The Life of the Bee 
Neither could there be question here of 
reciprocal obstacles, the cells having been 
formed one by one, and their first lines 
traced on what was practically a bare table. 
It would seem incontestable, therefore, that 
the hexagon is not merely the result of 
mechanical necessities, but that it has its 
true place in the plans, the experience, the 
intellect and will of the bee. I may relate 
here another curious instance of the workers’ 
sagacity: the cells they built on the tin 
had no other base than the metal itself. 
The engineers of the corps had evidently 
decided that the tin could adequately re- 
tain the honey; and had considered that, 
the substance being impermeable, they 
need not waste the material they value so 
highly by covering the metal with a layer 
of wax. But, a short time after, some 
drops of honey having been placed in two 
of these cells, the bees discovered, on 
tasting it, that the contact of the metal 
had a deteriorating effect. Thereupon 
they reconsidered the matter, and covered 
over with wax the entire surface of the 
tin, 
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