104 Mr. J. W. L. Glaisher on the Form of the Cells of Bees. 



Any one with the proper instruments could measure the angles 

 for himself; and the calculations of a mathematician like Kcenig 

 would hardly be questioned. However, Maclaurin, the well- 

 known Scotch mathematician, was not satisfied. The two results 

 very nearly tallied with each other, but not quite ; and he felt 

 that in a mathematical question precision was a necessity. So 

 he tried the whole question himself, and found Maraldi's mea- 

 surements correct, namely 109° 28' and 70° 32'. 



" He then set to work at the problem which was worked out 

 by Kcenig, and found that the true theoretical angles were 

 109° 28' and 70° 32', precisely corresponding with the actual 

 measurement of the bee-cell. 



"Another question now arose. How did this discrepancy 

 occur? How could so excellent a mathematician as Kcenig 

 make so grave a mistake ? On investigation it was found that 

 no blame attached to Kcenig, but that the error lay in the book 

 of logarithms which he used. Thus a mistake in a mathema- 

 tical work was accidentally discovered by measuring the angles 

 of a bee-cell — a mistake sufficiently great to have caused the loss 

 of a ship whose captain happened to use a copy of the same loga- 

 rithmic tables for calculating his longitude." 



It is proper to add that Mr. Wood prefaces the above narra- 

 tive with the words, " I must acknowledge my thanks to the 

 Rev. Walter Mitchell, Vicar and Hospitaller of St. Bartholo- 

 mew's Hospital, who has long exercised his well-known mathe- 

 matical powers on this subject, and has kindly supplied me with 

 the outline of the present history." 



The last sentence in the first extract, viz. that about the loga- 

 rithms (in which the italics are Mr. Wood's), induced me to ex- 

 amine the original memoirs that relate to the history of the 

 problem of the form of the bee-cell ; and although the story as 

 given above is on the face of it erroneous, as the determination 

 of the angles that occur in a bee-cell by measurement to the 

 nearest minute is clearly impossible, still I was not prepared to 

 find that the whole story narrowly escapes the verdict tot sen- 

 tentia, quot mendacia* ', 



As, however, the manner in which so elaborate and romantic 

 a fable has gradually grown up out of simple and even common- 

 place facts possesses interest, and as moreover most of the mis- 

 statements have received the sanction of previous writers, I think 



* It is only fair so far to anticipate matters as to remark at once that 

 Mr. Wood (or Mr. Mitchell) is not chargeable with the origination of the 

 false statements that occur in the narrative quoted, for most of which in the 

 above shape Lord Brougham seems to be chiefly responsible ; but the con- 

 cluding paragraph about the logarithms (which will be seen to be totally 

 without foundation), as far as I know, first makes its appearance in 'Homes 

 without Hands.' 



