The Lunary Copris 



kept underground by family-cares, even 

 though there be but one youngster to attend 

 to. The niggardly morsel as a rule supplies 

 material only for two or three larvae. Con- 

 sequently the family is a small one, through 

 the difficulty in procuring provisions. 



The Lunary Copris works under different 

 conditions. His part of the country pro- 

 vides the Cow-clap, that rich patch of dung 

 in which the insect finds inexhaustible sup- 

 plies of the food needed by a flourishing off- 

 spring. This prosperity is assisted by the 

 size of the abode, whose ceiling, with its 

 exceptional breadth, is able to shelter a 

 number of pills that would never fit into the 

 Spanish Copris' much less roomy burrow. 



For lack of space at home and of a well- 

 furnished flour-bin, the latter restricts the 

 number of her children, which is sometimes 

 reduced to one. Can this be due to im- 

 potence of the ovaries? No. I have 

 shown in an earlier chapter that, given free 

 scope and a well-spread table, the mother 

 is capable of producing twice her usual family 

 and more. I described how for the three 

 or four ovoids I substituted a loaf kneaded 

 with my paper-knife. By means of this 

 artifice, which increased the space in the 

 narrow enclosure of the jar and provided 

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