separately, but only on the outside, in the as yet soft mass. This is
the foundation of the structure. Fresh layers follow, until the cell
has attained the desired height of two or three centimetres. (Three-
quarters of an inch to one inch.--Translator's Note.)

Man's masonry is formed of stones laid one above the other and
cemented together with lime. The Chalicodoma's work can bear
comparison with ours. To economise labour and mortar, the Bee employs
coarse materials, big pieces of gravel, which to her represent hewn
stones. She chooses them carefully one by one, picks out the hardest
bits, generally with corners which, fitting one into the other, give
mutual support and contribute to the solidity of the whole. Layers of
mortar, sparingly applied, hold them together. The outside of the cell
thus assumes the appearance of a piece of rustic architecture, in
which the stones project with their natural irregularities; but the
inside, which requires a more even surface in order not to hurt the
larva's tender skin, is covered with a coat of pure mortar. This inner
whitewash, however, is put on without any attempt at art, indeed one
might say that it is ladled on in great splashes; and the grub takes
care, after finishing its mess of honey, to make itself a cocoon and
hang the rude walls of its abode with silk. On the other hand, the
Anthophorae and the Halicti, two species of Wild Bees whose grubs
weave no cocoon, delicately glaze the inside of their earthen cells
and give them the gloss of polished ivory.

The structure, whose axis is nearly always vertical and whose orifice
faces upwards so as not to let the honey escape, varies a little in
shape according to the supporting base. When set on a horizontal
surface, it rises like a little oval tower; when fixed against an
upright or slanting surface, it resembles the half of a thimble