More Beetles 



in broad daylight. Seated a little way off, 

 in the shadow of the corner in which the ap- 

 paratus hangs, I watch the operation, 

 amazed by what I see. The mother digs. 

 The father, at some distance, waits until the 

 heap of rubbish is beginning to hamper the 

 worker's movements. Then he approaches. 

 By small armfuls he draws towards him and 

 slips beneath his abdomen the shifted earth, 

 which, being plastic, forms into a ball under 

 the pressure of the hind-legs. 



The Beetle now turns about beneath the 

 load. With the trident driven into the 

 bundle, as a pitchfork is driven into a truss 

 of hay, before tossing it into the loft, the 

 fore-legs, with their wide, toothed shanks, 

 gripping the load and preventing it from 

 crumbling, he pushes with all his might. 

 And cheerily! The thing moves and as- 

 cends, very slowly, it is true, but still it as- 

 cends ! How is it done, seeing that the too 

 smooth surface of the glass acts as an ab- 

 solute check to the upward movement? 



The insurmountable difficulty has been 

 provided for. I selected a clay soil likely to 

 leave a trace of its passage. With the cart 

 before the horse, the load itself sands the 

 road and makes it practicable; in rubbing 

 io8 



