HONEY-COMB. 
51 
that she must, even ignorantly, construct for herself 
a house of the most convenient form and dimen- 
sions ? It has been suggested, too, that bees, 
like some other insects, use their bodies as stand- 
ards of measurement. 
But it has been ascertained that the bees are 
not provided with instruments corresponding to 
the angles of the cells. There is no more resem- 
blance between them than between the shape of 
a carpenter’s saw and the board, or the chisel of 
the sculptor and the marble statue. More won- 
derful than if this were so, the shape and con- 
struction of the cell and the comb are in the 
mind of the bee, speaking of the insect as an in- 
telligent being ; and thus are shown most beauti- 
fully the operations of that instinct of animals 
which so often surpasses man’s reason. 
Before describing the manner of building the 
comb, it will be well to look at the material of 
which it is made. 
Wax is the principal substance used, one of 
the most important and interesting of insect pro- 
ductions. It is employed by man for a great 
variety of uses. It shines in church tapers, by 
