The Life of the Bee 
intellect the moment it emerges from its 
own sphere, and is brought face to face with 
events not of its own initiation. And be- 
sides, it is quite possible that if this ordeal 
of the trellis were to obtain more regularly 
and generally among the bees, they would end 
by detecting the pitfall, and by taking steps 
to elude it. They have mastered the intri- 
cacies of the “ movable comb,” of the 
“sections” that compel them to store their 
surplus honey in little boxes symmetrically 
piled; and in the case of the still more ex- 
traordinary innovation of ‘‘ foundation wax,” 
where the cells are indicated only by a 
slender circumference of wax, they are able 
at once to grasp the advantages this new 
system presents. They most carefully ex- 
tend the wax, and thus, without loss of time 
or labour, construct perfect cells. So long 
as the event that confronts them appears not 
a snare devised by some cunning and mali- 
cious god, the bees may be trusted always 
to discover the best, nay, the only human, 
solution. Let me cite an instance, an event 
that, though occurring in nature, is still 
in itself wholly abnormal. I refer to the 
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