The Life of the Weevil 
width as the head, which, being rigid, with 
a horny cap, does not lend itself to deforma- 
tion. Where the head has passed, the body 
has to pass, however fat it may be. When 
the liberation is completed, it is most 
surprising to see how bulky a cylinder, how 
corpulent a grub has contrived to make its 
way through the tiny opening. If we had 
not witnessed the exodus, we should never 
have suspected such a feat of gymnastics. 
The orifice, we were saying, is exactly 
fitted to the diameter of the head. Now 
this inelastic head, by whose size that of 
the hole has been calculated, represents at 
most one-third of the width of the body. 
How does a threefold thickness pass through 
a single calibre? 
Here comes the head, without the least 
difficulty: it is the pattern to which the door 
was built. The neck, a little wider, follows: 
a slight contraction frees it. Next comes the 
turn of the chest and the plump belly. This 
is a most arduous operation. ‘The grub has 
no legs. It has nothing, neither hooks nor 
stiff bristles, that might give it a purchase. 
It is a soft roly-poly which has, by its own 
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