The Bison Onitis 



frequent journeys, the sides are plastered 

 with stucco from end to end. This coat 

 is made of the same material as the puddings 

 and is more than a twenty-fifth of an inch 

 thick. It is continuous and fairly even, with- 

 out having too elaborate a finish. It keeps 

 the surrounding earth in place, so much so 

 that big fragments of the tunnel can be re- 

 moved without losing their shape. 



In the hamlets on the Alps, the south 

 fronts of the buildings are coated with Cow- 

 dung, which, after drying in the summer sun, 

 becomes the winter fuel. The Bison knows 

 this pastoral method, but practises It with 

 another object: he hangs his house with 

 manure to keep it from crumbling. The 

 father might well be entrusted with this work 

 In the intervals of rest which the mother 

 leaves him while she is busy in the ticklish 

 work of making her pudding layer by layer. 

 The Geotrupes, by way of yet another In- 

 dustrial resemblance, has already shown us 

 a similar consolidating-plaster. Hers, It Is 

 true, is less regular and less complete. 



After being ousted by my curiosity, the 

 Bison couple set to work again and, by the 

 i.iiddle of July, supplied me with three more 

 puddings, making a total of eight. This 

 time, I find my two captives dead, one on the 



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