r THE SACRED BEETLE 7 



part be too fibrous, and refuse to be shaped by 

 rotation, the faulty part is retouched by the fore- 

 feet ; little taps of their broad surface give consistency 

 to the new layer and imbed the recalcitrant fibre in 

 the general mass. When the sun shines and work 

 is urgent, one is amazed by the feverish activity 

 with which the turner labours. Work goes on fast ; 

 first there was a pellet, now it is as large as a nut, 

 by and by it will be of the size of an apple. I 

 have seen some greedy beetles make up a ball as 

 large as an apple. Assuredly there is food in the 

 larder for some days to come ! 



Provender being gathered, the next thing is to 

 retire from the melee^ and carry it to a fitting place. 

 Now we see some of the most characteristic habits 

 of the Scarabseus. He sets out at once, embracing 

 the ball with the long hind legs, whose talons, planted 

 in the mass, serve as pivots — leans on the inter- 

 mediary legs as pivots, and using as levers the flat 

 of the toothed forefeet, which press the ground 

 alternately, journeys backward with his load, the 

 body bent, the head low, and the hinder part up- 

 raised. The hind feet, which are the chief organs in 

 the mechanism, move continually, going and coming 

 and changing the place where the talons are stuck 

 in, to alter the axis of rotation, to keep the load 

 balanced and advance by an alternate push right 

 and left. Thus the ball comes in contact with the 

 ground in every part of it, which gives it a perfect 

 shape and lends consistency to the outer layer by a 

 uniform pressure. Courage ! it moves, it rolls, and 

 the journey's end will be reached, though not with- 

 out trouble. Here is a first difficulty. The beetle 



