The Sacred Beetle: the Larva 



cementing-aperture. There you have your 

 trowel, a most respectable one, flattened out 

 and supplied with a rim to prevent the 

 compressed matter from flowing away use- 

 lessly. 



As soon as the mass of plastic matter has 

 been emitted, the levelling- and compresslng- 

 instrument sets to work to introduce the 

 cement well into the irregularities of the 

 breach, to push it right through the thick- 

 ness of the ruined portion, to give It 

 consistency and smooth it. After this 

 trowel-work, the grub turns round : it comes 

 and finishes the job with its wide forehead 

 and improves it with the tip of its mandibles. 

 Wait a quarter of an hour; and the repaired 

 portion will be as firm as the rest of the 

 shell, so quickly does the cement set. Out- 

 side, the repairs are betrayed by the ir- 

 regular projections where the stuff has been 

 forced out, the part which the trowel could 

 not reach; but, inside, there is no trace of 

 the breakage: the usual pohsh has been 

 restored at the damaged spot. A plasterer 

 stopping a hole in one of our walls could 

 produce no better piece of work. 



Nor do the grub's talents end here. 

 With its cement it becomes the mender of 

 pots and pans. Let me explain. I have 



125 



