LIFE IN THE INSECT WORLD. 187 



tinues diligently at her work for several days, 

 scarcely allowing herself time either to eat or to 

 rest. At length this part of her labor is com- 

 pleted; her gallery is dug, and her room is 

 made ; and now the nest is to be formed. This 

 is made of paper; a paper which the wasp 

 makes herself, for her ancestors were paper 

 makers long before ours knew any thing about 

 the art. 



Harriet. Did not people write upon bark 

 before the invention of paper ? 



Aunt M. Yes ; some made use of the bark 

 of trees, the leaves of plants, or the skins of ani- 

 mals prepared in a rough manner ; and others, 

 more advanced in civilization, wrote upon wax 

 with a pointed instrument made of steel or sil- 

 ver, which they called a style or stylus. But 

 their more important records were made upon 

 stone, brass, lead, and wood. They wrote but 

 little, however, and it was with difficulty that 

 they were able to write at all. 



It was at length ascertained that the leaves of 

 the papyrus, a beautiful Egyptian plant, when 

 dried, pressed, and polished, would answer the 

 purpose better, and they were soon very exlen- 



