the same violence, I removed the wren's box to another part of the
house.

In the middle of my new parlour I have, you may remember, a curious
republic of industrious hornets; their nest hangs to the ceiling, by
the same twig on which it was so admirably built and contrived in
the woods. Its removal did not displease them, for they find in my
house plenty of food; and I have left a hole open in one of the
panes of the window, which answers all their purposes. By this kind
usage they are become quite harmless; they live on the flies, which
are very troublesome to us throughout the summer; they are
constantly busy in catching them, even on the eyelids of my
children. It is surprising how quickly they smear them with a sort
of glue, lest they might escape, and when thus prepared, they carry
them to their nests, as food for their young ones. These globular
nests are most ingeniously divided into many stories, all provided
with cells, and proper communications. The materials with which this
fabric is built, they procure from the cottony furze, with which our
oak rails are covered; this substance tempered with glue, produces a
sort of pasteboard, which is very strong, and resists all the
inclemencies of the weather. By their assistance, I am but little
troubled with flies. All my family are so accustomed to their strong
buzzing, that no one takes any notice of them; and though they are
fierce and vindictive, yet kindness and hospitality has made them
useful and harmless.

We have a great variety of wasps; most of them build their nests in
mud, which they fix against the shingles of our roofs, as nigh the
pitch as they can. These aggregates represent nothing, at first
view, but coarse and irregular lumps, but if you break them, you