THE HORNET. 
267 
sealed, it always crystallises, and in that state is injurious to 
digestion. Moreover, it is so extensively adulterated, that a 
pot of really pure honey is not easily obtained. 
Besides the honey, 4 bee-bread ’ is pla'ced in the cells. This 
is a compound of honey and the pollen of flowers, and is 
chiefly used as food for the young grubs. We may often see 
the Bees hastening home with a load of yellow pollen on each 
of the hinder pair of legs, and this pollen is destined to be 
made into bee-bread. 
Such, then, is a brief outline of the wonderful social habita- 
tion which is made by the Hive Bee. 
We now come to an insect which is as well known by name 
as the bee, though not so familiar to our eyes. This is the 
common Hornet ( Vespa crabro), which is tolerably plentiful 
in many parts of England, but seems to be almost absent from 
others. 
The nest of the Hornet is much like that of the wasp, except 
that it is proportionately larger, and is almost invariably built 
in hollow trees, deserted outhouses, and places of a similar 
description. Whenever the Hornet takes up its residence in 
an inhabited house, as is sometimes the case, the inmates are 
sure to be in arms against the insect, and with good reason. 
The Hornet is much larger than the wasp, and its sting is 
proportionately venomous. It is popularly said that three 
Hornets can kill a man : and although in such a case the 
sufferer must previously have been in bad health, the poisonous 
properties of the Hornet are sufficiently virulent to render such 
a saying popular. 
Moreover, the Hornet is an irascible insect, and given to 
assault those whom it fancies are approaching its nest with evil 
intentions. It is not pleasant to be chased by wasps, but to 
be chased by Hornets is still less agreeable, as I can personally 
testify. They are so persevering in their attacks that they will 
follow a man for a wonderfully long distance, and if they be 
struck away over and over again, they will return to the charge 
as soon as. they recover from the shock. There is a deep 
