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HONEYCOMB

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Originally appearing in Volume V13, Page 656 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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HONEYCOMB , a See also:

CLOTH

cloth, so called because of the particular arrangement of the See also:

CROSSING

crossing of the warp and weft threads which See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form cells somewhat similar to those of the real honeycomb. They differ from the latter in that they are rectangular instead of hexagonal. The bottom of the See also:

CELL (from Lat. cella, probably from an Indo-European kal —seen in Lat. celare, to hide; another suggestion connects the word with Lat. cera, wax, taking the original meaning to refer to the honeycomb)

cell is formed by those threads and picks which weave " See also:

PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain," while the ascending sides of the figure are formed by the gradually increasing length of See also:

FLOAT (in O. Eng. floc and flota, in the verbal form f eotan; the Teutonic root is flut-, another form of flu-, seen in " flow," cf. " fleet "; the root is seen in Gr. a-M e, to sail, Lat. pluere, to rain; the Lat, fluere and fluctus, wave, is not connect

float of the warp and weft yarns. The figure shows two of the commonest designs which are used for these cloths, See also:

DESIGN (Fr. desiin, drawing; Lat. designare, to mark out)

design A being what is often termed the " perfect See also:

HONEY (Chin. me ; Sansk. madhu, mead, honey; cf. A.S. medo, medu, mead; Gr. p Xt, in which 0 or b is changed into X; Lat. mel ; Fr. miel ; A.S. hung ; Ger. Honig)

honey-See also:

COMB (a word common in various forms to Teut. languages, cf. Ger. Kamm, the Indo-Europ. origin of which is seen in yoµros, a peg or pin, and Sanskrit, gambhas, a tooth)

comb "; in the figure it will be seen that the highest number of successive See also:

white squares is seven, while the corresponding highest number of successive See also:

black squares is five. Two of each of these maximum floats form the See also:

TOP (cf. Dan. top, Ger. Topf, also meaning pot)

top or highest edges of the cell, and the number of See also:

SUE, EUGENE [JosEPH MARIE] (1804—1857)

sue- A B cessive like squares decreases as the bottom of the cell is reached when the floats are one of black and one of white (see See also:

MIDDLE

middle of design, &c.). The weave produces a reversible cloth, and it is extensively used for the embellishment of quilts and other See also:

FANCY (a shortened form, dating from the 15th century, of " fantasy," which is derived through the O. Fr. fantasie, modern fantaisie. from the Latinized form of the Gr. cbavraoia, Oavrai'ecv, Oat Pais, to show)

fancy goods. It is also largely used in the manufacture of See also:

cotton and See also:

LINEN

linen towels. B is, for certain purposes, a more suitable weave than A, but both are very largely used for the latter class of goods. HONEY-EATER, or HONEY-SUCKER, names applied by many writers in a very loose way to a large number of birds, sour of which, perhaps. have no intimate See also:

affinity; here they are used in a more restricted sense for what, in the See also:

OPINION (Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)

opinion of a See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good many See also:

RECENT

recent authorities,2 should really be deemed the See also:

FAMILY

family Meliphagidae—excluding therefrom the Nectariniidae or See also:

SUN-BIRDS (q.v.) as well as the genera Promerops and See also:

ZOSTEROPS

Zosterops with what-ever See also:

ALLIES, THOMAS WILLIAM (1813-1903)

allies they may possess. Even with this restriction, the extent of the family must be regarded as very indefinite, owing to the See also:

ABSENCE (Lat. absentia)

absence of materials sufficient for arriving at a satsfactory conclusion, though the existence of such a family is probably indisputable. Making See also:

ALLOWANCE (from "allow,' derived through 0. Fr. alouer from the two Lat. origins adlaudare, to praise, and allocare, to assign a place; so that the English word combined the general idea of "assigning with approval")

allowance, then, for the imperfect See also:

LIGHT

light in which they must at See also:

PRESENT

present be viewed, what are here called Meliphagidae include some of the most characteristic forms of the See also:

ORNITHOLOGY

ornithology of the See also:

GREAT

great Australian region—members of the family inhabiting almost every See also:

PART

part of it, and a single See also:

SPECIES

species only, Ptilotis limbata, being said .to occur outside its limits. They all possess, or are supposed to possess, a See also:

long 2 Among them especially A.

R. See also:

Wallace, Geogr. Distr. Animals, i1: 275. protrusible See also:

TONGUE (O. Eng. lunge)

tongue with a See also:

brush-like tip, differing, it is believed, in structure from that found in any other See also:

BIRD

bird—Promerops perhaps excepted—and capable of being formed into a auctorial See also:

TUBE (Lat. tuba)

tube, by means of which honey is absorbed from the nectary of See also:

FLOWERS, ARTIFICIAL

flowers, though it would seem that See also:

INSECTS

insects attracted by the honey furnish the See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief nourishment of many species, while others undoubtedly feed to a greater or less extent on fruits. The Meliphagidae, as now considered, are for the most part small birds, never exceeding the See also:

SIZE

size of a missel See also:

THRUSH (A. S. Prysce, Icel. priistr, Norw. Trast, O. H. Ger. Drosce, whence the mod. Ger. prossel, to be compared with the analogous English form Throstle,l now almost obsolete, both being apparently diminutives)

thrush; and they have been divided into more than 20 genera, containing above 200 species, of which only a few can here be particularized. Most of these species have a very confined range, being found perhaps only on a single See also:

