The Eumenes 



the whole now forms a cluster which, at first 

 sight, might be merely a clod of dry mud, 

 sprinkled with little pebbles. But examine 

 the shapeless mass more closely; and we 

 perceive the number of chambers compo- 

 sing the habitation with the funnelled 

 mouths, each quite distinct and each 

 furnished with its gravel stopper set in the 

 cement. 



The Chalicodoma of the Walls employs 

 the same building-methods as Eumenes Ama- 

 dei: in the courses of cement, she fixes, on the 

 outside, small stones of minor bulk. Her 

 work begins by being a turret of rustic art, 

 not without a certain prettiness; then, when 

 the cells are placed side by side, the whole 

 construction degenerates into a lump gov- 

 erned apparently by no architectural rule. 

 Moreover, the Mason-bee covers her mass 

 of cells with a thick layer of cement, which 

 conceals the original rockwork edifice. The 

 Eumenes does not resort to this general coat- 

 ing: her building is too strong to need it; 

 she leaves the pebbly facings uncovered, as 

 well as the entrances to the cells. The two 

 sorts of nests, though constructed of similar 

 materials, are therefore easily distinguished. 



The Eumenes' cupola is a piece of artist's 

 work; and the artist would be sorry to hide 

 9 



