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diff --git a/3422-h/3422-h.htm b/3422-h/3422-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..588ec2e --- /dev/null +++ b/3422-h/3422-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,10248 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="us-ascii"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + The Life of the Fly, by J. Henri Fabre + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life of the Fly, by J. Henri Fabre + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Life of the Fly + With Which are Interspersed Some Chapters of Autobiography + +Author: J. Henri Fabre + +Translator: Alexander Teixeira de Mattos + +Release Date: February 28, 2009 [EBook #3422] +Last Updated: January 22, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF THE FLY *** + + + + +Produced by Gerry Rising, and David Widger + + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE LIFE OF THE FLY: + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + With Which are Interspersed Some Chapters of Autobiography + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + By J. Henri Fabre + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h3> + Translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos <br /><br /> Fellow of the + Zoological Society of London + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> TRANSLATOR'S NOTE </a><br /><br /><br /> <a + href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. </a> THE HARMAS <br /><br /> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. </a> THE ANTHRAX <br /><br /> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. </a> ANOTHER PROBER + (PERFORATOR) <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. </a> LARVAL + DIMORPHISM <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. </a> HEREDITY + <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI. </a> MY + SCHOOLING <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII. </a> THE + POND <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII. </a> THE + CADDIS WORM <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX. </a> THE + GREENBOTTLES <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X. </a> THE + GREY FLESH FLIES <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER XI. </a> THE + BUMBLEBEE FLY <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0012"> CHAPTER XII. </a> MATHEMATICAL + MEMORIES: NEWTON'S BINOMIAL THEOREM <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0013"> + CHAPTER XIII. </a> MATHEMATICAL MEMORIES: MY LITTLE TABLE + <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0014"> CHAPTER XIV. </a> THE + BLUEBOTTLE: THE LAYING <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0015"> CHAPTER XV. + </a> THE BLUEBOTTLE: THE GRUB <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2HCH0016"> CHAPTER XVI. </a> A PARASITE OF THE + MAGGOT <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0017"> CHAPTER XVII. </a> RECOLLECTIONS + OF CHILDHOOD <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0018"> CHAPTER XVIII. </a> INSECTS + AND MUSHROOMS <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0019"> CHAPTER XIX. </a> A + MEMORABLE LESSON <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0020"> CHAPTER XX. </a> INDUSTRIAL + CHEMISTRY <br /><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h2> + TRANSLATOR'S NOTE + </h2> + <p> + The present volume contains all the essays on flies, or Diptera, from the + Souvenirs entomologiques, to which I have added, in order to make the + dimensions uniform with those of the other volumes of the series, the + purely autobiographical essays comprised in the Souvenirs. These essays, + though they have no bearing upon the life of the fly, are among the most + interesting that Henri Fabre has written and will, I am persuaded, make a + special appeal to the reader. The chapter entitled The Caddis Worm has + been included as following directly upon The Pond. + </p> + <p> + Since publishing The Life of the Spider, I was much struck by a passage in + Dr. Chalmers Mitchell's stimulating work, The Childhood of Animals, in + which the secretary of the Zoological Society of London says: 'I have + attempted to avoid the use of terms familiar only to students of zoology + and to refrain from anatomical detail, but at the same time to refrain + from the irritating habit assuming that my readers have no knowledge, no + dictionaries and no other books.' + </p> + <p> + I began to wonder whether I had gone too far in simplifying the + terminology of the Fabre essays and in appending explanatory footnotes to + the inevitable number of outlandish names of insects. But my doubts + vanished when I thought upon Fabre's own words in the first chapter of + this book: 'If I write for men of learning, for philosophers...I write + above all things for the young. I want to make them love the natural story + which you make them hate; and that is why, while keeping strictly to the + domain of truth, I avoid your scientific prose, which too often, alas, + seems borrowed from some Iroquois idiom!' + </p> + <p> + And I can but apologize if I have been too lavish with my notes to this + chapter in particular, which introduces to us, as in a sort of litany, a + multitude of the insects studied by the author. For the rest, I have + continued my system of references to the earlier Fabre books, whether + translated by myself or others. Of the following essays, The Harmas has + appeared, under another title, in The Daily Mail; The Pond, Industrial + Chemistry and the two Chapters on the bluebottle in The English Review; + and The Harmas, The Pond and Industrial Chemistry in the New York Bookman. + The others are new to England and America, unless any of them should be + issued in newspapers or magazines between this date and the publication of + the book. + </p> + <p> + I wish once more to thank Miss Frances Rodwell for her assistance in the + details of my work and in the verification of the many references; and my + thanks are also due to Mr. Edward Cahen, who has been good enough to + revise the two chemistry chapters for me, and to Mr. W. S. Graff Baker, + who has performed the same kindly task towards the two chapters entitled + Mathematical Memories.—Alexander Teixeira de Mattos. Chelsea, 8 + July, 1913. + </p> + <p> + [Recorder's Note: Most Translator's Footnotes have been omitted from this + text, but some of his references to localities and insect names are + included in brackets. I apologize to English readers for changes to + American spelling.] + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. THE HARMAS + </h2> + <p> + This is what I wished for, hoc erat in votis: a bit of land, oh, not so + very large, but fenced in, to avoid the drawbacks of a public way; an + abandoned, barren, sun scorched bit of land, favored by thistles and by + wasps and bees. Here, without fear of being troubled by the passersby, I + could consult the Ammophila and the Sphex [two digger or hunting wasps] + and engage in that difficult conversation whose questions and answers have + experiment for their language; here, without distant expeditions that take + up my time, without tiring rambles that strain my nerves, I could contrive + my plans of attack, lay my ambushes and watch their effects at every hour + of the day. Hoc erat in votis. Yes, this was my wish, my dream, always + cherished, always vanishing into the mists of the future. + </p> + <p> + And it is no easy matter to acquire a laboratory in the open fields, when + harassed by a terrible anxiety about one's daily bread. For forty years + have I fought, with steadfast courage, against the paltry plagues of life; + and the long-wished-for laboratory has come at last. What it has cost me + in perseverance and relentless work I will not try to say. It has come; + and, with it—a more serious condition—perhaps a little + leisure. I say perhaps, for my leg is still hampered with a few links of + the convict's chain. + </p> + <p> + The wish is realized. It is a little late, O my pretty insects! I greatly + fear that the peach is offered to me when I am beginning to have no teeth + wherewith to eat it. Yes, it is a little late: the wide horizons of the + outset have shrunk into a low and stifling canopy, more and more + straitened day by day. Regretting nothing in the past, save those whom I + have lost; regretting nothing, not even my first youth; hoping nothing + either, I have reached the point at which, worn out by the experience of + things, we ask ourselves if life be worth the living. + </p> + <p> + Amid the ruins that surround me, one strip of wall remains standing, + immovable upon its solid base: my passion for scientific truth. Is that + enough, O my busy insects, to enable me to add yet a few seemly pages to + your history? Will my strength not cheat my good intentions? Why, indeed, + did I forsake you so long? Friends have reproached me for it. Ah, tell + them, tell those friends, who are yours as well as mine, tell them that it + was not forgetfulness on my part, not weariness, nor neglect: I thought of + you; I was convinced that the Cerceris [a digger wasp] cave had more fair + secrets to reveal to us, that the chase of the Sphex held fresh surprises + in store. But time failed me; I was alone, deserted, struggling against + misfortune. Before philosophizing, one had to live. Tell them that; and + they will pardon me. + </p> + <p> + Others again have reproached me with my style, which has not the + solemnity, nay, better, the dryness of the schools. They fear lest a page + that is read without fatigue should not always be the expression of the + truth. Were I to take their word for it, we are profound only on condition + of being obscure. Come here, one and all of you—you, the sting + bearers, and you, the wing-cased armor-clads—take up my defense and + bear witness in my favor. Tell of the intimate terms on which I live with + you, of the patience with which I observe you, of the care with which I + record your actions. Your evidence is unanimous: yes, my pages, though + they bristle not with hollow formulas nor learned smatterings, are the + exact narrative of facts observed, neither more nor less; and whoever + cares to question you in his turn will, obtain the same replies. + </p> + <p> + And then, my dear insects, if you cannot convince those good people, + because you do not carry the weight of tedium, I, in my turn, will say to + them: 'You rip up the animal and I study it alive; you turn it into an + object of horror and pity, whereas I cause it to be loved; you labor in a + torture chamber and dissecting room, I make my observations under the blue + sky to the song of the cicadas, you subject cell and protoplasm to + chemical tests, I study instinct in its loftiest manifestations; you pry + into death, I pry into life. And why should I not complete my thought: the + boars have muddied the clear stream; natural history, youth's glorious + study, has, by dint of cellular improvements, become a hateful and + repulsive thing. Well, if I write for men of learning, for philosophers, + who, one day, will try to some extent to unravel the tough problem of + instinct, I write also, I write above all things for the young. I want to + make them love the natural history which you make them hate; and that is + why, while keeping strictly to the domain of truth, I avoid your + scientific prose, which too often, alas seems