8o4 



THE NATURE BOOK 



Tlie leaves are a broad o\al, frequently 

 heart-shaped at the base, and jwinted at 

 the apex. They are supported by a 

 single midrib with branching secondaries. 

 Their surface is wrinkled, they are thick 

 and velvety, greyish and dusty looking, 

 especially' on the under side, where the 

 hairs are thickest. Tiie marginal indent- 



flowers, complete in all their parts, none 

 being set apart for purpose of show merely 

 The fruits, which become considerably 

 bunchetl, arc semi-globular, each being 

 flattened somewliat like a flask. They 

 show great variety of colouring, according 

 to their stage of ripeness, and the in- 

 cidence of the sun's light, ranging from 



LEAVES OF THE WAYFARING TREE. 



ations are regular, like the teeth of a saw. 

 The five-petalled white flowers form 

 a rounded cluster after the manner of 

 an inverted saucer. These are all true 



creamy yellow to coral j)iiik, through 

 crimson to jet black, all in the same 

 cluster. The birds show them marked 

 attention. 



Henry Irving. 



THE HOUSEKEEPING OF THE 

 HUMBLE-BEE 



"Humble Bees are the least civilised of all communal insects" 



By HAROLD BASTIN 



Illustrated from photo.^raphs by t'.ie Author 



THE hive of the Honey Bee has often 

 been likened to a well-ordered 

 city. The Humble- Bee's nest is 

 a mere establishment — a kind of insect 

 Kowton House. Its internal arrange- 

 ments are marked by extreme simplicity, 

 while its inmates ha\'e a ha]i]n'-go-lucky 



way with tlu'm which contrasts strongly 

 with the well-(jrdered activity of the 

 Honey Bee. Humble -Bees, in fact, are 

 the least civilised of all communal insects. 

 Less civilised are they than the Wasp, 

 although in some respects their habits 

 resemble those of the latter insect. 



