THE farmer’s manual. 
175 
may be secured for winter against the eft’ects of the 
moisture. 
The Bees construct several cells at a time, parallel 
with each other, all attached to the roof of the hive, 
and perpendicular to its base. The spaces between 
the combs are always sufficiently wide for two Bees 
to pass freely, these are the streets of their city ; 
perpendicular, not horizontal. Every comb is com- 
posed of a double row of cells, which are placed 
back to back, having one common base, and their 
figure is an exact hexagoiL Pappus, the famous geo- 
metrician of antiquity, demonstrated that this figure 
possesses the double advantage offillinga space, with- 
out leavitig any vacuum, and of enclosing the largest 
space in the same circumference ; and it is most 
wonderful, that the Bees have chosen, amongst an al- 
most infinity of figures, the only one which could ex- 
actly fulfil the essential conditions to which their na- 
ture restricted them. The figure of the base is a 
pyramid of three lozenges, formed perfectly equal. 
The four angles of these lozenges are again so hap- 
pily combined, and their opening is in such proper 
tion, that the wax is used with the greatest possible 
economy, and in such a manner, that any other lo- 
zenge composed of any other size, would not yield 
the same results. Samuel Koenig, who made use of 
the analysis of infinite units, to resolve this problem, 
which was given him by M. Beaumur, arrived, after 
all his calculations, at the mere result furnished him 
by the Bees. The choice of the figure is, however, 
not surpassed by the astonishing manner in which 
they construct all the sides of the hexagons, all the 
lozenges of their bases, and all the angles of the lo- 
zenges. The thickness of each of the combs is ra- 
ther indefinite ; it may, hcnyever, be stated in the ag 
gregatc at one inch, the upper is, however, generally' 
larger. The depth, then, of each cell, is aoout half 
an inch, and the breadth is constantly two liyes, two 
fifths, invariably, the world over, wherever Bees arc 
15 * 
