THE SISYPHUS 141 



away anything that might hinder the operation. A few more 

 efforts, and the ball disappears underground with the two miners. 

 What follows for some time to come can only be a repetition 

 of what has already been done. We must wait half a day or so. 



If we keep careful watch we shall see the father come up 

 again to the surface by himself, and crouch in the sand near 

 the burrow. Detained below by duties in which her companion 

 can be of no assistance to her, the mother usually postpones 

 her appearance till the morrow. At last she shows herself. 

 The father leaves the place where he was snoozing, and joins 

 her. The reunited couple go back to the spot where their food- 

 stuffs are to be found, and having refreshed themselves they 

 gather up more materials. The two then set to work again. 

 Once more they model, cart, and store the ball together. 



I am delighted with this constancy. That it is really 

 the rule I dare not declare. There must, no doubt, be flighty, 

 fickle Beetles. No matter : the little I have seen gives me 

 a high opinion of the domestic habits of the Sisyphus. 



It is time to inspect the burrow. At no great depth we 

 find a tiny niche, just large enough to allow the mother to move 

 round her work. The smallness of the chamber tells us that 

 the father cannot remain there for long. When the studio is 

 ready, he must go away to leave the sculptress room to turn. 



The contents of the cellar consist of a single ball, a master- 

 piece of art. It is a copy of the Sacred Beetle's pear on a very 

 much reduced scale, its smallness making the polish of the 

 surface and the elegance of the curves all the more striking. 

 Its diameter, at the broadest point, measures one-half to three- 

 quarters of an inch. 



One more observation about the Sisyphus. Six couples 

 under the wire-gauze cover gave me fifty-seven pears contain- 

 ing one egg each an average of over nine grubs to each couple. 

 The Sacred Beetle is far from reaching this figure. To what 

 cause are we to attribute this large brood ? I can see but 

 one : the fact that the father works as well as the mother. 

 Family burdens that would exceed the strength of one are 

 not too heavy when there are two to bear them. 



