The Dwarfs 



an excess of food. When the grub has 

 gorged to the required degree, it ceases to 

 eat. 



There are nevertheless giants among the 

 Sacred Beetles. I have some that came 

 from Ajaccio and Algeria and measure thir- 

 ty-four millimetres ^ in length. By com- 

 paring this figure with those already given, 

 we see that, if the size of the dwarfs obtained 

 by fasting is represented by the figure i, that 

 of the Sacred Beetle of the Serignan district 

 is expressed by 2 and that of the Corsican 

 and African Beetles by 5. 



To produce these latter, these giants, it is 

 evident that a more generous diet is needed. 

 Whence comes this increase of appetite? 

 We whet ours with condiments. The insect 

 may well have condiments of its own, for in- 

 stance, as regards the Sacred Beetle, the pep- 

 per of the sea-breezes and the mustard of a 

 generous sun. Such, it seems to me, are the 

 causes which augment the dimensions of the 

 African Scarab^eus and reduce those of his 

 Serignan kinsman. As I have not these two 

 appetizers, the sea and the sun, at my dis- 

 posal, I give up the idea of making giants 

 by an excess of victuals. 



1 .326 inch. — Translator's Note. 

 247 



