First Attempts at Observation 



past every portion of the wall, it leaves 

 particles of earth which constitute so many 

 points of purchase. Therefore, as he 

 pushes his burden upwards, the Beetle finds 

 behind it a roughened surface which affords 

 him a footing as he climbs. 



This, after all, is all he needs, though it 

 involves occasional slips and efforts to re- 

 tain his balance, which are unknown in the 

 natural shaft. When he comes to a certain 

 distance from the opening, he leaves his 

 clod, which, shaped by the tube, remains in 

 its place, motionless. He returns to the 

 bottom, not by allowing himself to fall sud- 

 denly, but gradually and carefully, by means 

 of the footholds by which he made his way 

 up. A second pellet is hoisted up and 

 welded to the first. A third follows. At 

 length, with a last effort, he pushes out the 

 whole thing in a single plug. 



This fractional division is a judicious 

 method. Because of the enormous amount 

 of friction in the narrow and uneven natural 

 shaft, the Beetle would never succeed in 

 hoisting the great cylinders of his mound in 

 one lump ; he carries them up in loads which 

 are not beyond his powers and which are 

 afterwards joined and welded together. 

 109 



