More Beetles 



enter another's house? On his walks 

 abroad, does he never happen to meet ladies 

 taking the air who have not yet settled down 

 and then, forgetful of his first mate, does 

 he not qualify for divorce? The question 

 was worth looking into. I have tried to 

 solve it in the following manner. 



I take two couples from the ground when 

 the excavations are in full swing. Indelible 

 marks, scratched with a needle on the lower 

 edge of the wing-cases, will enable me to dis- 

 tinguish them one from the other. The 

 four objects of my experiment are distrib- 

 uted at random, singly, over the surface of 

 a sandy space some eighteen inches deep. 

 Soil of this depth will be sufficient for the 

 excavations of a night. In case provisions 

 should be needed, I supply a handful of 

 Sheep-droppings. A large earthenware pan, 

 turned upside down, covers the arena, pre- 

 vents escape and affords the darkness fa- 

 vourable to peaceful concentration. 



Next day, I obtain splendid results. 

 There are two burrows in the settlement and 

 no more; the couples have formed again as 

 they were : each Jack has recovered his Jill. 

 A second experiment, made next day, and 

 yet a third meet with the same success: the 

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