MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 29% 
Or 
3rd Room. 
(1) A collection of cells oF si ae a .. 2 in number. 
(2) 2” ” ” et, ” 
(obress Pe ne as Wr 5 Reed is 
Thus the total number of cells is 65—a comparatively large number. 
Site of Cells. 
The ceiling of my bedroom, as also of the other rooms, is made of polished 
boards, and the cells have, in most instances, been built at the junction of the 
roof proper with the additional planking placed below and, in some cases, at 
the junction of this planking with the thick ridge of wood that runs all round 
the rooms where the wall meets the roof. This seems to indicate that this site is 
selected by preference, although the cells are not invariably placed on the ceiling. 
I have seen cells built on the plaster of a wall, on the underside of the machinery 
box of a gramaphone, and also on a haversack! But, perhaps, the strangest 
place chosen is that which a friend told me of, inside the sleeve of a coat ! 
Arrangement of Cells. 
There seems to be some sort of method followed by this wasp in the manner 
in which it arranges its cells in groups. These structures are usually placed in 
a line—the back and upper portion of one touching the front and lower portion of 
the other. They all face in the same direction, and are all at a slight angle. It 
should be mentioned that they do not always form a continuous line, as there are 
gaps sometimes. This may be due to the fact that one of the cells has collapsed 
at an incipient stage of its construction, or that the place where a cell would 
naturally have been built is unsuitable for some reason or other. At first I 
thought that the wasp invariably arranges its cells in a line as just 
described, but one day I noticed a group of cells made by this wasp in an office 
(in the topmost storey of the building). I was rather astonished to find that 
one cell was built directly above another! This is the only instance in 
which I have found the cells so arranged, and I suppose this must be an exception 
to the usual style. Subsequently a friend of mine, who mentioned that there 
were cells built in various parts of his house, showed me a fine series of cells 
which differed not only in arrangement, but also as to site. I have already 
mentioned the different places in which I saw these cells. As to their arrange- 
ment, I found that there were two distinct styles : (a) the usual line and (b) in 
a line, side by side, but vertically, 2.e., the line of cells runs vertically, the cells 
themselves being horizontally placed. We sce, therefore, that the cells may be 
arranged according to three distinct styles : 
(a) in a line horizontally—the usual arrangement. 
(6) in a line vertically—not uncommonly. 
(c) one above the other—seldom, 
Manner in which Cells are built. 
The manner in which this wasp works is interesting. It flies to its row of mud 
buildings and commences operations with a loud, high, buzzing sound. By 
this noise it usually indicates its presence. It carries a small quantity of mud 
(or really light grey clayey soil) which it slowly begins to fashion into a cylinder. 
The wasp first lays a ring of mud on the wood and then begins adding to this 
in successive layers. Each layer is about one-sixteonth (?) of an inch thick, to 
judge from the faint ridges one sees on a dry and complete structure. The wasp, 
when it brings a lump of soil with it, starts on one side and works upwards to 
the top of the circular arch, working down again from this point to the place 
from where it started. Thus half of the arch is built up at a time. I have attempt- 
ed to illustrate this by a diagram. The wasp continues to add fresh layers until 
the structure attains a length of a little over an inch. By this time, of course, 
it has taken the shape shown in the drawing and in the photograph—a sort of - 
cylinder widest at the middle with narrower ends. When the wasp has finished 
it decreases its ends off by leaving a very neat circular hole at end of the cell— 
