166 WASPS AND THEIR WAYS 



its own stings; and there may be those 

 small-minded enough to argue that if there 

 were no wasps, their stings would not 

 need to be endured or cured. 



It was, and in some places still is, a 

 common belief that wasps can be made to 

 cure their own stings by being bruised and 

 applied to the wound. 



Another cure for stings consists of 

 wasps' combs made into a plaster with 

 willow leaves and mallows. 



Also, the earth wherein wasps' nests 

 were built, if mixed with vinegar and 

 applied, was once believed to effect a 

 cure. 



Since wasps, if misunderstood, insist 

 upon punctuating their position with more 

 fervour than manners, it is but fair that they 

 should be made to cure the wounds they 

 inflict. However, there is reasonable 

 cause to doubt the eificacy of wasps' nests 

 and vinegar, or of crushed wasps them- 

 selves. 



