The Life of the Weevil 
length by ten in width.’ Its compact 
structure almost enables it to resist the 
pressure of the fingers. Its main diameter 
runs parallel with the axis of the thistle-head. 
When, as is not unusual, three cells are 
grouped on the same support, the whole is 
not unlike the fruit of the castor-oil-plant, 
with its three shaggy husks. 
The outer wall of the cell is a rustic bristle 
of chips and hairy debris and above all of 
whole florets, faded and yellow, torn from 
their base and pushed out of place while 
retaining their natural arrangement. In the 
thickness of the wall the cement predomi- 
nates. The inner wall is polished, washed 
with a red-brown lacquer and sprinkled with 
an incrustation of ligneous fragments. 
Lastly, the pitch is of excellent quality. It 
makes a solid wall of the work; and, more- 
over, it is impervious to moisture: when 
immersed in water, the cell does not permit 
any to pass through to the interior. 
In short, the Larinus’ cell is a comfortable 
dwelling, endowed, in the beginning, with the 
pliancy of soft leather, which allows free 
scope for the growing-process; then, thanks 
3,585 by .39 Ca aaa ae Note. 
4 
