Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/888

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bottom, being every one of them an hexangular eel), with a pyramidal bafe. Each of thefe bafes is compofed of three equal rhombus's, and each bafe, in this manner, becomes the bale of three other cells on the oppofite fide of the comb. This is eafily demonftrated to thofe who underftand geome- try, by means of the feveral figures and pofitions of the oppo- fite bafes of the cells of the two fides of the comb ; but the inoft familiar explication of it to a common obferver, is to {lick three fmall pins through the bafe of any one cell, each in the center of the rhomb that makes one fide of that bafe : If after this the comb be turned, the three pins will be found in the centers of three different cells of the oppofite fide. This occafions a very great fparmg of the wax or matter -of the comb ; but befides this there is another great advantage, which is, that the angles refulting from this combination of the bales, greatly ftrengthen the whole work. The matter of which the comb is made, cofts the bees fo great pains and labour in collecting, that it is no wonder they are careful and fparing of it in the work. The fides of the cells are all much thinner than the fineft paper, and yet they are fo ftrengthened by their difpofition, that they are able to refift all the motions of the bee when within them, as they are very frequently obliged to be. The effect of their thruft- irig their bodies into the cells, would be the burfting of thofe cells at the top, were not this well guarded againft. But to prevent this, the creatures extend a cord or roll of wax round the verge of every cell in fuch a manner, that it is fcarce pof- fible they fhouid fpli,t in that particular part. This cord or roll is at leaft three times as thick as the fides of the cell, and is even much thicker and ftronger at the angles of the cells than elfe where ; fo that the aperture of each cell is not regu- larly hexagonal, though its inner cavity be perfectly Co. Reau- mcr's Hift. Inf. vol, 10. p. 21.

The bafes of the cells are not always perfectly trilateral ; fomctimes inftead of the three rhombs they fhouid be com- pofed of, they confift of four pieces, the bee having begun her work wrong j but then it is admirable to obferve how nicely the two fmaller pieces are afterwards joined, that the angle they make may be as nearly as poflible equal to that of one of the rhombs, fo that the bafe of the cell Hill remains very nearly trilateral.

It would be a moft defirable thing to fee the bees at work in their making thefe elegant and regular fabneks ; but it is fcarce poffible to fee any thing of this kind diftindtly, even with the advantage of glafs hives ; for no bee ever works fingly on this occafion, but wherever the fabrick is erecting, there are num- bers together all trying to aflift one another ; and* their mo- tions are fo fwift, and fo hid by their Handing before one an- other, that very little is to be feen of them. New bees are every moment coming to the place, and old ones going away ; and very frequently thofe which arrive late are difpatched away immediately after they arrive. There are only fome very fhort moments in which the glaffes of the hives can give a view of the creatures regularly employed m their work, for the moment that' one fees a bee at work in building, that moment we fee one cither fly off, or fome other bee get be- fore her, fo as to hinder the view.

Thefe momentary fights, however, are fufficient to make it plain, that the bee ufes her teeth in modelling and faftiion- ing the wax. The fide of a cell is always received between the two teeth on this occafion, and by means of repeated blows on each fide from each tooth, the fide is brought to a proper thinnefs, and the wax is by the fame means wrought up to a proper confidence and firmnefs.

It has been fuppofed by fome, that all this talk of a geome- trical exactnefs in the ftructure of the combs is fancy ; that the bee has lefs merit in it than is ufually fuppofed ; and that the mere juxtapofition of a number of round pieces or glo- bules of wax, would produce a number of regular hexagonal figures when they were preffed together. The bee, however, is indebted to no fuch eafy method in her fiructures ; fhe re- gularly begins every cell by its bafe, which is 'not hexagonal but triangular ; fhe firft: erects one of the three rhombs which is to be the bafe of two of the fides of the hexagon ; on this they erect the two fides of the cell of which it is to be the bafe. They then form the fecond rhomb, and its fides of the cell ; and finally they make the third, which doles with the other two ; and the two angular fides erected upon that, clo- fing in the fame manner with the others, the whole cell is finilhed.

While one fet of bees are employed in thus erecting one cell, others are equally bufy in making the farther ufes of its parts in the ftructure of other cells; and fome finifli the ad- joining cells, of which its fides make a part: Others again are at work at the bafe, laying the foundation for the other cells, the bafes of which are to be formed in part upon the feveral rhombs of thefe ; for they always work upon both fides of the comb at once. Reaumur's Hift. Inf. vol. 10, p. 30. There are fome occafions on which the bees are much preffed for time in the erecting their edifices ; in this cafe they fre- quently only lay the foundations of the cells, and leave them to be finilhed and carried to a proper height afterwaids. In fuch cafes a comb is frequently finilhed on both fides, as to the rhombic or triangular bafes of the cells, and only a fmall

height of their hexangular fides added, which is all nnimed-at more leilure afterwards. As in the feveral works of art rlidrer are many hands employed to the fijiifhing any piece of work- manfliip, juft fo it is in the labour of the bees ;no one of them ever brings a cell to perfection, but the firft labourer- only carts the rough work, and leaves it to others to refine and finifli.

