First Attempts at Observation 



ging. It will be best for me to teach them 

 the right spot in the centre of an impreg- 

 nable area. For this purpose, I leave the 

 top of the tube empty to a depth of a few 

 fingers'-breadths ; and, as a glass wall would 

 be impossible to climb, I provide this part 

 with a lift, that is to say, I line it with wire- 

 gauze. When this is done, the two insects, 

 male and female, unearthed together from 

 their natural burrow, are inserted into this 

 entrance-hall, where they will find their fa- 

 miliar environment, the sandy soil. With a 

 little food scattered about the pit, it will be 

 enough, I hope, to make them like their pecu- 

 liar lodging. 



What results shall I obtain with my rustic 

 apparatus, so long planned by the fireside 

 during the winter evenings? Certainly it is 

 not much to look at; it would gain a poor 

 reception in the laboratories that are con- 

 stantly perfecting their equipment. It is 

 peasant's work, a clumsy combination of 

 common objects. I agree; but let us re- 

 member that, in the pursuit of truth, the 

 poor and simple are by no means inferior 

 to the most magnificent. My arrangement 

 of three bamboo canes has given me delight- 

 103 



