THE SACRED BEETLE 33 



When she thinks the ball of sufficient bulk, if the place 

 do not suit her wherein to dig the burrow, she sets out 

 with her rolling burden, walking at random till she lights 

 upon a favourable spot. During the journey, the ball, 

 without improving upon the perfect sphere which it was 

 at the start, hardens a little on the surface and becomes 

 encrusted with earth and little grains of sand. This 

 earthy rind, picked up on the road, is an authentic sign 

 of a more or less long excursion. The detail is not 

 without importance ; it will serve us presently. 



Less frequently, the spot close to the heap whence 

 the block has been extracted satisfies the insect as 

 suitable for the excavation of the burrow. The soil is 

 free from pebbles and easy to dig. Here, no journey is 

 necessary, nor, therefore, any ball convenient for transit. 

 The soft biscuit of the sheep is gathered and stored as 

 found and enters the workshop a shapeless mass, either 

 in one piece, or, if need be, in different lumps. 



This case occurs seldom in the natural state, because 

 of the coarseness of the ground, which abounds with 

 broken stones. Sites practicable for easy digging are 

 few and far between and the insect has to roam about, 

 with its burden, to find them. In my voleries, on the 

 other hand, where the earthy layer has been purged with 

 the sieve, it is the usual case. Here the earth is easy 

 to dig at any point ; wherefore the mother, working for 

 her laying, is content to lower the nearest morsel under- 

 ground, without giving it any definite shape. 



Whether the storing without preliminary ball or con- 

 veyance be achieved in the fields or in my voleries, the 

 final result is most striking. One day, I see a shapeless 

 lump disappear into the crypt. The next day, or the 

 day after, I visit the workshop and find the artist face 



5 



