The Burrow 



sisted by the perspicacious eyes of all my 

 family. I owe it to them that I am able to 

 continue my research-work: let me thank 

 them here and now. 



We are on the spot early in the morning. 

 We find a burrow with a large mound formed 

 of cylindrical plugs forced out as though by 

 blows of the hammer. We clear away this 

 hillock and a pit opens below it. A good, 

 long reed, gathered on the way, is Inserted 

 in the hole. Pushed farther home, as the 

 surface soil is cleared away, it will serve us 

 as a guide. 



The soil is quite loose, unmixed with peb- 

 bles, which are obnoxious to the digging in- 

 sect that loves the perpendicular and 

 especially obnoxious to the cutting edge of 

 the exploring spade. It consists solely of 

 sand cemented with a little clay. The dig- 

 ging would therefore be easy, if one had not 

 to reach depths in which tools become ex- 

 tremely dlHicult to handle unless the whole 

 area is overturned. The following method 

 gives good results without unduly increasing 

 the volume of earth removed, a procedure 

 to which the owner might object. 



A space of roughly a yard in radius Is 

 attacked around the shaft. As the guiding 

 87 



