The Life of the Bee 
were disconcerted at first; they flocked 
in numbers to inspect and examine this 
curious chasm; day after day they wandered 
agitatedly to and fro, apparently unable to 
form a decision. But, as I fed them 
copiously every evening, there came a 
moment when they had no more cells avail- 
able for the storage of provisions, There- 
upon they probably summoned their great 
engineers, the most distinguished scufptors 
and waxworkers, and invited them to turn 
this useless cavity to profitable account. 
The waxmakers having gathered around 
and formed themselves into a dense festoon 
so that the necessary heat might be main- 
tained, other bees descended into the hole 
and proceeded solidly to attach the metal, 
and connect it with the walls of adjacent 
cells, by means of little waxen hooks, which 
they distributed regularly over its surface. 
In the upper semicircle of the disc they 
then began to construct three or four 
cells, uniting these to the hooks. Each 
of these transition, or accommodation, cells 
was more or less deformed at the top, to 
allow of its being soldered to the adjoining 
164 
