The Vine-Weevil 



a point on the stalk, which checks the flow 

 of the sap and makes the edges of the faded 

 leaf pliable. The rolling begins at the angle 

 of one of the lower lobes, with the smooth, 

 green upper surface inside and the downy, 

 strongly-veined lower surface outside. 



But the great size of the leaf and its 

 deeply indented outline hardly ever allow of 

 regular work from one end of the leaf to 

 the other. Over and over again, sudden 

 folds occur and alter the direction of the 

 rolling, leaving now the green and now the 

 downy surface outside, without any appre- 

 ciable design, as though by chance. The 

 poplar-leaf, with its simple form and its 

 moderate size, yields an elegant cylinder; 

 the vine-leaf, with its cumbersome width and 

 complicated outline, produces a shapeless 

 cigar, an untidy bundle. 



This is not due to defective talents, but 

 to the difficulty of manipulating and control- 

 ling a leaf of this kind. The mechanical 

 method, indeed, is the same as that practised 

 on the poplar-leaf. With three legs here 

 and three legs there on the edges of the fold, 

 the Becaru obtains a purchase on one side 

 and tugs and strains on the other. 

 161 



