The Life of the Weevil 



be fixed, even as the tailor presses the rebel- 

 lious edges of a seam with his iron. For a 

 long, a very long time, without moving, she 

 pushes and pushes, awaiting a proper degree 

 of adhesion. Point by point, the whole welt 

 of the corner is minutely and carefully made 

 fast. 



How is adhesion obtained? If only some 

 sort of thread were employed, one might 

 very well regard the rostrum as a sewing- 

 machine, inserting its needle at right angles 

 into the stuff. But the comparison is not 

 permissible: there is no filament employed 

 in the work. The explanation of the adhe- 

 sion lies elsewhere. 



The leaf is young, we said; the fine pads 

 of its denticulations are glands emitting 

 traces of liquid glue. These drops of sticky 

 matter are the gum, the sealing-wax. By 

 the pressure of its beak, the insect makes it 

 flow more abundantly from the glands. It 

 then has only to hold the signet in position 

 and wait for the viscous seal to set. Taken 

 all round, this is our own method of sealing 

 a letter. If it holds ever so lightly, the leaf, 

 losing its resilience as it gradually withers, 

 will soon cease to react and will of itself 

 150 



