THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 171 



tubular entrance in the middle, like the mouth of a cornet ; it is 

 beautifully finished off, and a marvel of constructive skill ; the 

 difficulty of building so dainty a structure being greatly enhanced 

 by the friability of the mud of which it is composed." 



Hymenoptera seem to be numerously represented in the 

 district; and with two or three more extracts on the subject of 

 hornets 1 will close this paper. Mr. Cornwall wished to obtain a 

 particularly fine nest to send to Melbourne, and writes concerning 

 it : — " I had an adventure over the hornets' nest. Immediately 

 after dinner one day I set out, feeling at peace with all mankind, 

 though the fact that I carried gun, tomahawk, and sheath knife 

 might make you doubt the assertion. Beneath the tree on whose 

 branches the coveted specimen was suspended, the question 

 arose, " How is it to be obtained?" To smoke the insects out 

 seemed the most feasible plan ; so dry and green boughs, grass, 

 twigs, &c, were piled up and set on fire. As the smoke began 

 to curl around them the hornets felt uneasy, and carefully kept 

 within the circle of smoke. As they did not hurry to leave their 

 home, I resolved to cut down the limb on which the nest hung. 

 At the first blow there was great commotion, and it was well I 

 ran for dear life, as the hornets swarmed in multitudes where I 

 had been standing ; had I remained they would have had sweet 

 revenge. They soon settled down, however ■ so once more I 

 went into the imminent and deadly breach, but had again to run. 

 A third time and down came the limb, yours truly running harder 

 than ever, not daring to return for a long time. Finding their 

 home gone, the hornets swarmed in exactly the same way as bees 

 do, and soon there was a bunch of them half the size of my head. 

 After watching them from a distance for some time I decided to 

 leave for the day and return when the commotion was over. That 

 decision was my undoing ; for, on returning, it was to find the 

 treasure smashed to atoms, some animal having trodden upon it, 

 with an utter disregard for the interests of science. 



" While on the subject of hornets I have another tale to tell of 

 a family who have taken up their abode in an outhouse. They 

 are of a different species to those previously mentioned, being 

 larger and more noble looking, and not so numerous. At first 

 there were only two, who set to work and soon completed two or 

 three cells ; then a third hornet joined the first two ; but next 

 morning one was found dead on the floor. Deciding, after close 

 examination, that he died a natural death, I put his body into 

 the spirit bottle. The two hornets remaining seemed disinclined 

 to go on building without more help, and evidently had an adver- 

 tisement in the morning papers for hands as shortly afterwards three 

 or four more workers augmented their numbers. Progress was 

 then more rapid. For four weeks they have gradually gained in 

 numbers, until now twenty-two are at work ; but the adage, ' Too 



