136 GENERA.L NOTES 



Now comes the experience upon which he bases his denial 

 of parthenogenesis: 



" The Osmia, boin inrlustrious dies working. When 

 her ovaries are drained, she spends the remainder of her 

 strength in useless labour, partitions, lids, hoards of 

 pollen without use. The living machine cannot accept 

 inaction, even when there is nothing to do. It continue* 

 its functions in labour without pur])ose. Let me j^oint 

 these vagaries to the adepts of the reasoning power of 

 beasts. 



'' Before reaching those useless labours, my belated 

 workers have laid their last eggs, the location auv! date 

 of which I know positively. These eggs do not differ in 

 any particulars from their elders. They have the same 

 dimension, form, gloss and appearance of fre.^hness. 

 Their supplies have noihing exceptional, either, and are 

 very well suited to males, closing the laying. And yet, 

 these last eggs do not hatch, they shrink, wilt, and <iry up 

 on the stores of food. At the terminal egg-laving of 

 some osmia I count 3 or 4 sterile eggs; with another 2 or 

 1. Another gives fertile eggs to the last. 



^' These sterile eggs, touched with death from their first 

 appearance, are too numerous to be unnoticed. Why do 

 they not hatch like the others which they so resemble? 

 They have received from the mother the same care, the 

 same victuals. The investigations of the magnifying glass 

 show nothing that can explain the fatal issue.'' 



If our mind is free from preconceived ideas, we go 

 straight to the explanation. Those eggs do not hatch be- 

 cause they have noi been fertilized. Thus would perish 

 every animal or vegetable germ that did not receive the 

 vivifying impregnation. Any other explanation is imposs- 

 ible. Do not speak of the lateness of the laying; eggs of 

 the same date from other mothers are perfectly fertile. 

 Once again, they do not hatch because they have not been 

 fertilized. "And why have they not been fertilized? 

 Because the seminal bag, so small that it has often escapedi 

 my observation, in spite of my viligance, had exhausted 



