FABRE'S BOOK OF INSECTS 



know of the outside world? I repeat — as much as a 

 bit of intestine can know. And this senseless creature 

 astounds us I I regret that the philosopher Cbndillac, 

 instead of creating a statue that could smell a rose, did 

 not gift it with an instinct. How soon he would have 

 seen that the animals — including man — have powers 

 quite apart from the senses; inspirations that are born 

 with them, and are not the result of learning. 



This curious life and this marvellous foresight are not 

 confined to one kind of grub. Besides the Capricorn of 

 the Oak there is the Capricorn of the Cherry-tree. In 

 appearance the latter is an exact copy of the former, on 

 a much smaller scale; but the little Capricorn has dif- 

 ferent tastes from its large kinsman's. If we search the 

 heart of the cherry-tree it does not show us a single grub 

 anywhere: the entire population lives between the bark 

 and the wood. This habit is only varied when trans- 

 formation is at hand. Then the grub of the cherry-tree 

 leaves the surface, and scoops out a cavity at a depth of 

 about two inches. Here the walls are bare: they are 

 not lined with the velvety fibres dear to the Cap- 

 ricorn of the Oak. The entrance is blocked, however, 

 by sawdust, and a chalky lid similar to the other except 

 in point of size. Need I add that the grub lies down 

 and goes to sleep with his head against the door'? Not 

 one forgets to take this precaution. 



Tiicre is also a Saperda of the Poplar and a Saperda 



[224] 