borrowed from some Iroquois + idiom. + </p> + <p> + But this is not my business for the moment: I want to speak of the bit of + land long cherished in my plans to form a laboratory of living entomology, + the bit of land which I have at last obtained in the solitude of a little + village. It is a harmas, the name given, in this district [the country + round Serignan, in Provence], to an untilled, pebbly expanse abandoned to + the vegetation of the thyme. It is too poor to repay the work of the plow; + but the sheep passes there in spring, when it has chanced to rain and a + little grass shoots up. + </p> + <p> + My harmas, however, because of its modicum of red earth swamped by a huge + mass of stones, has received a rough first attempt at cultivation: I am + told that vines once grew here. And, in fact, when we dig the ground + before planting a few trees, we turn up, here and there, remains of the + precious stock, half carbonized by time. The three pronged fork, + therefore, the only implement of husbandry that can penetrate such a soil + as this, has entered here; and I am sorry, for the primitive vegetation + has disappeared. No more thyme, no more lavender, no more clumps of kermes + oak, the dwarf oak that forms forests across which we step by lengthening + our stride a little. As these plants, especially the first two, might be + of use to me by offering the Bees and Wasps a spoil to forage, I am + compelled to reinstate them in the ground whence they were driven by the + fork. + </p> + <p> + What abounds without my mediation is the invaders of any soil that is + first dug up and then left for a long time to its own resources. We have, + in the first rank, the couch grass, that execrable weed which three years + of stubborn warfare have not succeeded in exterminating. Next, in respect + of number, come the centauries, grim looking one and all, bristling with + prickles or starry halberds. They are the yellow-flowered centaury, the + mountain centaury, the star thistle and the rough centaury: the first + predominates. Here and there, amid their inextricable confusion, stands, + like a chandelier with spreading, orange flowers for lights, the fierce + Spanish oyster plant, whose spikes are strong as nails. Above it, towers + the Illyrian cotton thistle, whose straight and solitary stalk soars to a + height of three to six feet and ends in large pink tufts. Its armor hardly + yields before that of the oyster plant. Nor must we forget the lesser + thistle tribe, with first of all, the prickly or 'cruel' thistle, which is + so well armed that the plant collector knows not where to grasp it; next, + the spear thistle, with its ample foliage, ending each of its veins with a + spear head; lastly, the black knapweed, which gathers itself into a spiky + knot. In among these, in long lines armed with hooks, the shoots of the + blue dewberry creep along the ground. To visit the prickly thicket when + the Wasp goes foraging, you must wear boots that come to mid-leg or else + resign yourself to a smarting in the calves. As long as the ground retains + a few remnants of the vernal rains, this rude vegetation does not lack a + certain charm, when the pyramids of the oyster plant and the slender + branches of the cotton thistle rise above the wide carpet formed by the + yellow-flowered centaury saffron heads; but let the droughts of summer + come and we see but a desolate waste, which the flame of a match would set + ablaze from one end to the other. Such is, or rather was, when I took + possession of it, the Eden of bliss where I mean to live henceforth alone + with the insect. Forty years of desperate struggle have won it for me. + </p> + <p> + Eden, I said; and, from the point of view that interests me, the + expression is not out of place. This cursed ground, which no one would + have had at a gift to sow with a pinch of turnip seed, is an earthly + paradise for the bees and wasps. Its mighty growth of thistles and + centauries draws them all to me from everywhere around. Never, in my + insect hunting memories, have I seen so large a population at a single + spot; all the trades have made it their rallying point. Here come hunters + of every kind of game, builders in clay, weavers of cotton goods, + collectors of pieces cut from a leaf or the petals of a flower, architects + in pasteboard, plasterers mixing mortar, carpenters boring wood, miners + digging underground galleries, workers handling goldbeater's skin and many + more. + </p> + <p> + Who is this one? An Anthidium [a tailor bee]. She scrapes the cobwebby + stalk of the yellow-flowered centaury and gathers a ball of wadding which + she carries off proudly in the tips of her mandibles. She will turn it, + under ground, into cotton felt satchels to hold the store of honey and the + egg. And these others, so eager for plunder? They are Megachiles + [leaf-cutting bees], carrying under their bellies their black, white or + blood red reaping brushes. They will leave the thistles to visit the + neighboring shrubs and there cut from the leaves oval pieces which will be + made into a fit receptacle to contain the harvest. And these, clad in + black velvet? They are Chalicodomae [mason bees], who work with cement and + gravel. We could easily find their masonry on the stones in the harmas. + And these noisily buzzing with a sudden flight? They are the Anthophorae + [wild bees], who live in the old walls and the sunny banks of the + neighborhood. + </p> + <p> + Now come the Osmiae. One stacks her cells in the spiral staircase of an + empty snail shell; another, attacking the pith of a dry bit of bramble, + obtains for her grubs a cylindrical lodging and divides it into floors by + means of partition walls; a third employs the natural channel of a cut + reed; a fourth is a rent-free tenant of the vacant galleries of some mason + bee. Here are the Macrocerae and the Eucerae, whose males are proudly + horned; the Dasypodae, who carry an ample brush of bristles on their hind + legs for a reaping implement; the Andrenae, so manifold in species; the + slender-bellied Halicti [all wild bees]. I omit a host of others. If I + tried to continue this record of the guests of my thistles, it would + muster almost the whole of the honey yielding tribe. A learned + entomologist of Bordeaux, Professor Perez, to whom I submit the naming of + my prizes, once asked me if I had any special means of hunting, to send + him so many rarities and even novelties. I am not at all an experienced + and, still less, a zealous hunter, for the insect interests me much more + when engaged in its work than when struck on a pin in a cabinet. The whole + secret of my hunting is reduced to my dense nursery of thistles and + centauries. + </p> + <p> + By a most fortunate chance, with this populous family of honey gatherers + was allied the whole hunting tribe. The builders' men had distributed here + and there in the harmas great mounds of sand and heaps of stones, with a + view to running up some surrounding walls. The work dragged on slowly; and + the materials found occupants from the first year. The mason bees had + chosen the interstices between the stones as a dormitory where to pass the + night, in serried groups. The powerful eyed lizard, who, when close + pressed, attacks both man and dog, wide mouthed, had selected a cave + wherein to lie in wait for the passing scarab [a dung beetle also known as + the sacred beetle]; the black-eared chat, garbed like a Dominican, + white-frocked with black wings, sat on the top stone, singing his short + rustic lay: his nest, with its sky blue eggs, must be somewhere in the + heap. The little Dominican disappeared with the loads of stones. I regret + him: he would have been a charming neighbor. The eyed lizard I do not + regret at all. + </p> + <p> + The sand sheltered a different colony. Here, the Bembeces [digger wasps] + were sweeping the threshold of their burrows, flinging a curve of dust + behind them; the Languedocian Sphex was dragging her Ephippigera [a green + grasshopper] by the antennae; a Stizus [a hunting wasp] was storing her + preserves of Cicadellae [froghoppers]. To my sorrow, the masons ended by + evicting the sporting tribe; but, should I ever wish to recall it, I have + but to renew the mounds of sand: they will soon all be there. + </p> + <p> + Hunters that have not disappeared, their homes being different, are the + Ammophilae, whom I see fluttering, one in spring, the others in autumn, + along the garden walks and over the lawns, in search of a caterpillar; the + Pompili [digger or hunting wasp], who travel alertly, beating their wings + and rummaging in every corner in quest of a spider. The largest of them + waylays the Narbonne Lycosa [known also as the black-bellied tarantula], + whose burrow is not infrequent in the harmas. This burrow is a vertical + well, with a curb of fescue grass intertwined with silk. You can see the + eyes of the mighty Spider gleam at the bottom of the den like little + diamonds, an object of terror to most. What a prey and what dangerous + hunting for the Pompilus! And here, on a hot summer afternoon, is the + Amazon ant, who leaves her barrack rooms in long battalions and marches + far afield to hunt for slaves. We will follow her in her raids when we + find time. Here again, around a heap of grasses turned to mould, are + Scoliae [large hunting wasps] an inch and a half long, who fly gracefully + and dive into the heap, attracted by a rich prey, the grubs of + Lamellicorns, Orycotes and Ceotoniae [various beetles]. + </p> + <p> + What subjects for study! And there are more to come. The house was as + utterly deserted as the ground. When man was gone and peace assured, the + animal hastily seized on everything. The warbler took up his abode in the + lilac shrubs; the greenfinch settled in the thick shelter of the + cypresses; the sparrow carted rags and straw under every slate; the Serin + finch, whose downy nest is no bigger than half an apricot, came and + chirped in the plane tree tops; the Scops made a habit of uttering his + monotonous, piping note here, of an evening; the bird of Pallas Athene, + the owl, came hurrying along to hoot and hiss. + </p> + <p> + In front of the house is a large pond, fed by the aqueduct that supplies + the village pumps with water. Here, from half a mile and more around, come + the frogs and Toads in the lovers' season. The natterjack, sometimes as + large as a plate, with a narrow stripe of yellow down his back, makes his + appointments here to take his bath; when the evening twilight falls, we + see hopping along the edge the midwife toad, the male, who carries a + cluster of eggs, the size of peppercorns, wrapped round his hindlegs: the + genial paterfamilias has brought his precious packet from afar, to leave + it in the water and afterwards retire under some flat stone, whence he + will emit a sound like a tinkling bell. Lastly, when not croaking amid the + foliage, the tree frogs indulge in the most graceful dives. And so, in + May, as soon as it is dark, the pond becomes a deafening orchestra: it is + impossible to talk at table, impossible to sleep. We had to remedy this by + means perhaps a little too rigorous. What could we do? He who tries to + sleep and cannot needs becomes ruthless. + </p> + <p> + Bolder still, the wasp has taken possession of the dwelling house. On my + door sill, in a soil of rubbish, nestles the white-banded Sphex: when I go + indoors, I must be