The Sacred Beetle and Others 



ing, so to speak. Perhaps you may be able 

 to make good the damage which I have 

 wrought. Let us try. I will restore the 

 condition of the estabhshment by supplying 

 fresh provisions. It is for you now to dig 

 new burrows, to carry down the wherewithal 

 to replace the cake of which I have robbed 

 you and afterwards to divide the lump, im- 

 proved by time, into rations suited to the 

 needs of your larvae. Will you do all this? 

 I hope so. 



My faith in the perseverance of the sorely- 

 tried couples is not disappointed. A month 

 later, in the middle of July, I venture on a 

 second inspection. .The cellars have been 

 rebuilt, as spacious as at first. Moreover, 

 by this time they are padded with a soft 

 lining of dung on the floor and on a part of 

 the side-walls. The two sexes are still 

 there; they will not separate until the rearing 

 is completed. The father, who has less 

 family-affection, or perhaps Is more timid, 

 tries to steal off by the back-way as the light 

 enters the shattered dwelling; the mother, 

 squatting on her precious pellets, does not 

 budge. These pellets are oval-shaped 

 plums, very like those of the Spanish Copris, 

 but not quite so large. 



Knowing how few compose the latter's 

 3S8 



