The Sacred Beetle and Others 



A remarka'ble thing now happens. All 

 my transplanted ones work little by little 

 to complete the round nest of which my pit 

 represented only the lower half. I have 

 provided the flooring. They propose to 

 add a ceiling, a dome, and thus to shut them- 

 selves up in a spherical enclosure. The 

 materials are the putty supplied by the 

 intestines; the building-tool is the trowel, the 

 inclined plane of the final segment. Soft 

 bricks are laid on the margin of the well. 

 When these have set, they serve as a support 

 for a second row, sloping slightly inwards. 

 Other rows follow, marking the curve of the 

 general structure more and more distinctly. 

 Also, from time to time, a wriggle of the 

 hinder-part assists in determining the 

 spherical conformation. In this way, with- 

 out any supporting scaffold, without the 

 cradle indispensable to our architects In 

 building an arched roof, a commanding dome 

 is obtained, built upon space and completing 

 the sphere which I began. 



Some of them shorten the work. The 

 glass wall of the little jar occasionally comes 

 within range. Its smooth surface suits the 

 taste of these fastidious polishers; Its curve, 

 to a certain extent, coincides with that of 

 their plan. They make use of It, doubtless 

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