278 
NATURE S CRAFTSMEN 
fairs of my own reached a desperate pass, and 
when I again found time to observe the Bald- 
faces their erstwhile busy factory hung empty 
and forlorn. Their labors were over, their goal 
achieved, and they themselves had gone the way 
of all insect paper-makers. What marvels of pa¬ 
tience, fortitude, and untiring industry they had 
been! Before their eyes beckoned a certain pur¬ 
pose to be achieved and to this end all their forces 
had been bent. Nor was anything short of death 
sufficient to turn them aside. What a homily for 
us all in their brief history! 
“ Indeed, taken by and large, there are no more 
interesting craftsmen than the wasp clans. The 
force numbers some nine hundred species. Nor 
are they by any means all paper-makers. Only 
the members of the social tribes, that is those 
wasps which live in colonies, follow this interest¬ 
ing occupation. The solitary specimens include 
nearly all of the principal trades. Some are 
miners, delving deep into the earth; others are 
carpenters, cutting out their homes in solid wood; 
still others are masons and potters, working in 
mud and clay. Whatever their calling, each and 
all of them rival in industry the busiest little busy 
bee that ever bustled about. You will find it 
most interesting to seek them out and learn their 
habits. Moreover, so long as you do not attempt 
to interfere in their affairs, they will not resent 
