The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1878-08-14

HO0es.
Jolly has cone again, and brought
with it such warm, spltry days tha,
it almost seemed as though no living
creature could Stir abroad. Never
theless there was . wonderful deal
going on in our garden. Through
the air and over the flower beds has
tened hundreds of little people.
Some lived 10 the trees and bushes,
others in the ground and all hard at
work.
One morning, especially. there
seemed TO be something unusual 60
ing on; the buzzing and humming was
fairly ~deafening.
Whirr-r! whirrri What was
that great creature that darted pas.
my face? And here came another,
snd another. why. the garden was
full Of them
Big brown and yellow wasps these
strangers we're, aod all 10 . most
desperate hurry. Scores of them
were already hard al work, digging
away in the firmly packed sand Of
the path. As these newcomers SEEM
ed to N very little who watched
them at their work, | sat down On an
up-turned iower-pot 10 the shade of q
friendly lilac, determined to make
their acquaintance.
Hardly had ] settled myself be-
fore one of the wssps ipproached.
She seemed searching for something,
for she flew rapidly back and forth,
now alighiing for q moment-now
dartiDg away again. At last she
dropped on the ground close to me
and began to bite the earth with her
strong jaws. When quite q little
heap lay before her she pushed it to
one side with her hind feet and then
returned to her digging. 10 FIVE min
utes she had an opening big enough
to get into; every time she appeared
she backed up out of it pushing q
huge load of sand as big as herself
behind her. Soon ell around the
hole was a high bank of earth, and
she found it necessary to make q
path across it, and push her loads
over that. Two hours hard work,
and the house was finished. 1t was
very simply psnned, and had only
one room down at the end of q long,
narrow passage. But simple as it
was, this little creature bad done
more work in two hours than o man
could do in q day. That is, of course,
taking her size in comparison. And
she did hot eve stop to rest. Not
she! With one last lcok into the
house, to make sure she was leaving
all as it should be, she few away.
In a moment her strong wings had
taken her quite out of sight. but it
was not long before she re-appeared.
Back and forth she FASTENED, at one
moment flying through the grape ar
Dor, at the next wheeling above the
cabbage-bed. All this time the OBJ
Iject of her search, a fat young locust,
was quietly sitting on q gate post
quite forgetting. as even locusts
sometimes will, that be had al enc
my 10 the world.
A moment later and the wasp's
sharp eyes had found him out and
then, quick BIS lightning. she dsrted
down upon him, and pierced him
with her sting. When the locust lay
perfectly still, the wasp seized him
and flew Of. Arrived at her hole,
she ,umbled him head foremost 10 at
the door. expecting him, Of course. to
fall quite TO the bottom. But her
calculations had been slightly a.
fault; the locust was too fat TO 60 in,
aud there he stuck with his head
and shoulders 10 the hole and his
body in the air. Here was q diem
ma! Bat my wasp friend was evil
IDENTIFY not one TO be overcome by
difficulties Of this sort. She flew of
again, and this time returned with
two other wasps they crowded
round the hole aud began digging
away the earth which pressed close
about the locust. In q short time
they seemed satisfied, for they stood
up and pushed at the object Of their
toils-SIowly be slid down out of
sight, and che who had brought them
hurried after. She laid an egg close
to him 10 her house; then hurrying
up began to carry back the earth she
had before taken out, and 10 a short
time the door was securely closed.
Then she scrsped eway and patted
down all the loose earth, till she had
made il quite impossible for any evil
minded creature to 6nd any traces Of
Der home.
The wasp knew very well that her
egg would soon hatch out that the
little white grub. her chick, would ct
once begin to feed upon the locust.
which would supply food till the
young one was fulLgrown-E. A. Il.
Scribner for august.