The Sacred Beetle and Others 



atmosphere, while remaining protected by a 

 rampart, it is evident that the egg must be 

 installed at the small end of the ovoid, behind 

 a thin defensive wall. 



And this in fact is where it lies, lodged 

 in a tiny hatching-chamber and wrapped on 

 every side in a blanket of air, which is easily 

 renewed through a slender partition and a 

 matted plug. This position did not surprise 

 me; from what the Sacred Beetle had already 

 taught me I expected It. The point of my 

 knife, this time no novice, went straight to 

 the ovold's pointed teat and scratched. The 

 egg appeared, magnificently confirming the 

 argument which had at first been merely sus- 

 pected, then dimly seen and finally changed 

 into certainty by the recurrence of the fun- 

 damental facts under varying conditions. 



Scarabs and Gymnopleuri are modellers 

 who were not educated in the same school; 

 they differ in the outline of their masterpiece. 

 With the same materials, the first manu- 

 facture pears, the second for the most part 

 ovoids; and yet, despite this divergence, they 

 both conform to the essential conditions de- 

 manded by the egg and by the grub. The 

 grub wants provisions that are not liable to 

 become prematurely dry. This condition is 

 fulfilled, so far as may be, by giving the mass 

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