TheOsmiaisworkingatherbigpartition,withherbodyoutsidethecellwhichsheispreparing。Fromtimetotime,withapelletofmortarinhermandibles,shegoesinandtouchesthepreviousceilingwithherforehead,whilethetipofherabdomenquiversandfeelsthepadincourseofconstruction。Onemightwellsaythatsheisusingthelengthofherbodyasameasure,inordertofixthenextceilingattheproperdistance。Thensheresumesherwork。Perhapsthemeasurewasnotcorrectlytaken;perhapshermemory,afewsecondsold,hasalreadybecomemuddled。TheBeeoncemoreceaseslayingherplasterandagaingoesandtouchesthefrontwallwithherforeheadandthebackwallwiththetipofherabdomen。Lookingatthatbodytremblingwitheagerness,extendedtoitsfulllengthtotouchthetwoendsoftheroom,howcanwefailtograspthearchitect\'sgraveproblem？TheOsmiaismeasuring;andhermeasureisherbody。Hasshequitedone,thistime？Ohdearno！Tentimes,twentytimes,ateverymoment,fortheleastparticleofmortarwhichshelays,sherepeatshermensuration,neverbeingquitecertainthathertrowelisgoingjustwhereitshould。
Meanwhile,amidthesefrequentinterruptions,theworkprogressesandthepartitiongainsinwidth。Theworkerisbentintoahook,withhermandiblesontheinnersurfaceofthewallandthetipofherabdomenontheoutersurface。Thesoftmasonrystandsbetweenthetwopointsofpurchase。Theinsectthusformsasortofrolling—press,inwhichthemudwallisflattenedandshaped。Themandiblestapandfurnishmortar;theendoftheabdomenalsopatsandgivesbrisktrowel—touches。Thisanalextremityisabuilder\'stool;Iseeitfacingthemandiblesontheothersideofthepartition,kneadingandsmoothingitallover,flatteningthelittlelumpofclay。Itisasingularimplement,whichIshouldneverhaveexpectedtoseeusedforthispurpose。Ittakesaninsecttoconceivesuchanoriginalidea,todomason\'sworkwithitsbehind！Duringthiscuriousperformance,theonlyfunctionofthelegsistokeeptheworkersteadybyspreadingoutandclingingtothewallsofthetunnel。
Thepartitionwiththeholeinitisfinished。LetusgobacktothemeasuringofwhichtheOsmiawassolavish。Whatamagnificentargumentinfavourofthereasoning—powerofanimals！Tofindgeometry,thesurveyor\'sart,inanOsmia\'stinybrain！Aninsectthatbeginsbytakingthemeasurementsoftheroomtobeconstructed,justasanymaster—buildermightdo！Why,it\'ssplendid,it\'senoughtocoverwithconfusionthosehorriblescepticswhopersistinrefusingtoadmittheanimal\'s\'continuouslittleflashesofatomsofreason！\'
Ocommon—sense,veilyourface！Itiswiththisgibberishaboutcontinuousflashesofatomsofreasonthatmenpretendtobuildupscienceto—day！Verywell,mymasters;themagnificentargumentwithwhichIamsupplyingyoulacksbutonelittledetail,themeresttrifle:truth！NotthatIhavenotseenandplainlyseenallthatI
amrelating;butmeasuringhasnothingtodowiththecase。AndIcanproveitbyfacts。