The Mason-bees 



that is to say, a consumer of others' provi- 

 sions? Her general appearance and her 

 structure make it clear to any eye more or less 

 familiar with entomological shapes that she 

 belongs to a species akin to that of the Scolias. 

 Moreover, the masters of classification, so 

 scrupulous in their comparison of character- 

 istics, agree in placing the Sapyg^ immedi- 

 ately after the Scoliae and a little before the 

 Mutillae. The Scoliae feed their grubs on prey; 

 so do the Mutillae. The Osmia's parasite, 

 therefore, if it really derives from a trans- 

 formed ancestor, is descended from a flesh- 

 eater, though it is now an eater of honey. 

 The Wolf does more than become a Sheep: 

 he turns himself into a sweet-tooth. 



"You will never get an apple-tree out of 

 an acorn," Franklin tells us, with that homely 

 common-sense of his. 



In this case, the passion for jam must have 

 sprung from a love of venison. Any theory 

 might well be deficient in balance when it 

 leads to such vagaries as this. 



I should have to write a volume if I would 



go on setting forth my doubts. I have said 



enough for the moment. Man, the insatiable 



enquirer, hands down from age to age his 



248 