careful not to damage her burrows, not to tread upon + the miner absorbed in her work. It is quite a quarter of a century since I + last saw the saucy cricket hunter. When I made her acquaintance, I used to + visit her at a few miles' distance: each time, it meant an expedition + under the blazing August sun. Today, I find her at my door; we are + intimate neighbors. The embrasure of the closed window provides an + apartment of a mild temperature for the Pelopaeus [a mason wasp]. The + earth-built nest is fixed against the freestone wall. To enter her home, + the spider huntress uses a little hole left open by accident in the + shutters. On the moldings of the Venetian blinds, a few stray mason bees + build their group of cells; inside the outer shutters, left ajar, a + Eumenes [a mason wasp] constructs her little earthen dome, surmounted by a + short, bell-mouthed neck. The common wasp and the Polistes [a solitary + wasp] are my dinner guests: they visit my table to see if the grapes + served are as ripe as they look. + </p> + <p> + Here, surely—and the list is far from complete—is a company + both numerous and select, whose conversation will not fail to charm my + solitude, if I succeed in drawing it out. My dear beasts of former days, + my old friends, and others, more recent acquaintances, all are here, + hunting, foraging, building in close proximity. Besides, should we wish to + vary the scene of observation, the mountain [Ventoux] is but a few hundred + steps away, with its tangle of arbutus, rock roses and arborescent + heather; with its sandy spaces dear to the Bembeces; with its marly slopes + exploited by different wasps and bees. And that is why, foreseeing these + riches, I have abandoned the town for the village and come to Serignan to + weed my turnips and water my lettuces. + </p> + <p> + Laboratories are being founded, at great expense, on our Atlantic and + Mediterranean coasts, where people cut up small sea animals, of but meager + interest to us; they spend a fortune on powerful microscopes, delicate + dissecting instruments, engines of capture, boats, fishing crews, + aquariums, to find out how the yolk of an Annelid's egg is constructed, a + question whereof I have never yet been able to grasp the full importance; + and they scorn the little land animal, which lives in constant touch with + us, which provides universal psychology with documents of inestimable + value, which too often threatens the public wealth by destroying our + crops. When shall we have an entomological laboratory for the study not of + the dead insect, steeped in alcohol, but of the living insect; a + laboratory having for its object the instinct, the habits, the manner of + living, the work, the struggles, the propagation of that little world, + with which agriculture and philosophy have most seriously to reckon? + </p> + <p> + To know thoroughly the history of the destroyer of our vines might perhaps + be more important than to know how this or that nerve fiber of a Cirriped + [sea animals with hair-like legs, including the barnacles and acorn + shells] ends; to establish by experiment the line of demarcation between + intellect and instinct; to prove, by comparing facts in the zoological + progression, whether human reason be an irreducible faculty or not: all + this ought surely to take precedence of the number of joints in a + Crustacean's antenna. These enormous questions would need an army of + workers; and we have not one. The fashion is all for the Mollusk and the + Zoophytes [plant-like sea animals, including starfishes, jellyfishes, sea + anemones and sponges]. The depths of the sea are explored with many drag + nets; the soil which we tread is consistently disregarded. While waiting + for the fashion to change, I open my harmas laboratory of living + entomology; and this laboratory shall not cost the ratepayers one + farthing. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. THE ANTHRAX + </h2> + <p> + I made the acquaintance of the Anthrax in 1855 at Carpentras, at the time + when the life history of the oil beetles was causing me to search the tall + slopes beloved of the Anthophora bees [mason bees]. Her curious pupae, so + powerfully equipped to force an outlet for the perfect insect incapable of + the least effort, those pupae armed with a multiple plowshare at the fore, + a trident at the rear and rows of harpoons on the back wherewith to rip + open the Osmia bee's cocoon and break through the hard crust of the + hillside, betokened a field that was worth cultivating. The little that I + said about her at the time brought me urgent entreaties: I was asked for a + circumstantial chapter on the strange fly. The stern necessities of life + postponed to an ever retreating future my beloved investigations, so + miserably stifled. Thirty years have passed; at last, a little leisure is + at hand; and here, in the harmas of my village, with an ardor that has in + no wise grown old, I have resumed my plans of yore, still alive like the + coal smoldering under the ashes. The Anthrax has told me her secrets, + which I in my turn am going to divulge. Would that I could address all + those who cheered me on this path, including first and foremost the + revered Master of the Landes [Leon Dufour]. But the ranks have thinned, + many have been promoted to another world and their disciple lagging behind + them can but record, in memory of those who are no more, the story of the + insect clad in deepest mourning. + </p> + <p> + In the course of July, let us give a few sideward knocks to the bracing + pebbles and detach the nests of the Chalicodoma of the Walls [a mason bee] + from their supports. Loosened by the shock, the dome comes off cleanly, + all in one piece. Moreover—and this is a great advantage—the + cells come into view wide open on the base of the exposed nest, for at + this point they have no other wall than the surface of the pebble. In this + way, without any scraping, which would be wearisome work for the operator + and dangerous to the inhabitants of the dome, we have all the cells before + our eyes, together with their contents, consisting of a silky, + amber-yellow cocoon, as delicate and translucent as an onion peeling. Let + us split the dainty wrapper with the scissors, chamber by chamber, nest by + nest. If fortune be at all propitious, as it always is to the persevering, + we shall end by finding that the cocoons harbor two larvae together, one + more or less faded in appearance, the other fresh and plump. We shall also + find some, no less plentiful, in which the withered larva is accompanied + by a family of little grubs wriggling uneasily around it. + </p> + <p> + Examination at once reveals the tragedy that is happening under the cover + of the cocoon. The flacid and faded larva is the mason bee's. A month ago, + in June, having finished its mess of honey, it wove its silken sheath for + a bedchamber wherein to take the long sleep which is the prelude to the + metamorphosis. Bulging with fat, it is a rich and defenseless morsel for + whoever is able to reach it. Then, in spite of apparently insurmountable + obstacles, the mortar wall and the tent without an opening, the + flesh-eating larvae appeared in the secret retreat and are now glutting + themselves on the sleeper. Three different species take part in the + carnage, often in the same nest, in adjoining cells. The diversity of + shapes informs us of the presence of more than one enemy; the final stage + of the creatures will tell us the names and qualities of the three + invaders. + </p> + <p> + Forestalling the secrets of the future for the sake of greater clearness, + I will anticipate the actual facts and come at once to the results + produced. When it is by itself on the body of the mason bee's larva, the + murderous grub belongs either to Anthrax trifasciata, MEIGEN, or to + Leucospis gigas, FAB. But, if numerous little worms, often a score and + more, swarm around the victim, then it is a Chalcidid's family which we + have before us. Each of these ravagers shall have its biography. Let us + begin with the Anthrax. + </p> + <p> + And first the grub, as it is after consuming its victim, when it remains + the sole occupant of the mason bee's cocoon. It is a naked worm, smooth, + legless and blind, of a creamy dead white, each segment a perfect ring, + very much curved when at rest, but with the tendency to become almost + straight when disturbed. Through the diaphanous skin, the lens + distinguishes patches of fat, which are the cause of its characteristic + coloring. When younger, as a tiny grub a few millimeters long, it is + streaked with two different kinds of stains, some white, opaque and of a + creamy tint, others translucent and of the palest amber. The former come + from adipose masses in course of formation; the second from the nourishing + fluid or from the blood which laves those masses. + </p> + <p> + Including the head, I count thirteen segments. In the middle of the body + these segments are well marked, being separated by a slight groove; but in + the forepart they are difficult to count. The head is small and is soft, + like the rest of the body, with no sign of any mouth parts even under the + close scrutiny of the lens. It is a white globule, the size of a tiny + pin's head and continued at the back by a pad a little larger, from which + it is separated by a scarcely appreciable crease. The whole is a sort of + nipple swelling slightly on the upper surface; and its double structure is + so difficult to perceive that at first we take it for the animal's head + alone, though it includes both the head and the prothorax, or first + segment of the thorax. + </p> + <p> + The mesothorax, or middle segment of the thorax, which is two or three + times larger in diameter, is flattened in front and separated from the + nipple formed by the prothorax and the head by a deep, narrow, curved + fissure. On its front surface are two pale red stigmata, or respiratory + orifices, placed pretty close together. The metathorax, or last segment of + the thorax, is a little larger still in diameter and protrudes. These + abrupt increases in circumference result in a marked hump, sloping sharply + towards the front. The nipple of which the head forms part is set at the + bottom of this hump. + </p> + <p> + After the metathorax, the shape becomes regular and cylindrical, while + decreasing slightly in girth in the last two or three segments. Close to + the line of separation of the last two rings, I am able to distinguish, + not without difficulty, two very small stigmata, just a little darker in + color. They belong to the last segment. In all, four respiratory orifices, + two in front and two behind, as is the rule among Flies. The length of the + full sized larva is 15 to 20 millimeters and its breadth 5 to 6. + </p> + <p> + Remarkable in the first place by the protuberance of its thorax and the + smallness of its head, the grub of the Anthrax acquires exceptional + interest by its manner of feeding. Let us begin by observing that, + deprived of all, even the most rudimentary walking apparatus, the animal + is absolutely incapable of shifting its position. If I disturb its rest, + it curves and straightens itself in turns by a series of contractions, it + tosses about violently where it lies, but does not manage to progress. It + fidgets and gets no farther. We shall see later the magnificent problem + raised by this inertness. + </p> + <p> + For