300 WASPS AND THEIR WAYS 



half a dozen before the earth is just right 

 to their critical judgment. 



One watching the many fruitless at- 

 tempts of the countless numbers of wasps 

 winging their way over the earth in the 

 latter part of the summer cannot but 

 imagine the value of these little earth- 

 openers to the soil. Their countless un- 

 finished burrows in the hard earth, as well 

 as their finished ones, let in air and water; 

 the water settles to still deeper parts, and 

 later freezing breaks up the hardened soil 

 to an extent out of all proportion to the 

 work of the little digger. No doubt to 

 the wasp we owe in part the fertility of 

 the face of the earth. 



Although at times such hard workers, 

 wasps appear to waste a great deal of time 

 fussing about. 



Small black Sphex wasps were often 

 watched flying along the carriage road up 

 and down, up and down, alighting every 

 moment and running along as though they 



