June 1, 1S69.J 



HARDWICO'S SCIENCE GOSSIP. 



the other near the place where the valves open called 

 the posterior. 



The latter, which is called the retractor muscle, is 

 of considerable size, and is divided anteriorly into 

 two portions— one regulating the movements of the 

 mouth, mantle, and siphons ; the other, those of the 

 foot and byssus. T. G. Ponton. 



WASPS AS DOMESTIC PETS. 



HAVING been much interested in the account, 

 in " Homes without Hands," of the experi- 

 ments made by Mr. Stone, in domesticating the 

 Wasp for the purpose of observing its habits, I 

 resolved to try, and though, from beginning late in 

 the summer, I was unable to carry my experiment 

 on as I should have wished, yet an account of the 

 experiment, as far as it went, may not be uninter- 

 esting to some of your readers, if only to show that 

 a waspish nature is an amiable one, though usually 

 considered the reverse. I also give Professor 

 Henslow's method of taking wasps' nests, a method 

 far simpler than any I have ever heard of, and the 

 efficacy of which I have proved. 



The first thing towards the experiment was to 

 prepare a box for the accommodation of the wasps : 

 this was simply a common wooden box (procured 

 from a grocer's), at the back of which I had a small 

 hole cut, so that the wasps might have free exit and 

 entrance : in place of cover of the box, I substituted 

 a cover of glass, which could draw in and out, so 

 that food could be placed inside when required. 

 Two or three pieces of thin brass wire were placed 

 across the length and breadth of the box : the whole 

 was made firm by nailing it in an upright position 

 to a wooden stand, under a tree, in a meadow some 

 little way from the house. It was protected from 

 the weather by some hurdles, arranged at a little 

 height from the box, in the form of a gable, and 

 covered with straw. The box being ready, the next 

 question was how was the nest to be taken without 

 injury to the taker or the taken ? I had read some 

 time ago in the Mem. of Professor Heuslow, that 

 he himself had invented a way of taking wasps' 

 nests : it was described by him in the Gardeners' 

 Chronicle for 1SI2. The method consists of simply 

 " pouring about half a cupful of spirits of turpentine 

 into and about the entrance-holes, after dark, when 

 the wasps, with the exception, perhaps, of a few 

 stragglers, are all in for the night : then place a 

 flower-pan over it, and bank it round with earth." 

 This has the effect of stupefying them ; and if desired, 

 the nest may be dug up thirty -six hours afterwards 

 with perfect security. This plan, so simple and easy 

 to put into practice, I determined to adopt ; but I 

 fancy, in giving thirty-six hours before the nest was 

 to be dug up, Professor Henslow could have only 

 thought of preserving the nest, and of the safety 



from stings of the person employed in taking it, and 

 not of preserving the insects alive. 



My first experiment was carried on under my 

 own directions ; but after fifteen hours, on digging 

 for the nest, we found all the wasps in a state past 

 recovery. I then thought a less quantity of tur- 

 pentine and fewer hours might be attended with 

 success. I fortunately heard of a very large nest, 

 and easy of access, and accordingly the experiment 

 was repeated. The nest had the same quantity of 

 turpentine poured in and round the entrance-holes, 

 and the other directions were followed with regard 

 to the flower-pan and banking up ; but instead of 

 waiting fifteen hours, in two hours' time our gar- 

 dener and coachman ventured to dig for it, and 

 brought it to me under a large bell-glass just two 

 hours and a half after the turpentine had been 

 poured in. The wasps were then fast recovering 

 from their stupor, but the servants had dug up the 

 nest without the slightest inconvenience to them- 

 selves. Two or three drops of chloroform dropped 

 on wadding under the bell-glass soon intoxicated 

 the wasps sufficiently to allow me to remove them 

 one by one with a pair of forceps into the box pre- 

 pared for them. The nest I deprived of its cover 

 and strong pieces of the comb, containing the 

 grubs, at the bottom of the wire bars. As all this 

 had to be done late at night, the box and its contents 

 were placed in an out-house for the night ; the door 

 of the box was stuffed quite tightly with paper, 

 several small holes to admit air having been bored 

 at the top of the box. The next morning the men 

 found the house full of wasps, having eaten away a 

 good deal of the paper, and they had already begun 

 to cover the wire bars with a thin layer of paper. 

 The wasps were most amicable, allowing the box to 

 be carried down to the meadow, and following it, 

 but making no attempt to sting the person who 

 carried it. They further allowed the box to be 

 firmly nailed on to the stand, and quite established 

 their claim in my eyes to being highly good-natured, 

 by allowing me to open the glass front sufficiently 

 to allow of my putting my hands in, and inserting 

 an extra brass bar across the box without attempt- 

 ing to sting me, though they were working all the 

 time, and one or two crawled on my hand, which 

 was gloveless. I doubt whether bees would allow 

 such interference. The wasps built steaddy, cover- 

 ing over the grubs. The queen wasp kept in sight 

 for the first two days, and seemed busily employed 

 looking after the grubs ; but as soon as the comb 

 was covered, I saw her no more. The wasps in the 

 space of ten days built a small nest. I did not begin 

 my experiments until the middle of August; so the 

 wasps had not so good a chance. I got another 

 nest in the way already described, and with the 

 same success in taking it, but the weather became 

 colder, and the wasps did not finish any nest. I 

 never got stung by them except once, when a wasp 



