THE INTEREST IN INSECTS 



35 



of the colony were quickly put aside 

 and the cell was then suddenly finished 

 by human hand, assisted by a small 

 tube of greyish courtplaster. 



In a few minutes the wasp returned 

 and flew directly to the cell which I 

 had so kindly completed for her. But 

 she apparently considered my work as 

 being far from the required standard ; 

 indeed she must have thought me 

 downright fresh, for soon my carefully 

 made cell of court-plaster was cut 

 away from the nest and viciously ejec- 

 ted by the wasp, who was now in a 

 temper to be quite fully respected. 



On the following day I returned to 

 the nest with another cell, but this time 

 I had moulded it of Papier mache, 

 hence it was identical in size, color 

 and texture, with those which the 

 wasps construct themselves. Once more 

 the wasps were put out of the way, and 

 while the one who had been allowed 

 her freedom upon the previous day was 

 again collecting pulp at a respectful 

 distance, I cut away the cell which was 

 now nearly finished, and fastened the 

 Papier mache one in its place. Upon 



fact that her nest cell had been rifled 

 and her egg removed, which is an af- 

 fair of much greater importance But 

 why these differences in intelligence, 

 if such we may term it, even among in- 

 sects of the same flesh and blood? 

 That is what we do not know ; it is a 

 question for which we have yet to find 

 an answer. But however that may be, 

 it is evident from the results of the ex- 

 periments which I have just described, 

 that in cases unlikely to be provided 

 for by instinct, insects will occasionally 

 adopt means whereby their objects may 

 be effected. And if it be true, as we 

 now believe, that all instincts arose 

 through successive generations pre- 

 serving habits which happened to be of 

 benefit, then insects must gain know- 

 ledge from experience, which would 

 be impossible were they not gifted 

 with a certain amount of reason or in- 

 telligence. 



weight !" declared the 



THE PAPER WASP REMOVING THE PAPIER- 

 MACHE CELL CONSTRUCTED BY THE 

 AUTHOR. 



her return to the nest, the wasp dis- 

 played the same disgust at my inability 

 to construct a cell, as upon the occa- 

 sion of my original effort. Conse- 

 quently the object of my labors met a 

 fate similar to that which the first cell 

 was subjected to! 



How quickly this insect recognized 

 the uselessness of these man-made 

 cells, for indeed I had left them open 

 at both ends. Yet her very near rela- 

 tive, the mud-dauber, was blind to the 



When Fact and Theory Met. 



Senator Frye of Maine was a very 

 diligent and skilful fisherman, and his 

 favorite game was the square-tailed 

 trout. On one occasion, says the New 

 York Globe, the late professor Agassiz, 

 who was his friend, challenged the 

 Senator's boast that he had caught a 

 seven-pound trout. 



"Square-tailed trout do not ever 

 reach that 

 sicentist, postively. 



Mr. Frye did not engage in unprofi- 

 table argument on the point at issue, 

 but the very next summer the natural- 

 ist received from Rangeley a large box, 

 within which, packed in ice, reposed a 

 beautiful square-tailed trout which 

 weighed precisely eight pounds. 



Professor Agassiz's response was 

 prompt and to the point. He wrote : 



"The theory of a lifetime has been 

 kicked to pieces by a fact." — Youth's 

 Companion. 



You may not be able to cross the 

 ocean this Summer in quest of adven- 

 ture : but you can cross your threshold 

 into the land of out-of-doors, where 

 you will be sure of finding much that 

 is new and strange and interesting. 