In our works it is well known that the rough work is much the. eafieft, and fooneft performed ; and as one cafter of me- tals can furnilh employment for a great number of filers and polifhers, fo one bee will form the rough work of feveral cells in a very fhort time, when a great number of others muff, be employed afterwards in the finifhing of each. This is the more neceflary, becaufe if the firft former of the cell fhouid make its fides of their deft! tied thinnefs, they would break un- der the weight of the workers in the formation ; they are therefore left thick and clumfy, and the bees that come after, fafhion it better with their teeth, and getting into it, may be feen to work it fine by degrees, till they come out and leave it perfect. This finifhing is done by extremely quick repeated blows of the teeth againft the fides, and by frequent bringing them together, fo as to make them cut. Thefe means feve- rally ferve to flat the walls of wax that forms the fides, and to cut off the inequalities in places where they are too thick. The wax is a very precious commodity among thefe little workers, it cofts them too dear to be wafted, and accordingly the bee that has cut off a large quantity, does not leave it in the cell, but takes it carefully out, gathers it into a little glo- bule as big as the head of a pin, and carries it to the places where others are at work in erecting new cells. The mo- ment that the bee is flown out with its load, another takes its place, and getting into the cell, finifhes the work it was about ; while the former worker either gets into another cell, or helps thofe which are employed in the erecting new ones. Thus the labour is jointly carried on by all, and each has its Glare in the whole work, not in any particular part of it. In the fwarm of bees there are many males, or large bees, which are commonly called drones ; thefe have their pecu-' liar cells, as thofe fitted for the ordinary or working bees,. which are of no fex, would not be fufficient to hold them in the worm ftate. As among the cells of the fame comb fome are deftined to receive the honey, others to be the lodging of the worm, or young bee, Co among thefe laft there are a great number larger than the others fitted for thefe males. The ufual fize of the cells is fuch, that in a hive of fifteen inches high, and ten inches wide, there are commonly contained about nine thoufand of them. The larger cells deftined for the male bees, are found not to be regular hexagons, two of their fides placed oppofite to each other being fmaller than the others. The difference, however, is very trifling ; and when the other cells are very ftrictly examined, there will be found alfo the fame difference in their fides in proportion to their big- nefs, two of the fides of the hexagon being always fomething finaller than the other four. Reaum. Hift. Inf. v. 10. p. 34. The cells which have ferved, or are to ferve for the habita- tion of the worms of the common, and of the male bees, are often made alfo at other times the receptacles of honey ; but though th&fc are indifferently made to ferve either ufe, there are others deftined only to receive honey. The celerity with which a fwarm of bees received into a hive, where they find themfelves lodged to their minds, bring their works of the combs to perfection, is amazing. There are vaft numbers at work all at once, and that they may not in- commode one another, they do not work upon the firft comb till it is finifhed ; but when the foundation of that is laid, they go to work upon another ; fo that there are often the beginnings of three or four ftories made at once, and Co many fwarms alotted to- the carrying on the work of each. The feveral combs are all placed parallel one to another, and there is fuch a fpacc left between them, that the bees can eafily pafs between ; and often they place a part of the combs in a con- trary direction to the reft ; fo that while the others are placed horizontally, thefe ftand perpendicular. Though the fides of all the cells are extremely thin, yet the combs are very heavy when full of honey. This might en- danger their breaking their hold, if only fuftained from the top ; and for this reafon the bees give them feveral additional fupports in whatever places they can, often faftening them in many places one to another, and often fixing them to the fides of the edifice by large and folid lumps of wax.

Honeycomb-$/<?w£, in natural hiftory, the name given by ma- ny authors to a fpecies of foffile coral, which is ufually found in large mafles, and thofe full of large hexagonal cells, re- fembling thofe of a Honeycomb, Thefe are but lightly ftria- ted, and ufually run deep into the ftone.

HoNEY-&/f£/*, Ca-prifolium, in botany, the name of a ge- nus of plants, the characters of which arc thefe : The flow- ers are generally placed many on the fame ftalk, and difpofed in a circular form. The fiflgle flowers are compofed of one leaf each, of a tubulated form, and divided at the end into two lips, the upper of which is divided into many fegmerits, the lower whole, and of the maps of a tongue. The cup finally becomes a foft fruit or berry, containing a flatted and round fliaped feed.

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