172 - NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 
hoping to hear from him again. Last night his song was renewed. 
I approached with a subdued light and with great caution, and had 
the pleasure of seeing him sitting among his corn and singing his 
beautiful solo. I observed him without interruption for ten min- 
utes, not over four feet from him. His song was not a chirp, but 
a continuous song of musical tone, a kind of to-wit-to-wee-woo-wo0- 
wee-woo, quite varied in pitch. While observing him I took for 
granted that he was the common house-mouse (Mus musculus), but 
when he sprang from the shoe to make his escape he appeared like 
the prairie mouse (Hesperomys Michiganensis), a species I had 
not, however, observed before indoors. I have thus far failed to 
secure this little rodent musician, but shall continue to do all I 
can in the way of pop-corn to entertain him, and if his marvellous 
voice gives him the preéminence in mousedom which he deserves, 
by the aid of Natural Selection I shall presently have a chorus of 
mice, in which case you shall receive their first visit. — W. 
Hisxrey, Minneapolis, Minn. 
Tue European Horner IN America. — This wasp (Vespa 
crabro Linn.) is very common here, and has been to my knowledge 
for the past twenty-five years, or ever since I have been in this 
place. I think it is something over twenty years since there was 
an immense colony in the roof of an old ice house, at the gable 
end of which was a round hole for air about four or five inches in í 
diameter. This hole formed the entrance to their abode. Both 
their brood cells and the outer covering are very brittle, so much 
so, that it is impossible to preserve them whole. The paper seems 
to be made of green wood, in procuring which, they girdle great 
quantities of the branches of our lilac bushes. 
The mass of comb which I send you, was taken, I think, two 
years ago last fall. The following are the dimensions of the com), 
independent of the outer covering, at the time I secured it:— 
Eighteen inches long, twenty-three inches in circumference. There 
were eleven stories or sets of comb. The circumference of each; 
commencing at the top, was as follows :— 17, 23, 27, 27, 27, 28, 28, 
27, 23, 19,7, inches, making a united circumference of about twenty- 
one feet. Width of largest cells four lines, making six and 4 
quarter cells to the square inch. This, I believe, makes about 
one thousand five hundred and eighty-one cells. This nest was 
between the weather boards and the inner lining of boards, in W? 
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