262 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



them ; that the cells are exposed to the air without any covering 

 at all, and in consequence, are made of stouter material than 

 those of ordinary wasps, which protect the cells from the weather 

 by a covering. 



Many of this species make a nest of a nearly circular shape, 

 and attach it sideways to branches, walls, trunks of trees or other 

 supports ; but there is a very curious nest in the British Museum 

 which is made on a totally different principle, the combs looking 

 as if they were soft, flexible, and hung carelessly over a twig. 

 There are three of these remarkable combs, having the cells very 

 like those of the common hive bee, both in shape and size, but 

 all being of a dark brown hue. The cells are laid on their sides, 

 like those of the bee, and the combs are long and narrow, look- 

 ing like one large comb cut into three strips. This curious 

 nest came from Siam. 



In the accompanying illustration are represented two nests, 

 both from tropical America, and both found in similar localities. 

 These are the babitations of two species of wasp, which are re- 

 markable for their honey-making powers. 



In the year 1780, a Spanish officer named Don Feliz de Azara 

 was raised froin the rank of captain to that of lieutenant-colonel, 

 and sent to Paraguay, in order to decide a dispute concerning 

 the limits of the possessions respectively held by Spain and 

 Portugal. 



He was then thirty-four years of age, and being a man of 

 great energy, set to work out the construction of a map of 

 Paraguay. This was a Herculean task, occupying thirteen years 

 in its completion, and forcing De Azara to explore regions before 

 unknown, and to trust himself to the native tribes who had 

 never before seen the face of a white man. While engaged in this 

 occupation, he made a vast collection of notes upon the native 

 tribes of Paraguay, as well as upon the beasts, birds, insects, and 

 vegetation, together with an account of the method by which 

 the Jesuit missionaries established themselves and ruled the 

 country for many years. 



After his return to Europe, in 1801, he published the account 

 of his travels, and met with the usual fate of those who first 

 penetrate into unknown countries. His statements were not 

 believed, and among those which raised the greatest discredit 