ISLAND (O.E. ieg =isle, +land')

island or See also:

GROUP

group of islands in the region, but there are a few which are more widely distributed—such as Glycyphila rufifrons, the white-throated' honey-eater, found over the greater part of See also:

AUSTRALIA

Australia and See also:

TASMANIA

Tasmania. In plumage they vary much. Most of the species of Ptilotis are characterized by a tuft of white, or in others of yellow, feathers springing from behind the See also:

EAR (common Teut.; O.E. are, Ger. Ohr, Du. oor, akin to Lat. auris, Gr. ovs)

ear. In the greater number of the genus Myzomela 2 the See also:

MALES

males are recognizable by a gorgeous display of See also:

CRIMSON

crimson or See also:

SCARLET

scarlet, which has caused one species, M. sanguinolenta, to be known as the soldier-bird to Australian colonists; but in others no brilliant See also:

COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour appears, and those of several genera have no See also:

SPECIAL

special ornamentation, while some have a particularly plain See also:

APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

appearance. One of the most curious forms is Prosthemadera—the tui or See also:

PARSON

parson-bird of New See also:

ZEALAND (also SEALAND Or SEELAND; Danish Sjaelland)

Zealand, so called from the two tufts of white feathers which hang beneath its See also:

CHIN

chin in great contrast to its dark silky plumage, and suggest a likeness to the bands worn by ministers of several religious denominations when officiating' The See also:

bell-bird of the same island, Anthornis melanura—whose See also:

MELODY (Gr. ,ueXw3ia, a choral song, from name, tune, and gi6i, song)

melody excited the admiration of See also:

Cook the See also:

MORNING

morning after he had anchored in See also:

Queen See also:

CHARLOTTE

Charlotte's See also:

Sound—is another member of this family, and unfortunately seems to be fast becoming See also:

EXTINCT

extinct. But it would be impossible here to enter much further into detail, though the wattle-birds, Anthochaera, of Australia have at least to be named.

Mention, however, must be made of the See also:

FRIAR (from the Lat. (rater, through the Fr. frere)

friar-birds, Tropidorhynchus, of which nearly a See also:

SCORE (O.E. scor, from sceran, to cut, notch, cf. " shear ")

score of species, five of them belonging to Australia, have been described. With their stout bills, mostly surmounted by an excrescence, they seem to be the most abnormal forms of the family, and most of them are besides remarkable for the baldness of some part at least of their See also:

head. They assemble in troops, sitting on dead trees, with a loud See also:

CALL (from Anglo-Saxon ceallian, a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch kallen, to talk or chatter)

call, and are very pugnacious, frequently See also:

DRIVING (from " to drive," i.e. generally to propel, force along or in, a word common in various forms to the Teutonic languages)

driving away See also:

HAWKS, FRANCIS LISTER (1798-1866)

hawks and crows. A. R. Wallace (See also:

MALAY

Malay See also:

ARCHIPELAGO

Archipelago, ii. 1 so-1J3) discovered the curious fact that two species of this genus—T. bourensis and T. subcornutus—respectively inhabiting the islands of Bourn and See also:

CERAM (Sirang)

Ceram, were the See also:

OBJECT

object of natural " See also:

MIMICRY

mimicry " on the part of two species of See also:

ORIOLE (O. Fr. Oriol, Lat. aureolus)

oriole of the genus Mimeta, M. bourouensis and M. forsteni, inhabiting the same islands, so as to be on a superficial examination identical in appearance—the honey-eater and the oriole of each island presenting exactly the same tints—the black patch of See also:

BARE

bare skin See also:

ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rotundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger., Swed., Dan. and Nor. rond)

round the eyes of the former, for instance, being copied in the latter by a patch of black feathers, and even the protuberance on the See also:

BEAK (early forms beke and becke, from Fr. bec, late Lat. beccus, supposed to be a Gaulish word; the Celtic bec and beq, however, are taken from the English)

beak of the Tropidorhynchus being imitated by a similar enlargement of the beak of the Mimeta. The very reasonable explanation which Wallace offers is that the pugnacity of the former has led the smaller birds of See also:

PREY (0. Fr. preie, mod. proie, Lat. praeda, booty, from prae and the root hed—seen in prehendere, prendere, to grasp)

prey to respect it, and it is therefore an See also:

ADVANTAGE

advantage for the latter, being weaker and less courageous, to be mistaken for it. (A. N.) HONEY-See also:

GUIDE (in Mid. Eng. gyde, from the Fr. guide; the earlier French form was guie, English " guy," the d was due to the Italian form guida; the ultimate origin is probably Teutonic, the word being connected with the base seen in O. Eng. witan, to know)

GUIDE, a bird so called from its See also:

HABIT (through the French from Lat. habitus, from habere, to have, hold, or, in a reflective sense, to be in a certain condition; in many of the English senses the French use habitude, not habit)

habit of pointing out to See also:

man and to the See also:

RATEL

ratel (Mellivora capensis) the nests of bees. Stories to this effect have been often told, and may be found in the narratives of many See also:

AFRICAN

African travellers, from See also:

Bruce to See also:

LIVINGSTONE, DAVID (1813-1873)

Livingstone. But See also:

LAYARD, SIR AUSTEN HENRY (1817-1894)

Layard says (B.

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