The Sloe-Weevil 
the central cone. If there is a copious 
eruption, the gum will fill the ringed space, 
but at least it will not cover the spot where 
the egg lies. The tall, insubmersible obelisk 
is therefore a most ingeniously-contrived 
defensive structure. 
This obelisk is hollow along its axis. We 
have seen it serving as a lift for the rubbish 
which the young grub throws out when 
deepening its natal basin and converting it 
into a passage which gives access to the 
kernel. But this is a very secondary func- 
tion; it has another of greater importance. 
Every egg breathes. In its cup with the 
sawdust mattress, the Weevil’s egg needs a 
supply of air, a very moderate supply, no 
doubt, but it must have some. Through the 
passage in its conical roof the air reaches it 
and is renewed, even if bad luck has filled 
the crater with gum. 
Every living creature breathes. The 
maggot has entered the stone of the fruit 
by making an opening such as our finest 
drills could not equal for precision. It is 
now in a sealed casket, an air-tight barrel, 
tarred, moreover, with gummy pulp. Yet 
it must have air, even more than the egg. 
217 
