NOTES BY THE WAY 125 



completed, it is filled about two thirds full of bee- 

 bread, — the color of that in the comb in the hive, 

 but not so dry, and having a sourish smell. Upon 

 this the egg is laid, and upon this the young feed 

 when hatched. Is the paper bag now tied up? 

 No, it is headed up; circular bits of leaves are 

 nicely fitted into it to the number of six or seven. 

 They are cut without pattern or compass, and yet 

 they are all alike, and all exactly fit. Indeed, the 

 construction of this cell or receptacle shows great 

 ingenuity and skill. The bee was, of course, unable 

 to manage a single section of a leaf large enough, 

 when rolled up to form it, and so was obliged to 

 construct it of smaller pieces, such as she could 

 carry, lapping them one over another. 



A few days later I saw a smaller species carrying 

 fragments of a yellow autumn leaf under a stone in 

 a cornfield. On examining the place about sundown 

 to see if the bee lodged there, I found her snugly 

 ensconced in a little rude cell that adhered to the 

 under side of the stone. There was no pollen in 

 it, and I half suspected it was merely a berth in 

 which to pass the night. 



These bees do not live even in pairs, but abso- 

 lutely alone. They have large baskets on their legs 

 in which to carry pollen, an article they are very 

 industrious in collecting. 



Why the larger species above described should 

 have waited till October to build its nest is a mys- 

 tery to me. Perhaps this was the second brood of 

 the season, or can it be that the young were not to 

 hatch till the following spring ? 



