The Sacred Beetle and Others 



next thing is to withdraw from the fray and 

 transport the victuals to a suitable place. 

 Here the Scarab's most striking character- 

 istics begin to show themselves. Straight- 

 way he begins his journey; he clasps his 

 sphere with his two long hind-legs, whose 

 terminal claws, planted in the mass, serve as 

 pivots; he obtains a purchase with the middle 

 pair of legs; and, with his toothed fore-arms, 

 pressing in turn upon the ground, to do duty 

 as levers, he proceeds with his load, he him- 

 self moving backwards, body bent, head 

 down and hind-quarters in the air. The 

 rear legs, the principal factor in the me- 

 chanism, are in continual movement back- 

 wards and forwards, shifting the claws 

 to change the axis of rotation, to keep the 

 load balanced and to push it along by 

 alternate thrusts to right and left. In this 

 way, the ball finds itself touching the ground 

 by turns with every point of its surface, a 

 process which perfects its shape and gives 

 an even consistency to its outer layer by 

 means of pressure uniformly distributed. 



And now to work with a will ! The thing 

 moves, it begins to roll; we shall get there, 

 though not without difficulty. Here is a first 

 awkward place : the Beetle is wending his way 

 athwart a slope and the heavy mass tends 



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