More Beetles 



the cylinder to the other; more often the 

 piece is a sort of hardbake, in which large 

 fragments are held together by an amalga- 

 mation of cement. The baker apparently 

 varies the more or less careful composition 

 of her confectionery according to the time 

 at her disposal. 



The stuff is tightly packed into the closed 

 end of the burrow, where the walls are 

 smoother and more elaborately treated than 

 in the rest of the shaft. The point of the 

 knife easily rids it of the surrounding earth, 

 which peels off like a rind. In this way I 

 obtain the food-cylinder free from any 

 earthy stain. 



When this is done, let us enquire into the 

 matter of the egg, for this pastry has cer- 

 tainly been manipulated for the sake of a 

 grub. Guided by what I learnt in the old 

 days from the Geotrupes, who lodge the egg 

 at the lower end of their black-pudding, in 

 a special recess contrived in the very heart 

 of the provisions, I look to find the egg of 

 the Minotaur, their near kinsmen, in a 

 hatching-chamber right at the bottom of the 

 sausage. I am mistaken. The egg sought 

 for is not at the spot anticipated, nor at the 

 92 



