The Life of the Bee 
geometry, follow them most accurately. 
It is a curious mathematical problem at 
what precise angle the three planes which 
compose the bottom of a cell ought to 
meet, in order to make the greatest pos- 
sible saving, or the least expense of mate- 
rial and labour.’ This is one of the 
1 Réaumur suggested the following problem to the 
celebrated mathematician Koenig: «¢ Of all possible 
hexagonal cells with pyramidal base composed of three 
equal and similar rhombs, to find the one whose con- 
struction would need the least material’? Koenig’s 
answer was, the cell that had for its base three rhombs 
whose large angle was 109° 26’, and the small 70° 
34”. Another savant, Maraldi, had measured as 
exactly as possible the angles of the rhombs constructed 
by the bees, and discovered the larger to be 109° 28”, 
and the other 70° 32’. Between the two solutions 
there was a difference, therefore, of only 2”. It is 
probable that the error, if error there be, should be 
attributed to Maraldi rather than to the bees; for it is 
impossible for any instrument to measure the angles of 
the cells, which are not very clearly defined, with 
infallible precision. 
The problem suggested to Koenig was put to 
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