THE CURIOUS BASKET-CARRIERS 2Q5 



by the immense demand made upon it for building-ma- 

 terial. Near by, on the mantel, was a pile of books, in- 

 cluding one old leather-covered volume, from which a 

 fragment of red blotting-paper protruded. Both the 

 leather and the blotter had been largely utilized in the 

 baskets, the soft quality of the red paper having made 

 it very popular among the little architects, many of 

 which occupied conspicuously gaudy apartments. It 

 was from this blotting-paper that the patriotic speci- 

 men above alluded to obtained the red material which 

 surrounded his door -way the white and blue bands 

 having been built within the box. 



Nor were these all the materials which the builders 

 had laid under tribute. A green worsted mat, a red 

 napkin, the black paper of a passe partout frame, had 

 all furnished their share in the motley acrobatic pro- 

 cession that moved about the apartment. 



A repetition of this singular show is within the reach 

 of any one who cares to witness it, and there is no end 

 to the experiments that may be tried as to building-ma- 

 terials, for the industrious little builders will make use 

 of anything within their reach in their haste to begin 

 house-keeping. Almost the moment they crawl from 

 the cocoon they begin to erect their houses ; and when 

 we consider how little experience they must have had, 

 their skill and dexterity are indeed surprising. Singu- 

 larly enough, like true architects, the arch would seem 

 to have especial attractions, as a foundation, but further 

 than this their methods are their own. Professor C. V. 

 Riley, our Government entomologist, has carefully de- 

 scribed the process which follows, and I have taken the 

 liberty of copying his little panorama, which illustrates 

 the knack of the tiny builder and the growth of its case, 



