164 
LETTERS FROM ALABAMA. 
commence operations. Plunging his head into the 
mass, each labours to separate an irregular portion 
with his jaws, of about an inch in diameter; this 
is done in a very few minutes, when, turning round, 
he begins to push the lump with his hindmost pair 
of feet, crawling along backwards, as it proceeds, 
upon his anterior and middle feet. In rolling, it 
Ball chakjek. 
soon becomes quite globular, when of course it rolls 
with more facility. When many are engaged to- 
gether, as is usually the case, I have often seen them 
leave the ball they are rolling and begin to roll 
another, indiscriminately, as if they had no notion 
of property in their work. And sometimes two 
may be seen rolling one ball, apparently not by 
consent, but as if unconscious of each other’s efforts, 
when the mutual rollings over and over of ball and 
beetle are very amusing. Neither could I ever 
nerceive that any particular ball was propelled in 
