218 THE WONDERS OF INSTINCT 



ask by what stratagem the egg is shielded from danger. 



This stratagem I longed to discover; I would not be 

 put off by the scarcity of nests, by the irksomeness of 

 the searches, by the risk of sunstroke, by the time taken 

 up, by the vain breaking open of unsuitable cells; I 

 meant to see and I saw. 



Here is my method : with the point of a knife and a 

 pair of nippers, I make a side opening, a window, be- 

 neath the dome of Eumenes Amedei and Eumenes 

 pomiformis. I work with the greatest care, so as not 

 to injure the recluse. Formerly I attacked the cupola 

 from the top, now I attack it from the side. I stop when 

 the breach is large enough to allow me to see the state 

 of things within. 



What is this state of things? I pause to give the 

 reader time to reflect and to think out for himself a 

 means of safety that will protect the egg and after- 

 wards the grub in the perilous conditions which I 

 have set forth. Seek, think and contrive, such of you 

 as have inventive minds. Have you guessed it? Do 

 you give it up ? I may as well tell you. 



The egg is not laid upon the provisions; it is hung 

 from the top of the cupola by a thread which vies with 

 that of a Spider's web for slenderness. The dainty cylin- 

 der quivers and swings to and fro at the least breath; it 

 reminds me of the famous pendulum suspended from 

 the dome of the Pantheon to prove the rotation of the 

 earth. The victuals are heaped up underneath. 



Second act of this wondrous spectacle. In order to 

 witness it, we must open a window in cell upon cell 