the moment, a most unexpected fact claims all our attention. I refer + to the extreme readiness with which the Anthrax' larva quits and returns + to the Chalicodoma grub on which it is feeding. After witnessing flesh + eating larvae at hundreds and hundreds of meals, I suddenly find myself + confronted with a manner of eating that bears no relation to anything + which I have seen before. I feel myself in a world that baffles my old + experience. Let us recall the table manners of a larva living on prey, the + Ammophila's for instance, when devouring its caterpillar. A hole is made + in the victim's side; and the head and neck of the nursling dive deep into + the wound, to root luxuriously among the entrails. There is never a + withdrawal from the gnawed belly, never a recoil to interrupt the feast + and to take breath awhile. The vivacious animal always goes forward, + chewing, swallowing, digesting, until the caterpillar's skin is emptied of + its contents. Once seated at table, it does not budge as long as the + victuals last. To tease it with a straw is not always enough to induce it + to withdraw its head outside the wound; I have to use violence. When + removed by force and then left to its own devices, the creature hesitates + for a long time, stretches itself and mouths around, without trying to + open a passage through a new wound. It needs the attacking point that has + just been abandoned. If it finds the spot, it makes its way in and resumes + the work of eating; but its future is jeopardized from this time forward, + for the game, now perhaps tackled at inopportune points, is liable to go + bad. + </p> + <p> + With the Anthrax' grub, there is none of this mangling, none of this + persistent clinging to the entrance wound. I have but to tease it with the + tip of a hair pencil and forthwith it retires; and the lens reveals no + wound at the abandoned spot, no such effusion of blood as there would be + if the skin were perforated. When its sense of security is restored, the + grub once more applies its pimple head to the fostering larva, at any + point, no matter where; and, so long as my curiosity does not prevent it, + keeps itself fixed there, without the least effort, or the least + perceptible movement that could account for the adhesion. If I repeat the + touch with the pencil, I see the same sudden retreat and, soon after, the + same contact just as readily renewed. + </p> + <p> + This facility for gripping, quitting and regripping, now here, now there + and always without a wound, the part of the victim whence the nourishment + is drawn tells us of itself that the mouth of the Anthrax is not armed + with mandibular fangs capable of digging into the skin and tearing it. If + the flesh were gashed by any such pincers, one or two attempts would be + necessary before they could be released or reapplied; besides, each point + bitten would display a lesion. Well, there is nothing of the kind: a + conscientious examination through the magnifying glass shows conclusively + that the skin is intact; the grub glues its mouth to its prey or withdraws + it with an ease that can only be explained by a process of simple contact. + This being so, the Anthrax does not chew its food as do the other + carnivorous grubs; it does not eat, it inhales. + </p> + <p> + This method of taking nourishment implies an exceptional apparatus of the + mouth, into which it behooves us to inquire before continuing. My most + powerful magnifying glass at last discovers, at the center of the pimple + head, a small spot of an amber-russet color; and that is all. For a more + exhaustive examination we will employ the microscope. I cut off the + strange pimple with the scissors, wash it in a drop of water and place it + on the object slide. The mouth now stands revealed as a round spot which, + for hue and for the smallness of its size, may be compared with the front + stigmata. It is a small conical crater, with sides of a pale yellowish-red + and with faint, more or less concentric lines. At the bottom of this + funnel is the opening of the gullet, itself tinted red in front and + promptly spreading into a cone at the back. There is not the slightest + trace of mandibular fangs, of jaws, of mouth parts for seizing and + grinding. Everything is reduced to the bowl shaped opening, with a + delicate lining of horny texture, as is shown by the amber hue and the + concentric streaks. When I look for some term to designate this digestive + entrance, of which so far I know no other example, I can find only that of + a sucker or cupping glass. Its attack is a mere kiss, but what a + perfidious kiss! + </p> + <p> + We know the machine; now let us see the working. To facilitate + observation, I shifted the newborn Anthrax grub, together with the + Chalicodoma grub, its wet nurse, from the natal cell into a glass tube. I + was thus able, by employing as many tubes as I wanted, to follow from + start to finish, in all its most intimate details, the strange repast + which I am going to describe. + </p> + <p> + The worm is fixed by its sucker to any convenient part of the nurse, plump + and fat as butter. It is ready to break off its kiss suddenly, should + anything disquiet it, and to resume it as easily when tranquillity is + restored. No Lamb enjoys greater liberty with its mother's teat. After + three or four days of this contact of the nurse and nursling, the former, + at first replete and endowed with the glossy skin that is a sign of + health, begins to assume a withered aspect. Her sides fall in, her fresh + color fades, her skin becomes covered with little folds and gives evidence + of an appreciable shrinking in this breast which, instead of milk, yields + fat and blood. A week is hardly past before the progress of the exhaustion + becomes startlingly rapid. The nurse is flabby and wrinkled, as though + borne down by her own weight, like a very slack object. If I move her from + her place, she flops and sprawls like a half-filled water bottle over the + new supporting plane. But the Anthrax' kiss goes on emptying her: soon she + is but a sort of shriveled lard bag, decreasing from hour to hour, from + which the sucker draws a few last oily drains. At length, between the + twelfth and the fifteenth day, all that remains of the larva of the mason + bee is a white granule, hardly as large as a pin's head. + </p> + <p> + This granule is the water bottle drained to the last drop, is the nurse's + breast emptied of all its contents. I soften the meager remnant in water; + then, keeping it still immersed, I blow into it through an extremely + attenuated glass tube. The skin fills out, distends and resumes the shape + of the larva, without there being an outlet anywhere for the compressed + air. It is intact, therefore; it is free of any perforation, which would + be forthwith revealed under the water by an escape of gas. And so, under + the Anthrax' cupping glass, the oily bottle has been drained by a simple + transpiration through the membrane; the substance of the nurse grub has + been transfused into the body of the nursling by a process akin to that + known in physics as endosmosis. What should we say to a method of being + suckled by the mere application of the mouth to a teatless breast? What we + see here may be compared with that: without any outlet, the milk of the + Chalicodoma grub passes into the stomach of the Anthrax' larva. + </p> + <p> + Is it really an instance of endosmosis? Might it not rather be atmospheric + pressure that stimulates the flow of nourishing fluids and distils them + into the Anthrax' cup-shaped mouth, working, in order to create a vacuum, + almost like the suckers of the Cuttlefish? All this is possible, but I + shall refrain from deciding, preferring to assign a large share to the + unknown in this extraordinary method of nutrition. It ought, I think, to + provide physiologists with a field of research in which new views on the + hydrodynamics of live fluids might well be gleaned; and this field + trenches upon others that would also yield rich harvests. The brief span + of my days compels me to set the problem without seeking to solve it. + </p> + <p> + And the second problem is this: the Chalicodoma grub destined to feed the + Anthrax is without a wound of any kind. The mother of the tiny larva is a + feeble Fly deprived of whatsoever weapon capable of injuring her + offspring's prey. Moreover, she is absolutely powerless to penetrate the + mason bee's fortress, powerless as a fluff of down against a rock. On this + point there is no doubt: the future wet nurse of the Anthrax has not been + paralyzed as are the live provisions collected by the Hunting Wasps; she + has received no bite nor scratch nor contusion of any sort; she has + experienced nothing out of the common: in short, she is in her normal + state. The billeted nursling arrives, we shall presently see how; he + arrives, scarcely visible, almost defying the scrutiny of the lens; and, + having made his preparations, he installs himself, he, the atom, upon the + monstrous nurse, whom he is to drain to the very husk. And she, not + paralyzed by a preliminary vivisection, endowed with all her normal + vitality, lets him have his way, lets herself be sucked dry, with the + utmost apathy. Not a tremor in her outraged flesh, not a quiver of + resistance. No corpse could show greater indifference to the bite which it + receives. + </p> + <p> + Ah, but the maggot has chosen the hour of attack with traitorous cunning! + Had it appeared upon the scene earlier, when the larva was consuming its + store of honey, things of a surety would have gone badly with it. The + assaulted one, feeling herself bled to death by that ravenous kiss, would + have protested with much wriggling of body and grinding of mandibles. The + position would have ceased to be tenable and the intruder would have + perished. But at this hour all danger has disappeared. Enclosed in its + silken tent, the larva is seized with the lethargy that precedes the + metamorphosis. Its condition is not death, but neither is it life. It is + an intermediary condition; it is almost the latent vitality of grain or + egg. Therefore there is no sign of irritation on the larva's part under + the needle with which I stir it and still less under the sucker of the + Anthrax grub, which is able to drain the affluent breast in perfect + safety. + </p> + <p> + This lack of resistance, induced by the torpor of the transformation, + appears to me necessary, in view of the weakness of the nursling as it + leaves the egg, whenever the mother is herself incapable of depriving the + victim of the power of self defense. And so the nonparalyzed larvae are + attacked during the period of the nymphosis. We shall soon see other + instances of this. + </p> + <p> + Motionless though it be, the Chalicodoma grub is none the less alive. The + primrose tint and the glossy skin are unequivocal signs of health: Were it + really dead, it would, in less than twenty-four hours, turn a dirty brown + and, soon after, decompose into a fluid putrescence. Now here is the + marvelous thing: during the fortnight, roughly, that the Anthrax' meal + lasts, the butter color of the larva, an unfailing symptom of the presence + of life, continues unaltered and does not change into brown, the sign of + putrefaction, until hardly anything remains; and even then the brown hue + is often absent. As a rule, the look of live flesh is preserved