WHITE AXTS. 293 



pair and their offspring. The chamber that forms 

 the rudiment of a new nest, is contrived for their 

 safety, but tlic entrances to it are too small to admit 

 of their ever leaving it; consequently, the charge of 

 the eggs devolves upon the labourers, who construct 

 nurseries for their reception. These are small, irre- 

 gularly-shaped chambers, placed at first round the 

 apartment of the king and queen, and not exceeding 

 the size of a hazel-nut; but, in nests of long standing, 

 they are of great comparative magnitude, and dis- 

 tributed at a greater distance. The receptacles for 

 hatching the young are all composed of wooden ma- 

 terials, apparently joined together with gum, and, by 

 way of defence, cased with clay. The chamber that 

 contains the king and queen, is nearly on a level with 

 the surface of the ground; and as the other apart- 

 ments are formed about it, it is generally situated at 

 an equal distance from the sides of the nest, and di- 

 rectly beneath its conical point. Those apartments 

 which consist of nurseries and magazines of provi- 

 sions, form an intricate labyrinth, being separated 

 by small, empty chambers and galleries, which sur- 

 round them, or aflbrd a communication from one to 

 another. This labyrinth extends on all sides to the 

 outward shells, and reaches up within it to two- 

 thirds or more of its height, leaving an open area 

 above, in the middle, under the dome, which reminds 

 the spectator of the nave of an old cathedral. 

 Around this are raised three or four large arches, 

 which are sometimes two or three feet high, next 

 the front of the area, but diminish as they recede 

 furtlier back, and are lost amidst the innumerable 

 chambers and nurseries behind them. 



Every one of these buildings consists of two dis- 

 tinct parts, the exterior and the interior. The exterior 

 is one large shell, in the manner of a dome, large and 

 strong enough to inclose and shelter the interior from 

 VOL. IV. 25* 



