The Spotted Larinus 



circle. A second white drop appears at the 

 factory-door. The mandibles take hold of 

 the ignominious product as they would of an 

 ordinary mouthful; and the process is re- 

 peated as before: the cell is first smeared 

 with glue and then encrusted with ligneous 

 particles. 



After thus expending a certain number of 

 trowelfuls of cement, the grub remains mo- 

 tionless; it seems to be abandoning a job too 

 much for its means. Twenty-four hours 

 later, the open hulls are still gaping. An 

 attempt has been made to repair the cell, 

 but not to close it thoroughly. The task is 

 too heavy. 



What is lacking? Not the ligneous mate- 

 rials, which can always be obtained from the 

 grub's surroundings, but the adhesive cement, 

 the factory having closed down. And why 

 has it closed down? The answer is quite 

 simple: because the vessels of the thistle- 

 head detached from its stalk are dry and can 

 no longer furnish the food upon which every- 

 thing depends. 



The curly-bearded Chaldean used to build 

 with bricks of mud baked in the kiln and 

 cemented with bitumen. The Weevil of the 

 41 



