I wished to follow the progress of this hanging egg at my leisure, with the greater convenience of observation which is possible at home. With the egg of Eumenes Amadei this was all but impracticable, because of the cell, which could not be moved together with the block that most often serves as its foundation. A house of this kind demands observation on the spot. The Odynerus’ dwelling does not present the same drawback. When a cell is laid bare and found to be in the condition which I desire, I dig round it with the point of a knife until I detach a cylinder of earth containing the cell, which is reduced to an open trough, so as to conceal nothing of what is to happen inside. The victuals are extracted piecemeal, with every care, and decanted separately into a glass tube. I shall thus avoid the accidents that might be occasioned by the swarming heap of grubs during the inevitable shaking of the journey. The egg alone remains, swinging in the empty enclosure. A large tube receives the cylinder of earth, which is wedged in position with pads of cotton-wool. I place my booty in a tin box and carry it in my hand in such a position that the egg hangs vertically without striking against the walls of the cell. Never have I effected a removal which called for such nice precautions. An accidental movement might easily break the suspension-thread, which is so delicate that it needs the magnifying-glass to distinguish it; excessive oscillation might bruise the egg against the walls of the cell: I had to beware of turning it into a sort of bell-clapper dashing against its bronze prison. I walked, therefore, with the stiffness of an automaton, all of one piece, with steps methodically calculated. What a misfortune should some acquaintance appear and make me stop a moment, for a chat or a shake of the hand: the least distraction on my part would perhaps ruin my schemes! Still more embarrassing would it be should Bull, who cannot endure a black look, find himself muzzle to muzzle with a rival and try to get quits with him by flying at his throat. I should have to put an end to the fray, to avoid the scandal of a well-brought-up Dog showing intolerance of the village cur. The squabble would end in the breakdown of all my experimental scaffolding. And to think that the eager preoccupations of a person not entirely devoid of sense may sometimes be dependent on a Dog-fight!