until the + final pellet, formed of the skin, the sole residue, makes its appearance. + This pellet is white, with not a speck of tainted matter, proving that + life persists until the body is reduced to nothing. + </p> + <p> + We here witness the transfusion of one animal into another, the change of + Chalicodoma substance into Anthrax substance; and, as long as the + transfusion is not complete, as long as the eaten has not disappeared + altogether and become the eater, the ruined organism fights against + destruction. What manner of life is this, which may be compared with the + life of a night light whose extinction is not accomplished until the last + drop of oil has burnt away? How is any creature able to fight against the + final tragedy of corruption up to the last moment in which a nucleus of + matter remains as the seat of vital energy? The forces of the living + creature are here dissipated not through any disturbance of the + equilibrium of those forces, but for the want of any point of application + for them: the larva dies because materially there is no more of it. + </p> + <p> + Can we be in the presence of the diffusive life of the plant, a life which + persists in a fragment? By no means: the grub is a more delicate organic + structure. There is unity between the several parts; and none of them can + be jeopardized without involving the ruin of the others. If I myself give + the larva a wound, if I bruise it, the whole body very soon turns brown + and begins to rot. It dies and decomposes by the mere prick of a needle; + it keeps alive, or at least preserves the freshness of the live tissues, + so long as it is not entirely emptied by the Anthrax' sucker. A nothing + kills it; an atrocious wasting does not. No, I fail to understand the + problem; and I bequeath it to others. + </p> + <p> + All that I can see by way of a glimpse—and even then I put forward + my suspicions with extreme reserve—all that I am permitted to + surmise is reduced to this: the substance of the sleeping larva as yet has + no very definite static existence; it is like the raw materials collected + for a building; it is waiting for the elaboration that is to make a bee of + it. To mould those shapeless lumps of the future insect, the air, that + prime adjuster of living things, circulates among them, passing through a + network of ducts. To organize them, to direct the placing of them, the + nervous system, the embryo of the animal, distributes its ramifications + over them. Nerve and air duct, therefore, are the essentials; the rest is + so much material in reserve for the process of the metamorphosis. As long + as that material is not employed, as long as it has not acquired its final + equilibrium, it can grow less and less; and life, though languishing, will + continue all the same on the express condition that the respiratory organs + and the nervous filaments be respected. It is as it were the flame of the + lamp, which, whether full or empty, continues to give light so long as the + wick is soaked in oil. Nothing but fluids, the plastic materials held in + reserve, can be distilled by the Anthrax' sucker through the unpierced + skin of the grub; no part of the respiratory and nervous systems passes. + As the two essential functions remain unscathed, life goes on until + exhaustion is completed. On the other hand, if I myself injure the larva, + I disturb the nervous or air conducting filaments; and the bruised part + spreads a taint, followed by putrefaction, all over the body. + </p> + <p> + I have elsewhere, speaking of the Scolia [a digger wasp] devouring the + Cetonia grub, enlarged upon this refined art of eating which consists in + consuming the prey while killing it only at the last mouthfuls. The + Anthrax has the same requirements as his competitors who dine off fresh + viands. He needs meat of that day, taken from a single joint that has to + last a fortnight without going bad. His method of consuming reaches the + highest level of art: he does not cut into his prey, he sips it little by + little through his sucker. In this way, any dangerous risk is averted. + Whether he imbibe at this spot or at that, even if he abandon the sucking + process and resume it later, by no accident can he ever attack that which + it is incumbent upon him to respect lest corruption supervene. The others + have a fixed position on the victim, a place at which their mandibles have + to bite and enter. If they move away from it, if they miss the appointed + path, they imperil their existence. The Anthrax, more highly favored, puts + his mouth where it suits him; he leaves off when he pleases and when he + pleases starts again. + </p> + <p> + Unless I labor under a delusion, I think that I see the necessity for this + privilege. The egg of the carnivorous burrower is firmly fixed on the + victim at a point which varies considerably, it is true, according to the + nature of the prey, but which is uniform for the same species of prey; + moreover—and this is an important condition—the point of + adhesion of that egg is always the head, whereas the egg of a bee, of the + Osmia, for instance, is fixed to the mess of honey by the hinder end. When + hatched, the new born Wasp grub has not to choose for itself, at its risk + and peril, the suitable point at which to take the first cut in the quarry + without fear of killing it too quickly: all that it need do is to bite at + the spot where it has just been born. The mother, with her unfailing + instinct, has already made the dangerous choice; she has stuck her egg on + the propitious spot and, by the very act of doing so, marked out the + course for the inexperienced grub to follow. The tact of ripe age here + guides the young larva's behavior at table. + </p> + <p> + The conditions are very different in the Anthrax' case. The egg is not + placed upon the victuals, it is not even laid in the mason bee's cell. + This is the natural consequence of the mother's feeble frame and of her + lack of any instrument, such as a probe or auger, capable of piercing the + mortar wall. It is for the newly hatched grub to make its own way into the + dwelling. It enters, finds itself in the presence of ample provisions, the + larva of the mason bee. Free of its actions, it is at liberty to attack + the prey where it chooses; or rather the attacking point will be decided + at haphazard by the first contact of the mouth in quest of food. Grant + this mouth a set of carving tools, jaws and mandibles; in short, suppose + the grub of the Fly to possess a manner of eating similar to that of the + other carnivorous larvae; and the nursling is at once threatened with a + speedy death. He will split open his nurse's belly, he will dig without + any rule to guide him, he will bite at random, essentials as well as + accessories; and, from one day to the next, he will set up gangrene in the + violated mass, even as I myself do when I give it a wound. For the lack of + an attacking point prescribed for him at birth, he will perish on the + damaged provisions. His freedom of action will have killed him. + </p> + <p> + Certainly, liberty is a noble attribute, even in an insignificant grub; + but it also has its dangers everywhere. The Anthrax escapes the peril only + on the condition of being, so to speak, muzzled. His mouth is not a fierce + forceps that tears asunder; it is a sucker that exhausts but does not + wound. Thus restrained by this safety appliance, which changes the bite + into a kiss, the grub has fresh victuals until it has finished growing, + although it knows nothing of the rules of methodical consumption at a + fixed point and in a predetermined direction. + </p> + <p> + The considerations which I have set forth seem to me strictly logical: the + Anthrax, owing to the very fact that he is free to take his nourishment + where he pleases on the body of the fostering larva, must, for his own + protection, be made incapable of opening his victim's body. I am so + utterly convinced of this harmonious relation between the eater and the + eaten that I do not hesitate to set it up as a principle. I will therefore + say this: whenever the egg of any kind of insect is not fastened to the + larva destined for its food, the young grub, free to select the attacking + point and to change it at will, is as it were muzzled and consumes its + provisions by a sort of suction, without inflicting any appreciable wound. + This restriction is essential to the maintenance of the victuals in good + condition. My principle is already supported by examples many and various, + whose depositions are all to the same effect. The witnesses include, after + the Anthrax, the Leucospis [a parasitic insect] and his rivals, whose + evidence we shall hear presently; the Ephialtes mediator [an Ichneumon + fly], who feeds, in the dry brambles, on the larva of the Black Psen [a + digger wasp]; the Myodites, that strange, fly-shaped beetle whose grub + consumes the larva of the cockchafer. All—flies, ichneumon flies and + beetles—scrupulously spare their foster mother; they are careful not + to tear her skin, so that the vessel may keep its liquid good to the last. + </p> + <p> + The wholesomeness of the victuals is not the only condition imposed: I + find a second, which is no less essential. The substance of the fostering + larva must be sufficiently fluid to ooze through the unbroken skin under + the action of the sucker. Well, the necessary fluidity is realized as the + time of the metamorphosis draws near. When they wished Medea to restore + Pelias to the vigor of youth, his daughters cut the old king's body to + pieces and boiled it in a cauldron, for there can be no new existence + without a prior dissolution. We must pull down before we can rebuild; the + analysis of death is the first step towards the synthesis of life. The + substance of the grub that is to be transformed into a bee begins, + therefore, by disintegrating and dissolving into a fluid broth. The + materials of the future insect are obtained by a general recasting. Even + as the founder puts his old bronzes into the melting pot in order + afterwards to cast them in a mould whence the metal will issue in a + different shape, so life liquefies the grub, a mere digesting machine, now + thrown aside, and out of its running matter produces the perfect insect, + bee, butterfly or beetle, the final manifestation of the living creature. + </p> + <p> + Let us open a Chalicodoma grub under the microscope, during the period of + torpor. Its contents consists almost entirely of a liquid broth, in which + swim numberless oily globules and a fine dust of uric acid, a sort of + off-throw of the oxidized tissues. A flowing thing, shapeless and + nameless, is all that the animal is, if we add abundant ramified air + ducts, some nervous filaments and, under the skin, a thin layer of + muscular fibers. A condition of this kind accounts for a fatty + transpiration through the skin when the Anthrax' sucker is at work. At any + other time, when the larva is in the active period or else when the insect + has reached the perfect stage, the firmness of the tissues would resist + the transfusion and the suckling of the Anthrax would become a difficult + matter, or even impossible. In point of fact, I find the grub of the fly + established, in the vast majority of cases, on the sleeping larva and + sometimes, but rarely, on the pupa. Never do I see it on the vigorous + larva eating its honey; and