VI.

_WASPS AND THEIR WAYS._

"An elegant shape is yours, Sir Wasp,
And delicate is your wing;
Your armour is brave, in black and gold;
But we do not like your sting."--C. H.


The next morning Jack went to see how the new hive had settled, and he
found everything going on as usual. The bees were very busy, flying in
and out, and working hard to build the cells of their new home.

The gardener was working near, and he said, "Master Jack, did you ever
see a wasp's nest?"

Jack shook his head.

"Well, now, if you come into my cottage, I'll show you one this evening.
It's not a very good one, for it got broken digging it out of the ground
in one of the garden paths. We'd been terribly plagued with wasps for
weeks, and it was some time before we could find the nest. We watched
them go into a hole in the ground; so one evening when they'd all gone
to bed we got some pitch and brimstone, and laid them with some lighted
sticks on the top of the hole. The wasps woke up, and came out to see
what was going on; but they were smothered by the brimstone smoke, and
were soon done for. The next day we dug out the nest.

"Wasps are great pests, Master Jack, I can tell you. They are very fond