‘Phe HL 81 OR Y 
‘The outmoft coat of the Bee’s eyes, is the 
cornea ; by which name authors have like- 
wife called this fame tunic or coat of the eye 
in man, and in quadrupedes, birds, fithes, 
and ferpents, ‘This appellation is more par- 
ticularly appropriated to this tunic, fince by 
its ftifinefs, hardnefs, flexibility, and clearnefs, 
it approaches to the nature of horn. The 
eye of the Bee differs, however, from that of 
men and other animals, in that as the cornea 
appears in thefe fmooth and equally polithed, 
it is in Bees and in all other infects that 1 have 
examined, divided by various and manifold 
divifions : and as thefe divifions refemble glo- 
bules or little fpheres, hence. it is that fome 
fubtile and fagacious geniufes, among whom 
may be reckoned the illuftrious Dr. Hooke, 
believed that the infeét’s eye was only a con- 
geries of innumerable little eyes, each of 
which, in refpect to its ftru€ture, agreed with 
our eyes and thofe of other animals: this 
ftructure of the eye, however, I have not 
hitherto feen in any infect but in the Snail, 
which on one fide exhibits two diftin@ eyes, 
furnifhed each with its three proper humours. 
In order to explain the divifions of the cornea 
in Bees a little more accurately, I would have 
it obferved that they are by no means {pheri- 
cal, but rather hexagonal, Tab. XX. fig.11. £2; 
but notwithftanding this the mafles themfelves 
are on the upper furface perfectly rounded, 
and confequently exactly like the fealed cells 
of the Bee; which being likewife circum- 
{cribed by fix fides, yet rife convex, and {well 
up in a globular furface, or are as it were 
arched. ‘The woven cells of Hornets much 
more accurately exprefs this conftruGtion of 
the cornea in the eye: for thefe have alfo fix 
fides, and are very beautifully enclofed in an 
arched or {pheric web. ‘The eye of the Bee, 
and moft other perfect infects, confidered in 
this light, is really like a little net; which 
appears moit perfectly when examined in the 
light by a microfcope: for then the moft ob- 
{cure or opaque hexagonal interfeCtions appear 
in the form of a net to any perfon who looks 
through the {pherical tops of the divifions. 
We mutt further obferve here that thefe 
hexangular divifions £& of the cornea, upon 
a more exact comparifon, do not perfectly 
‘keep the refemblance of one of the clofed up 
cells in the comb ; for the lines which diftin- 
guith the cells of the comb from each other, 
are upright or ftraight, whereas the hexagonal 
divifions, on the contrary, which occur here 
in the Bee’s eye, are intercepted by crooked 
and finuated lines. ‘To obtain this form for 
them, the all-wife Author of nature makes ufe 
of the following means ; that is, he gave the 
cornea a {pherical convexity, by means of 
which fome of the lines, together with their 
divifions, are here and there broke off; and at 
the fame time He alfo placed & & an hexagonal 
divifion between fix other divifions of this 
kind: hence it is, that thefe hexangular divi- 
fions appear as it were oval or arched, as I 
oft (Ip Ny SFL. ots. 211 
have in fome fort delineated between the an- 
nexed letters, Tab. XX. fig. 1. ¢,eee;6. And 
in what manner every hexagonal divifion is 
furrounded with fix others, may be feen mag- 
nified under the letters £2, fig. 11.. Some 
curious perfons, to whom I fhewed thefe, 
were of opinion, that in the ftruCture of the 
eyes reafons might be found why the Bees 
make their cells hexagonal; that is, becaufe 
they exercife the fenfe of vifion by hexa- 
gonal eyes. Behold, how far we are led 
away by fictions, when, being ignorant of 
the foundations of things, we follow our 
vain fancy as a guide! It would be as 
natural to fay we fhould build only round 
houfes, becaufe the pupil of our eyes is of 
that figure. I have not yet counted how 
many divifions there are in the Bee’s cornea, 
nor do I know any method of doing it, unlefs 
one could cut the cornea into {mall pieces, 
and afterwards count the divifions in them 
fingly by the help of a microfcope ;_obferving 
at the fame time that every two of thefe cut 
divifions are to be reputed only one. How- 
ever this matter be, the accurate Dr. Hooke 
hath computed in the eye of the Perla of 
Mouftet, which he calls in his own language 
Dragon-Flies, but in the Dutch language 
Romboud, Puyftebyter, Naeyer, and Glafe- 
{chryver, fourteen thoufand fuch interfec- 
tions; this is indeed a great. number, ‘To 
this we may add, that thefe divifions are fo 
beautiful, fo regular, and formed with fo 
much art, that it by many degrees {urpafles 
the moft exquifite human workmanfhip.  In- 
deed, could any one think this could be done 
by human powers? fince we cannot feparate 
or divide thofe things which nature formed 
only as it were in {port.. This is the exter- 
nal form of the more than ftupendous cornea 
of the Bee’s eye. 
As to the internal ftructure of the cornea; 
it 1s divided within juft into fo many hexago- 
nal little holes, or as it were round {poons, as 
on the outfide itis geometrically diftinguifhed 
into hexagonal fpheres. But if this cornea, 
turned to the light, be viewed with a good 
microfcope in the manner before defcribed, 
then at length its true and delicate hexagonal 
reticulation may be finely obferved: for as the 
cornea is very pellucid and thin where it is 
hollowed or excavated into thefe little {pheres, 
but confiderably thicker where it is interfected ; 
hence it happens, that the interfeétions only 
feem to fhew themfelves to a perfon who 
looks through them: and this is the true 
reafon why the cornea then exhibits itfelf 
like a net pierced by {mall hexagonal aper- 
tures. Butits furface is not always the fame; 
fometimes it appears divided into triangular, 
and fometimes into quadrangular figures : this 
diverlity mutt be attributed to the variety of 
reflexions which the rays of light occafionally 
produce in their paflage. This obtains prin- 
cipally when the angles of the divifions of the 
cornea are not all directly under the micro- 
aE {cope, 