hardly ever on the insect brought to + perfection, as we find it enclosed in its cell all through the autumn and + winter. And we can say the same of the other grub eaters that drain their + victims without wounding them: all are engaged in their death dealing work + during the period of torpor, when the tissues are fluidified. They empty + their patient, who has become a bag of running grease with a diffused + life; but not one, among those I know, reaches the Anthrax' perfection in + the art of extraction. + </p> + <p> + Nor can any be compared with the Anthrax as regards the means brought into + play in order to leave the cell. These others, when they become perfect + insects, have implements for sapping and demolishing, stout mandibles, + capable of digging the ground, of pulling down clay partition walls and + even of reducing the mason bee's tough cement to powder. The Anthrax, in + her final form, has nothing like this. Her mouth is a short, soft + proboscis, good at most for soberly licking the sugary exudations of the + flowers; her slim legs are so feeble that to move a grain of sand were an + excessive task for them, enough to strain every joint; her great, stiff + wings, which must remain full spread, do not allow her to slip through a + narrow passage; her delicate suit of downy velvet, from which you take the + bloom by merely breathing on it, could not withstand the rough contact of + the gallery of a mine. Unable herself to enter the Mason bee's cell to lay + her egg, she cannot leave it either, when the time comes to free herself + and appear in broad daylight in her wedding dress. The larva, on its side, + is powerless to prepare the way for the coming flight. That buttery little + cylinder, owning no tools but a sucker so flimsy that it barely arrives at + substance and so small that it is almost a geometrical point, is even + weaker than the adult insect, which at least flies and walks. The Mason + bee's cell represents to it a granite cave. How to get out? The problem + would be insoluble to those two incapables, if nothing else played its + part. + </p> + <p> + Among insects, the nymph, or pupa, the transition stage between the larval + and the adult form, is generally a striking picture of every weakness of a + budding organism. A sort of mummy tight bound in swaddling clothes, + motionless and impassive, it awaits the resurrection. Its tender tissues + flow in every direction; its limbs, transparent as crystal, are held fixed + in their place, along the side, lest a movement should disturb the + exquisite delicacy of the work in course of accomplishment. Even so, to + secure his recovery, is a broken boned patient held captive in the + surgeon's bandages. Absolute stillness is necessary in both cases, lest + they be crippled or even die. + </p> + <p> + Well, here, by a strange inversion that confuses all our views on life, a + Cyclopean task is laid upon the nymph of the Anthrax. It is the nymph that + has to toil, to strive, to exhaust itself in efforts to burst the wall and + open the way out. To the embryo falls the desperate duty, which shows no + mercy to the nascent flesh; to the adult insect the joy of resting in the + sun. This transposition of functions has as its result a well sinker's + equipment in the nymph, an eccentric, complicated equipment which nothing + suggested in the larva and which nothing recalls in the perfect insect. + The set of tools includes an assortment of plowshares, gimlets, hooks and + spears and of other implements that are not found in our trades nor named + in our dictionaries. Let us do our best to describe the strange piercing + gear. + </p> + <p> + In a fortnight at most, the Anthrax has consumed the Chalicodoma grub, + whereof naught remains but the skin, gathered into a white granule. By the + time that July is nearly over, it becomes rare to find any nurslings left + upon their nurses. From this period until the following May, nothing fresh + happens. The Anthrax retains its larval shape without any appreciable + change and lies motionless in the mason bee's cocoon, beside the pellet + remains. When the fine days of May arrive, the grub shrivels and casts its + skin and the nymph appears, fully clad in a stout, reddish, horny hide. + </p> + <p> + The head is round and large, separated from the thorax by a strangulated + furrow, crowned on top and in front with a sort of diadem of six hard, + sharp, black spikes, arranged in a semicircle whose concave side faces + downward. These spikes decrease slightly in length from the summit to the + ends of the arch. Taken together, they suggest the radial crowns which we + see the Roman emperors of the Decadence wear on the medals. This six-fold + plowshare is the chief excavating tool. Lower down, on the median line, + the instrument is finished off with a separate group of two small black + spikes, placed close together. + </p> + <p> + The thorax is smooth, the wing cases large, folded under the body like a + scarf and coming almost to the middle of the abdomen. This has nine + segments, of which four, starting with the second, are armed, on the back, + down the middle, with a belt of little horny arches, pale brown in color, + drawn up parallel to one another, set in the skin by their convex surfaces + and finishing at both ends with a hard, black point. Altogether, the belt + thus forms a double row of little thorns, with a hollow in between. I + count about twenty-five twin-toothed arches to one segment, which gives a + total of two hundred spikes for the four rings thus armed. + </p> + <p> + The use of this rasp, or grater, is obvious: it gives the nymph a purchase + on the wall of its gallery as the work proceeds. Thus anchored on a host + of points, the stern pioneer is able to hit the obstacle harder with its + diadem of awls. Moreover, to make it more difficult for the instrument to + recoil, long, stiff bristles, pointing backwards, are scattered here and + there among the climbing belts. There are some besides on the other + segments, both on the ventral and the dorsal surface. On the flanks, they + are thicker and arranged as it were in clusters. + </p> + <p> + The sixth segment carries a similar belt, but a much less powerful one, + consisting of a single row of unassuming thorns. The belt is weaker still + on the seventh segment; lastly, on the eighth, it is reduced to a mere + rough brown shading. Commencing with the sixth, the rings decrease in + width and the abdomen ends in a cone, the extremity of which, formed of + the ninth segment, constitutes a weapon of a new kind. It is a sheaf of + eight brown spikes. The last two exceed the others in length and stand out + from the group in a double terminal plowshare. + </p> + <p> + There is a round air hole in front, on either side of the thorax, and + similar stigmata on the flanks of each of the first seven abdominal + segments. When at rest, the nymph is curved into a bow. When about to act, + it suddenly unbends and straightens itself. It measures 15 to 20 + millimeters long and 4 to 5 millimeters across. + </p> + <p> + Such is the strange perforating machine that is to prepare an outlet for + the feeble Anthrax through the Mason bee's cement. The structural details, + so difficult to explain in words, may be summed up as follows: in front, + on the forehead, a diadem of spikes, the ramming and digging tool; behind, + a many bladed plowshare which fits into a socket and allows the pupa to + slacken suddenly in readiness for an attack on the barrier which has to be + demolished; on the back, four climbing belts, or graters, which keep the + animal in position by biting on the walls of the tunnel with their + hundreds of teeth; and, all over the body, long, stiff bristles, pointing + backwards, to prevent falls or recoils. + </p> + <p> + A similar structure exists in the other species of Anthrax with slight + variations of detail. I will confine myself to one instance, that of + Anthrax sinuata, who thrives at the cost of Osmia tricornis. Her nymph + differs from that of Anthrax trifasciata, the Anthrax of the mason bee, in + possessing less powerful armor. Its four climbing belts consist of only + fifteen to seventeen double spiked arches, instead of twenty-five; also, + the abdominal segments, from the sixth onwards, are supplied merely with + stiff bristles, without a trace of horny spikes. If the evolution of the + various Anthrax flies were better known to us, the number of these arches + would, I believe, be of great service to entomology in the differentiation + of species. I see it remaining constant for any given species, with marked + variations between one species and another. But this is not my business: I + merely call the attention of the classifiers to this field of study and + pass on. + </p> + <p> + About the end of May, the coloring of the nymph, hitherto a light red, + alters greatly and forecasts the coming transformation. The head, the + thorax and the scarf formed by the wings become a handsome, shiny black. A + dark band shows on the back of the four segments with their two rows of + spikes; three spots appear on the two next rings; the anal armor becomes + darker. In this manner we foresee the black livery of the coming insect. + The time has arrived for the pupa to work at the exit gallery. + </p> + <p> + I was anxious to see it in action, not under natural conditions, which + would be impracticable, but in a glass tube in which I confine it between + two thick stoppers of sorghum pith. The space thus marked off is about the + same size as the natal cell. The partitions front and back, although not + so stout as the Chalicodoma's masonry, are nevertheless firm enough not to + yield except to prolonged efforts; on the other hand, the side walls are + smooth and the toothed belts will not be able to grip them: a most + unfavorable condition for the worker. No matter: in the space of a single + day, the pupa pierces the front partition, three quarters of an inch + thick. I see it fixing its double plowshare against the back partition, + arching into a bow and then suddenly releasing itself and striking the + plug in front of it with its barbed forehead. Under the impact of the + spikes, the sorghum slowly crumbles to pieces. It is slow in coming away; + but it comes away all the same, atom by atom. At long intervals, the + method changes. With its crown of awls driven into the pith, the animal + frets and fidgets, sways on the pivot of its anal armor. The work of the + auger follows that of the pickaxe. Then the blows recommence, interspersed + with periods of rest to recover from the fatigue. At last, the hole is + made. The pupa slips into it, but does not pass through entirely: the head + and thorax appear outside; the abdomen remains held in the gallery. + </p> + <p> + The glass cell, with its lack of supports at the side, has certainly + perplexed my subject, which does not seem to have made use of all its + methods. The hole through the sorghum is wide and irregular; it is a + clumsy breach and not a gallery. When made through the mason bee's walls, + it is cylindrical, fairly neat and exactly of the animal's diameter. So I + hope that, under natural conditions, the pupa does not give quite so many + blows with the pickaxe and prefers to work with the drill. + </p> + <p> + Narrowness and evenness in the exit tunnel are necessary to it. It always + remains half caught in it and even pretty securely fixed by the graters on + its back. Only the head and thorax emerge into the outer air. This is a + last precaution for the final deliverance. A fixed support is, in fact, + indispensable to the Anthrax for issuing from her horny sheath, unfurling + her great wings and extricating her slender legs from their scabbards. All + this very delicate work would be endangered by any lack of steadiness. + </p> + <p> + The pupa, therefore, remains fixed by the graters of its back in the + narrow exit gallery and thus supplies the stable equilibrium essential to + the new birth. All is ready. It is time now for the great act. A + transversal cleft makes its appearance on the forehead, at the bottom of + the perforating diadem; a second, but longitudinal slit divides the skull + in two and extends down the thorax. Through this cross-shaped opening, the + Anthrax suddenly appears, all moist with the humors of life's laboratory. + She steadies herself upon her trembling legs, dries her wings and takes to + flight, leaving at the window of the cell her nymphal slough, which keeps + intact for a very long period. The sand-colored fly has five or six weeks + before her, wherein to explore the clay nests amid the thyme and to take + her small share of the joys of life. In July, we shall see her once more, + busy this time with the entrance into the cell, which is even stranger + than the exit. