the peculiar form of the cell is attributable to 

 the disposition of the simple eyes of the insect ; that 

 " these eyes are placed iu such a position as to enable 

 them to work within such a range as to give the walls 

 of their cells 130 degreesf." Now, it is questionable 

 whether the simple eyes of insects are employed in 

 viewing near objects ; and Mr. Lubbock, one of our 

 most able entomologists, states that the Bees inva- 



* Amongst others, "W. B. Tegetmeier, " On the Formation 

 of the Cells of Bees."— Meeting of Brit. Assoc. Oct. 1858. 



t Mjc. EUis " On the cause of the instinctive tendency of 

 Bees to form hexagonal cells." — Meeting of Brit. Ass. Oct. 1858. 



