WASPS.
[To TEE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.") SIR,—Apropos of the interesting letters concerning wasps in your issue of September 30th, I should very much like to know if it is a general thing for wasps to attack and apparently devour cotton material. This summer I was shown two calico curtains pierced with fair sized-holes as if they had been riddled by shot. The owner of the cottage in Bucks where this occurred told me that her attention was first drawn to the curtains by a curious clicking sound made by the wasp as it cut away the stuff; there were sometimes two or three of the insects working together on the curtains. Finally the whole surface of the material was perforated. The oldest country people in the neighbourhood say they have never seen such a thing before, and they think the wasps cut away the stuff to make nests. Is this possible ?—I am, Sir, &c., H. MARCUS.
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