34 THE LIFE AND LOVE OF THE INSECT 



to face with her work. The uncouth mass of the start, 

 the loose shreds introduced by armfuls have become a 

 pear of perfect accuracy and conscientious finish. 



The artistic object bears the marks of its method of 

 manufacture. The part that rests upon the bottom of 

 the cavity is crusted over with earthy particles ; all the 

 rest is of a glossy polish. Owing to its weight, owing also 

 to the pressure exercised when the Scarab manipulates 

 it, the pear, which is still quite soft, has become soiled 

 with grains of earth on the side that touches the floor of 

 the workshop ; on the remainder, which is the larger 

 part, it retains the delicate finish which the insect was 

 able to give it. 



The inferences to be drawn from these minutely- 

 observed details are obvious : the pear is no turner's 

 work ; it has not been obtained by any sort of rolling 

 on the ground of the spacious studio, for then it would 

 have been soiled with earth all over. Besides, its pro- 

 jecting neck precludes this mode of fabrication. It has 

 not even been turned from one side to the other, as is 

 loudly proclaimed by its unblemished upper surface. 

 The Scarab, therefore, has moulded it where it lies, 

 without turning or shifting it in any way ; she has 

 modelled it with little taps of her broad battledores, just 

 as when we saw her model her ball in the daylight. 



Let us now return to the usual case, in the open. 

 The materials then come from a distance and are intro- 

 duced into the burrow in the form of a ball covered with 

 soil on every part of its surface. What will the insect 

 do with this sphere which contains the paunch of the 

 future pear ready-made ? The answer would present 

 no serious difficulty if, limiting my ambition to the results 

 obtained, I sacrificed the means employed. It would be 



