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  • The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine
  • May 1, 1855
  • Page 23
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The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, May 1, 1855: Page 23

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as the nest of its own species . Neither can it be the effect of experience , for experience tends to improvement , and the nests of birds are not progressive in design ; they are as perfectly formed even by the young bird , as the birds themselves . They bear the very impress of creative wisdom , and will admit of no improvement .

Not less wonderful is the instinct which impels the hen bird to the tedious , patient process of incubation , prompting her to leave her nest for a shorter time in cold than in warm weather , teaching her exactly when and how to assist the little ones to break away from their prison-house , —yet denying her the feeble ray of intelligence necessary to distinguish her own eggs from those of another species , or even from a piece of chalk substituted for them ; exhibiting an instructive contrast between the dictates of instinct and those of

reason ; the one , perfect m its sphere , yet limited m its operation , without judgment , discrimination , or design ; the other , feeble and frail , and liable to err , yet universally adapted to the multifarious vicissitudes of human life . Let us now glance at the instinct of the bee , as displayed in the cellular construction of its honeycomb . There are only three

possible figures in which the cells could be constructed , without interstices and loss of room , so as to be at the same time equal in size and similar in form . These are , the equilateral triangle , the square , and the regular hexagon . Of these three , the hexagon is the most convenient for the form of the insect , as well as the strongest . Bees , as if they knew this , and had studied geometry and mensuration , always make their cells regular hexagons . But the ingenuity does not end

here . The bottoms of the cells consist of three planes , meeting m a point . Why is this ? Simply because there is a considerable saving of labour and material . . True , the precise angle at which these three planes should meet , so as to secure strength and save room , is a somewhat difficult mathematical problem . But what of that ? the bee hits it exactly , not by a process of calculation , certainly . The geometry is not in the bee , but in Him who made the bee . These are the

teachings of instinct . If our space would allow , we could show that the bee appears to understand not only mathematics , but political economy , as well as , or better than , our wisest legislators . But let us leave the insect tribe , and ascend to the higher order of animals . Birds and insects are not the only architects by instinct .

The beaver is a Christopher Wren in his way , a Model Mason ; though he never troubles himself about the five orders . He has , however , an order of his own , which is never surpassed ; and yet , if you take him out of his native wilds and domesticate him a little , so that he is puzzled how to procure building materials , ho will show you how blind , and perverse , and irrational a thing instinct is , when

the necessity for its exercise no longer exists . Mr . Broderip has published a very pretty biography of a beaver , a pet of his , which arrived in this country in the winter of 1825 , very young , small , and woolly , and destitute of the long hair which covers the adult animal . He arrived in a sorry condition , emaciated and out of health , but by

“The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine: 1855-05-01, Page 23” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 6 June 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_01051855/page/23/.
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Title Category Page
AMERICA. Article 54
TRAVELS BY A FREEMASON. Article 11
ON THE POLITICAL CONDITION OF THE ENGLISH PEASANTRY DURING THE MIDDLE AGES. Article 17
LONDON AND ITS MASONS. Article 1
ANIMAL AND HUMAN INSTINCT. Article 21
THE EMPEROR'S VISIT. Article 28
REV. BRO. OLIVER, D.D., VICAR OF SCOPWICK. Article 30
REVIEWS OF NEW BOOKS. Article 31
TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 63
NOTES AND QUERIES. Article 38
MASONIC INTELLIGENCE. Article 40
METROPOLITAN. Article 43
PROVINCIAL. Article 45
SCOTLAND. Article 51
COLONIAL. Article 52
INDIA. Article 54
TURKEY. Article 56
METROPOLITAN LODGE MEETINGS FOR THE MONTH Of MAY. Article 57
LODGES OF INSTRUCTION. Article 59
CHAPTERS OF INSTRUCTION. Article 60
Obituary Article 60
NOTICE. Article 62
ROYAL MEDICAL BENEVOLENT COLLEGE. Article 62
NOTES ON ANTIQUARIAN RESEARCH Article 6
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Page 23

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Untitled Article

as the nest of its own species . Neither can it be the effect of experience , for experience tends to improvement , and the nests of birds are not progressive in design ; they are as perfectly formed even by the young bird , as the birds themselves . They bear the very impress of creative wisdom , and will admit of no improvement .

Not less wonderful is the instinct which impels the hen bird to the tedious , patient process of incubation , prompting her to leave her nest for a shorter time in cold than in warm weather , teaching her exactly when and how to assist the little ones to break away from their prison-house , —yet denying her the feeble ray of intelligence necessary to distinguish her own eggs from those of another species , or even from a piece of chalk substituted for them ; exhibiting an instructive contrast between the dictates of instinct and those of

reason ; the one , perfect m its sphere , yet limited m its operation , without judgment , discrimination , or design ; the other , feeble and frail , and liable to err , yet universally adapted to the multifarious vicissitudes of human life . Let us now glance at the instinct of the bee , as displayed in the cellular construction of its honeycomb . There are only three

possible figures in which the cells could be constructed , without interstices and loss of room , so as to be at the same time equal in size and similar in form . These are , the equilateral triangle , the square , and the regular hexagon . Of these three , the hexagon is the most convenient for the form of the insect , as well as the strongest . Bees , as if they knew this , and had studied geometry and mensuration , always make their cells regular hexagons . But the ingenuity does not end

here . The bottoms of the cells consist of three planes , meeting m a point . Why is this ? Simply because there is a considerable saving of labour and material . . True , the precise angle at which these three planes should meet , so as to secure strength and save room , is a somewhat difficult mathematical problem . But what of that ? the bee hits it exactly , not by a process of calculation , certainly . The geometry is not in the bee , but in Him who made the bee . These are the

teachings of instinct . If our space would allow , we could show that the bee appears to understand not only mathematics , but political economy , as well as , or better than , our wisest legislators . But let us leave the insect tribe , and ascend to the higher order of animals . Birds and insects are not the only architects by instinct .

The beaver is a Christopher Wren in his way , a Model Mason ; though he never troubles himself about the five orders . He has , however , an order of his own , which is never surpassed ; and yet , if you take him out of his native wilds and domesticate him a little , so that he is puzzled how to procure building materials , ho will show you how blind , and perverse , and irrational a thing instinct is , when

the necessity for its exercise no longer exists . Mr . Broderip has published a very pretty biography of a beaver , a pet of his , which arrived in this country in the winter of 1825 , very young , small , and woolly , and destitute of the long hair which covers the adult animal . He arrived in a sorry condition , emaciated and out of health , but by

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