The Mason-bees 



This outer covering dries as quickly as do 

 our hydraulic cements; and the nest is now 

 almost as hard as a stone. It takes a knife 

 with a strong blade to break open the edifice. 

 And I would add, in conclusion, that, under 

 its final form, the nest in no way recalls the 

 original work, so much so that one would 

 imagine the cells of the outset, those elegant 

 turrets covered with stuccowork, and the 

 dome of the finish, looking like a mere lump 

 of mud, to be the product of two different 

 species. But scrape away the crust of cement 

 and we shall easily recognize the cells below 

 and their layers of tiny pebbles. 



Instead of building a brand-new nest, on 

 a hitherto unoccupied boulder, the Mason- 

 bee of the Walls is always glad to make use 

 of the old nests which have lasted through the 

 year without suffering any damage worth 

 mentioning. The mortar dome has remained 

 very much what it was at the beginning, 

 thanks to the solidity of the masonry, only it 

 is perforated with a number of round holes, 

 corresponding with the chambers, the cells 

 inhabited by past generations of larvae. 

 Dwellings such as these, which need only a 

 little repair to put them in good condition, 

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