The Mason-bees 



something in short, resembling the cement 

 which we obtain with quicklime and white of 



egg. 



The mortar-quarry which the Sicilian 

 Mason-bee prefers to work is a frequented 

 highway, whose metal of chalky flints, 

 crushed by the passing wheels, has become a 

 smooth surface, like a continuous flagstone. 

 Whether settling on a twig in a hedge or fix- 

 ing her abode under the eaves of some rural 

 dwelling, she always goes for her building- 

 materials to the nearest path or road, with- 

 out allowing herself to be distracted from 

 her business by the constant traflfic of people 

 and cattle. You should see the active Bee at 

 work when the road is dazzling white under 

 the rays of a hot sun. Between the adjoin- 

 ing farm, which is the building-yard, and the 

 road, in which the mortar is prepared, we 

 hear the deep hum of the Bees perpetually 

 crossing one another as they go to and fro. 

 The air seems traversed by incessant trails 

 of smoke, so straight and rapid is the work- 

 er's flight. Those on the way to the nest 

 carry tiny pellets of mortar, the size of small 

 shot; those who return at once settle on the 

 driest and hardest spots. Their whole body 

 i6 



