My life : a record of events and opinions - Wallace-online.org

MY CHARACTER—NEW IDEAS 387surface and bottom contours, both of which are shownto be such as would necessarily arise from ice-action,while they would not arise from the other allegedmode of origin— unequal elevation or subsidence.12. In a new edition of "Stanford's Compendium,Australasia," vol. i., when describing the physical andmental characteristics of the Australian aborigines, Istated my belief that they were really a low andperhaps primitive type of the Caucasian race. Ifurther developed the subject in my " Studies," andillustrated it by photographs of Australians andAinos, of the Veddahs of Ceylon, and of the Khmersof Cambodia—all outlying members of the same greathuman race. This, I think, is an important simplificationin the classification of the races of man.Bees' cells.—But besides these more importantscientific principles or ideas, there are a few minorones which are of sufficient interest to be briefly mentioned.In the article on the " Bees' Cell " in the"Annals and Magazine of Natural History," I calledattention to a circumstance that had been, I think,unnoticed by all previous writers. An immense dealof ingenuity and of mathematical skill had beenexpended in showing that the two layers of hexagonalcells, with basal dividing-plates inclined at a particularangle, gave the greatest economy of space and ofmaterial possible ; and the instinct of the bees inbuilding such a comb to contain their store of honeywas held to show that it was a divinely bestowedspecial faculty. But all these writers omitted to takeinto account one fact, which shows their whole argumentto be fallacious. This is, that the combs aresuspended vertically, and that when full of honey the