The Life of the Weevil 



Weevil abandons her shaft and solemnly 

 retires, hiding among the dead leaves. I 

 shall learn no more to-day. 



But I have been given a hint. On still 

 days, more favourable to my hunting, I 

 return to the spot and soon have the where- 

 withal to stock my cages. Foreseeing 

 serious difficulties because of the slowness of 

 the work, I prefer to continue my studies 

 indoors, with the unlimited leisure to be 

 found at home. 



This was an excellent precaution. If I 

 had tried to go on as I had begun and to 

 observe the Weevil's actions in the freedom 

 of the woods, never should I have had the 

 patience to follow to the end the choice of 

 the acorn, the boring of the hole and the 

 laying of the eggs even presuming that my 

 discoveries were propitious so meticulously 

 deliberate is the insect in its business, as the 

 reader will presently be able to judge. 



The copses frequented by my Weevil are 

 composed of three kinds of oaks : the ilex and 

 the durmast, which would become fine trees 

 if the woodcutter gave them time, and lastly 

 the kermes-oak, a wretched, scrubby bush. 

 The first, the most plentiful of the three, 

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