The Sacred Beetle and Others 



The new shape, with its exaggerated length, 

 fulfils the converse condition of that beloved 

 by the pill-makers : here, with a similar vol- 

 ume, the surface is developed to its extreme 

 limits. Is there a reason for this complete 

 change? No doubt; and I seem to perceive 

 it. Now that dryness is no longer to be 

 feared, will not this kind of shape, with its 

 large surface, enable the mass of foodstuff 

 to get rid of its superfluous moisture more 

 readily? Should it rain, its wide area cer- 

 tainly will make it liable to more rapid satu- 

 ration; but also, when the fine weather re- 

 turns, the surplus water will soon disappear 

 thanks to the extensive contact with a quickly- 

 drained soil. 



Let us conclude by enquiring how the roly- 

 poly is manufactured. To watch the per- 

 formance in the fields appears to me a very 

 difficult, not to say impracticable undertaking. 

 With my cages, success is certain, provided 

 we exercise a little patience and dexterity. I 

 let down the board which keeps the artificial 

 soil in place at the back. The latter now re- 

 veals its vertical surface, which I explore bit 

 by bit with the point of a knife until I strike a 

 burrow. If the operation be cautiously con- 

 ducted, without the disturbance due to an 

 ill-calculated landslip, the labourers are dis- 

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