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. ANOTHER PROBER (PERFORATOR) + </h2> + <p> + What can he be called, this creature whose style and title I dare not + inscribe at the head of the chapter? His name is Monodontomerus cupreus, + SM. Just try it, for fun: Mo-no-don-to-me-rus. What a gorgeous mouthful! + What an idea it gives one of some beast of the Apocalypse! We think, when + we pronounce the word, of the prehistoric monsters: the mastodon, the + mammoth, the ponderous megatherium. Well, we are misled by the scientific + label: we have to do with a very paltry insect, smaller than the common + gnat. + </p> + <p> + There are good people like that, only too happy to serve science with + resounding appellations that might come from Timbuktu; they cannot name + you a midge without striking terror into you. O ye wise and revered ones, + ye christeners of animals, I am willing, in my study, to make use—but + not undue use—of your harsh terminology, with its conglomeration of + syllables; but there is a danger of their leaving the sanctum and + appearing before the public, which is always ready to show its lack of + deference for terms that do not respect its ears. I, wishing to speak like + everybody else, so that I may be understood by all, and persuaded that + science has no need of this Brobdignagian jargon, make a point of avoiding + technical nomenclature when it becomes too barbarous, when it threatens to + lumber the page the moment my pen attempts it. And so I abandon + Monodontomerus. + </p> + <p> + It is a puny little insect, almost as tiny as the midges whom we see + eddying in a ray of sunshine at the end of autumn. Its dress is golden + bronze; its eyes are coral red. It carries a naked sword, that is to say, + the sheath of its drill stands out slantwise at the tip of its belly, + instead of lying in a hollow groove along the back, as it does with the + Leucospis. This scabbard holds the latter half of the inoculating + filament, which extends below the animal to the base of the abdomen. In + short, its utensil is that of the Leucospis, with this difference, that + its lower half sticks out like a rapier. + </p> + <p> + This mite that bears a sword upon her rump is yet another persecutor of + the mason bees and not one of the least formidable. She exploits their + nests at the same time as the Leucospis. I see her, like the Leucospis, + slowly explore the ground with her antennae; I see her, like the + Leucospis, bravely drive her dagger into the stone wall. More taken up + with her work, less conscious perhaps of danger, she pays no heed to the + man who is observing her so closely. Where the Leucospis flies, she does + not budge. So great is her assurance that she comes right into my study, + to my work table, and disputes my ownership of the nests whose occupants I + am examining. She operates under my lens, she operates just beside my + forceps. What risk does she run? What can one do to a thing so very small? + She is so certain of her safety that I can take the Mason's nest in my + hand, move it, put it down and take it up again without the insect's + raising any objection: it continues its work even when my magnifying glass + is placed over it. + </p> + <p> + One of these heroines has come to inspect a nest of the Chalicodoma of the + Walls, most of whose cells are occupied by the numerous cocoons of a + parasite, the Stelis. The contents of these cells, which have been + partially ripped up to satisfy my curiosity, are very much exposed to + view. The windfall appears to be appreciated, for I see the dwarf ferret + about from cell to cell for four days on end, see her choose her cocoon + and insert her awl in the most approved fashion. I thus learn that sight, + although an indispensable guide in searching, does not decide upon the + proper spot for the operation. Here is an insect exploring not the stony + exterior of the mason's dwelling, but the surface of cocoons woven of + silk. The explorer has never found herself placed in such circumstances, + nor has any of her race before her, every cocoon, under normal conditions, + being protected by a surrounding wall. No matter: despite the profound + difference in the surfaces, the insect does not waver. Warned by a special + sense, an undecipherable riddle to ourselves, it knows that the object of + its search lies hidden under this unfamiliar casing. The sense of smell + has already been shown to be out of the question; that of sight is now + eliminated in its turn. + </p> + <p> + That she should bore through the cocoons of the Stelis, a parasite of the + mason bee, does not surprise me at all: I know how indifferent my bold + visitor is to the nature of the victuals destined for her family. I have + noticed her presence in the homes of bees differing greatly in size and + habits: Anthophorae, Osmiae, Chalicodomae, Anthidia. The Stelis exploited + on my table is one victim more; and that is all. The interest does not lie + there. The interest lies in the maneuvers of the insect, which I am able + to follow under the most favorable conditions. + </p> + <p> + Bent sharply at right angles, like a couple of broken matches, the + antennae feel the cocoon with their tips alone. The terminal joint is the + home of this strange sense which discerns from afar what no eye sees, no + scent distinguishes and no ear hears. If the point explored be found + suitable, the insect hoists itself on tiptoe so as to give full scope to + the play of its mechanism; it brings the tip of the belly a little + forward; and the entire ovipositor—inoculating-needle and scabbard—stands + perpendicular to the cocoon, in the center of the quadrilateral described + by the four hind legs, an eminently favorable position for obtaining the + maximum effect. For some time, the whole of the awl bears on the cocoon, + feeling all round with its point, groping about; then, suddenly, the + boring needle is released from its sheath, which falls back along the + body, while the needle strives to make its entrance. The operation is a + difficult one. I see the insect make a score of attempts, one after the + other, without succeeding in piercing the tough wrapper of the Stelis. + Should the instrument not penetrate, it retreats into its sheath and the + insect resumes its scrutiny of the cocoon, sounding it point by point with + the tips of its antennae. Then further thrusts are tried until one + succeeds. + </p> + <p> + The eggs are little spindles, white and gleaming like ivory, about + two-thirds of a millimeter in length. They have not the long, curved + peduncle of the Leucospis' eggs; they are not suspended from the ceiling + of the cocoon like these, but are laid without order around the fostering + larva. Lastly, in a single cell and with a single mother, there is always + more than one laying; and the number of eggs varies considerably in each. + The Leucospis, because of her great size, which rivals that of her victim, + the Bee, finds in each cell provisions enough for one and one alone. When, + therefore, there is more than one set of eggs in any one cell, this is due + to a mistake on her part and not a premeditated result. Where the whole + ration is required for the meals of a single grub, she would take good + care not to install several if she could help it. Her competitor is not + called upon to observe the same discretion. A Chalicodoma grub gives the + dwarf the wherewithal to portion a score of her little ones, who will live + in common and in all comfort on what a single son of the giantess would + eat up by himself. The tiny boring engineer, therefore, always settles a + numerous family at the same banquet. The bowl, ample for a dozen or two, + is emptied in perfect harmony. + </p> + <p> + Curiosity made me count the brood, to see if the mother was able to + estimate the victuals and to proportion the number of guests to the + sumptuousness of the fare provided. My notes mention fifty-four larvae in + the cell of a masked Anthophora (Anthophora personata). No other census + attained this figure. Possibly, two different mothers had laid their eggs + in this crowded habitation. With the Mason bee of the Walls, I see the + number of larvae vary, in different cells, between four and twenty-six; + with the mason bee of the Sheds, between five and thirty-six; with the + three-horned Osmia, who supplied me with the largest number of records, + between seven and twenty-five; with the blue Osmia (Osmia cyanea, KIRB.), + between five and six; with the Stelis (Stelis nasuta), between four and + twelve. + </p> + <p> + The first return and the last two seem to point to some relation between + the abundance of provisions and the number of consumers. When the mother + comes upon the bountiful larva of the masked Anthophora, she gives it + half-a-hundred to feed; with the Stelis and the blue Osmia, niggardly + rations both, she contents herself with half-a-dozen. To introduce into + the dining room only the number of boarders that the bill of fare will + allow would certainly be a most deserving performance, especially as the + insect is placed under very difficult conditions to judge the contents of + the cell. These contents, which lie hidden under the ceiling, are + invisible; and the insect can derive its information only from the outside + of the nest, which varies in the different species. We should therefore + have to admit the existence of a particular power of discrimination, a + sort of discernment of the species, which is recognized as large or small + from the outward aspect of its house. I refuse to go to this length in my + conjectures, not that instinct seems to me incapable of such feats, but + because of the particulars obtained from the three-horned Osmia and the + two mason bees. + </p> + <p> + In the cells of these three species, I see the number of larvae put out to + nurse vary in so elastic a fashion that I must abandon all idea of + proportionate adjustment. The mother, without troubling unduly whether + there be an excess or a dearth of provisions for her family, has filled + the cells as her