The Life of the Weevil 



remains unharmed. It baffles the under- 

 standing. For what reason does the 

 Bruchus, who passes without hesitation from 

 the excellent to the indifferent and from the 

 indifferent to the excellent, disdain this 

 delicious seed? She leaves the everlasting 

 pea for the green pea, she leaves the green 

 pea for the broad bean and the vetch, accept- 

 ing the niggardly scrap and the rich cake with 

 equal satisfaction; and the attractions of the 

 haricot leave her uninterested. Why? 



Apparently because this legumen is 

 unknown to her. The others, whether 

 natives or acclimatized foreigners from the 

 east, have been familiar to her for centuries; 

 she tests their excellence year by year and, 

 relying on the lessons of the past, she bases 

 her forethought for the future upon ancient 

 custom. She suspects the haricot as a new- 

 comer whose merits she has still to learn. 



The insect tells us emphatically that the 

 haricot is of recent date. It reached us from 

 very far away, surely from the New World. 

 Every edible thing attracts those whose 

 business it is to make use of it. If the 

 haricot had originated in the old continent, 

 it would have had its licensed consumers, 

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