The Life of the Weevil 
nothing to distinguish the speck which marks 
a refreshment-bar from that which marks 
a cradle; therefore it is impossible, by merely 
counting the borings, to tell exactly how 
many eggs have been confided to the capsule. 
Let us strike an average. Of the twenty 
punctures in one shell, let us consider ten 
as relating to the eggs. These would be 
twice as many as the cell could feed. What 
then has become of the surplus? 
Here we are reminded of the Weevil who 
scatters over her pea-pod an excessive number 
of eggs, out of all proportion to the pro- 
visions which it contains. In the.same way, 
on the iris, the pregnant mother takes no 
stock of the rations; she peoples the already 
populated and fills the overflowing. Her 
procreative fury does not reckon with the 
future. Let those thrive who may. 
We can understand Verbascum thapsus 
allowing itself forty-eight thousand seeds 
when the germination of a single one would 
suffice to maintain the species: its distaff is 
a treasure-house of food by which a host 
of consumers will profit. But we cannot 
understand the Pea-weevil, the Iris-weevil 
and many others who, though not exposed 
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