The carding-bee is interesting, not so much for the nest which it makes, as for the wonderful way in which it makes it—or, to express it more justly, it is more especially interesting on this account. Having either made or found a suitable cavity, these bees under-roof it with a thick thatching of moss. To carry this, bit by bit, to the place, would take them a very long time, so, instead of doing so, they stand one behind another, with their backs toward the nest, in a line that reaches from the moss to its entrance. The furthest bee then pulls out a piece with her mandibles, cards it with her fore feet, and, with the others, passes it on, beneath her body, to the second bee, who passes it to the third, the third to the fourth, and so on, all down the line, the last bee entering the nest with it. Thus these bees do with moss exactly what rats have been seen to do with eggs, when transporting them to their burrows. A most interesting anecdote of this is quoted by Romanes,[90] from Jesse’s _Gleanings_, but it does not appear to be in my edition, which I had thought was a complete one. All I can find is a bare reference to their having been known to “convey” eggs from a box, in this way—“convey the wise it call.” This is an annoying discovery, for I detest all selections, not made by myself, from Palgrave’s _Golden Treasury_ to any man’s “Hundred Rest Books.” But if my edition _is_ a complete one, then the thing should be looked into, for the anecdote quoted by Romanes is not there—at least it is untraceable through the index.