My Neighbor's Wood-Shed 201 



the wood-shed, but they are always too busy 

 to concern themselves with you, unless you 

 provoke the assault. There are only two 

 classes of people who meddle with wasps, 

 fools and entomologists. We beg pardon of 

 the latter for this unavoidable association. 

 One of these hornets is busy all summer in 

 building long rows of clay cells, and into 

 each is placed, so to-day's search disclosed, a 

 pretty pink-and-yellow spider. I do not 

 pose here as an entomologist, but the other 

 thing. I got stung. The clay cells were 

 built with a good deal of skill and quite 

 quickly, but the supply of clay came from 

 one spot near by, and so no time was lost ; 

 but no time was lost either in finding a 

 spider, a round, fat, pink-and-yellow one. 

 I followed the wasp, as best I could, and 

 traced it to a weedy corner back of the barn, 

 but no sign of any such spider was visible to 

 me. There were dozens of other species, 

 and some were large and ugly enough to 

 stay my near approach. I hurried back to 

 the shed and found the hornet just closing 

 the cell on such a one as I could not find. 

 Others of these ill-natured insefts built paper 

 nests, and at times buzzed their impatience 