fancy prompted, or rather according to the number of ripe + ovules contained in her ovaries at the time of the laying. If food be + over-plentiful, the brood will be all the better for it and will grow + bigger and stronger; if food be scarce, the famished youngsters will not + die, but will remain smaller. Indeed, with both the larva and the full + grown insect, I have often observed a difference in size which varies + according to the density of the population, the members of a small colony + being double the size of their overcrowded neighbors. + </p> + <p> + The grubs are white, tapering at both ends, sharply segmented and covered + all over their bodies with a coat of fine, soft hairs which is invisible + except under the lens. The head consists of a little knob much smaller in + diameter than the body. In this head, the microscope reveals mandibles + consisting of fine spikes of a tawny red, which spread into a wide, + colorless base. Deprived of any indentation, incapable of chewing anything + between their awl-shaped ends, these two tools serve at best to fix the + grub slightly at some point of the fostering larva. Useless for carving, + therefore, the mouth is a pure osculatory sucker, which drains the + provisions by a process of exudation through the skin. We see here + repeated what the Anthrax and the Leucospis have already shown us: the + gradual exhaustion of a victim which the parasite consumes without killing + it. + </p> + <p> + It is a curious spectacle even after that of the Anthrax. We have here + twenty or thirty starvelings, all with their mouths pressed, as for a + kiss, to the body of the plump larva, which, from day to day, fades and + shrinks without the least appreciable wound, thus keeping fresh until + reduced to a shriveled slough. If I disturb the gluttonous swarm, all, + with a sudden recoil, let go, drop off and flounder around the foster + mother. They are no less prompt in resuming their savage kisses. I need + not add that neither at the point where they leave off nor at the point + where they recommence is there the faintest trace of liquid. The oily + exudation occurs only when the pump is at work. To linger over this + strange method of feeding is superfluous after what I have said about the + Anthrax. + </p> + <p> + The appearance of the full grown insect takes place at the beginning of + summer, after nearly a whole year's stay in the invaded dwelling. The + large number of inhabitants of one and the same cell led me to think that + the work of deliverance ought to present a certain interest. They are all + equally anxious to clear the walls of the prison at the earliest possible + moment and to come forth into the great festival of the sun: do they all + at the same time, in a confused horde, attack the ceiling which has to be + pierced? Is the work of deliverance arranged in the general interest? Or + is individual selfishness the only rule? These are the questions which + observation will answer. + </p> + <p> + A little in advance of the proper season, I transfer each family into a + short glass tube, which will represent the natal cell. A good, thick cork, + quite a centimeter deep, is the obstacle to be pierced for an outlet. + Well, instead of the mad haste and the ruinous lack of organization which + I expected to find, my broods show me in their glass prison an exceedingly + well regulated workshop. One insect, one only, works at perforating the + cork. Patiently, with its mandibles, grain by grain, it digs a tunnel the + width of its body. The gallery is so narrow that, in order to return to + the tube, the worker has to move backwards. It is a slow process; and it + takes hours and hours to dig the hole, a hard job for the frail miner. + </p> + <p> + Should her fatigue become too great, the excavator leaves the forefront + and mingles with the crowd, to polish and dust herself. Another, the first + neighbor at hand, at once takes her place and is herself relieved by a + third when her task is done. Others again take their turn, always one at a + time, so much so that the works are never at a standstill and never + overcrowded. Meanwhile, the multitude keeps out of the way, quietly and + patiently. There is no anxiety as to the deliverance. Success will come: + of that they are all convinced. While waiting, one washes her antennae by + passing them through her mouth, another polishes her wings with her hind + legs, another frisks about to while away the period of inaction. Some are + making love, a sovran means of killing time, whether one be born that day + or twenty years ago. + </p> + <p> + Some, I said, make love. These favored ones are rare; they hardly count. + Is it through indifference? No, but the gallants are lacking. The sexes + are very unequally represented in the population of a cell: the males are + in a wretched minority and sometimes even completely absent. This poverty + did not escape the older observers. Brulle [Gaspard August Brulle + (1809-1873)], the author of many works on natural history and one of the + founders of the Societe entomologique de France, the only author whom I am + able to consult in my hermitage, says, literally: 'The males do not appear + to be known.' + </p> + <p> + I, for my part, know them; but, considering their feeble number, I keep + asking myself what part they play in a harem so disproportionate to their + forces. A few figures will show us what my hesitations are based upon. + </p> + <p> + In twenty-two Osmia cocoons (Osmia tricornis), the total census of the + inmates yields three hundred and fifty-four, of whom forty-seven are males + and three hundred and seven females. The average number of inmates, + therefore, is sixteen individuals; and there are six females at least to + one male. This disparity is maintained, in more or less marked + proportions, whatever the species of the bee invaded. In the cocoons of + the Mason bee of the Sheds, I discover the average proportion to be six + females to one male; in those of the Mason bee of the Walls, I find one + male to fifteen females. + </p> + <p> + These facts, which I am unable to state with any greater precision, are + enough to give rise to the suspicion that the males, who are even tinier + dwarfs than the females and who, moreover, like all insects, are injured + by a single act of pairing, must, in most cases, remain strangers to the + females. Can the mothers, in fact, dispense with their assistance, without + being deprived of offspring on that account? I do not say yes, but I do + not say no. The duality of the sexes is a hard problem. Why two sexes? Why + not just one? It would have been much simpler and saved a great deal of + foolery. Why such a thing as sex, when the tuber of the Jerusalem + artichoke can do without it? These are the pregnant questions suggested to + me, in the end, by Monodontomerus cupreus, the insect so infinitesimal in + body and so overpowering in name that I had really vowed never to speak of + it again by its official designation. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. LARVAL DIMORPHISM + </h2> + <p> + If the reader has paid any attention to the story of the Anthrax, he must + have perceived that my narrative is incomplete. The fox in the fable saw + how the lion's visitors entered his den, but did not see how they went + out. With us, it is the converse: we know the way out of the mason bee's + fortress, but we do not know the way in. To leave the cell of which he has + eaten the owner, the Anthrax becomes a perforating machine, a living tool + from which our own industry might take a hint if it required new drills + for boring rocks. When the exit tunnel is opened, this tool splits like a + pod bursting in the sun; and from the stout framework there escapes a + dainty fly, a velvety flake, a soft fluff that astounds us by its contrast + with the roughness of the depths whence it ascends. On this point, we know + pretty well what there is to know. There remains the entrance into the + cell, a puzzle that has kept me on the alert for a quarter of a century. + </p> + <p> + To begin with, it is evident that the mother cannot lodge her egg in the + cell of the mason bee, which has been long closed and barricaded with a + cement wall by the time that the Anthrax makes her appearance. To + penetrate it, she would have to become an excavating tool once more and + resume the cast-off rags which she left behind in the exit window; she + would have to retrace her steps, to be reborn a pupa; and life knows none + of these retrogressions. The full grown insect, if endowed with claws, + mandibles and plenty of perseverance, might at a pinch force the mortar + casket; but the fly is not so endowed. Her slender legs would be strained + and deformed by merely sweeping away a little dust; her mouth is a sucker + for gathering the sugary exudations of the flowers and not the solid + pincers needed for the crumbling of cement. There is no auger either, no + bore copied from that of the Leucospis, no implement of any kind that can + work its way into the thickness of the wall and dispatch the egg to its + destination. In short, the mother is absolutely incapable of settling her + eggs in the chamber of the Mason bee. + </p> + <p> + Can it be the grub that makes its own way into the storeroom, that same + grub which we have seen draining the Chalicodoma with its leech-like + kisses? Let us call the creature to mind: a little oily sausage, which + stretches and curls up just where it lies, without being able to shift its + position. Its body is a smooth cylinder; its mouth simply a circular lip. + Not one ambulatory organ does it possess; not even hairs, protuberances or + wrinkles to enable it to crawl. The animal is made for digestion and + immobility. Its organization is incompatible with movement; everything + tells us so in the clearest fashion. No, this grub is even less able than + the mother to make its way unaided into the mason's dwelling. And yet the + provisions are there; those provisions must be reached: it is a matter of + life or death; to be or not to be. Then how does the fly set about it? It + would be vain for me to question probabilities, too often illusory; to + obtain a reply of any value, I have but one resource; I must attempt the + nearly impossible and watch the Anthrax from the egg onwards. + </p> + <p> + Although Anthrax flies are fairly common, in the sense of there being + several different species, they are not plentiful when it is a case of + wanting a colony populous enough to admit of continuous observation. I see + them, now here, now there, in the fiercely sun-scorched places, flitting + hither and thither on the old walls, the slopes and the sand, sometimes in + small platoons, most often singly. I can expect nothing of those + vagabonds, who are here today and gone tomorrow, for I know nothing of + their settlements. To keep a watch on them, one by one, in the blazing + heat, is very painful and very unfruitful, as the swift-winged insect has + a habit of disappearing one knows not whither just when a prospect of + capturing its secret begins to offer. I have wasted many a patient hour at + this pursuit, without the least result. + </p> + <p> + There might be some chance of success with Anthrax flies whose home was + known to us beforehand, especially if insects of the same species formed a + pretty numerous colony. The inquiries begun with one would be continued + with a second and with more, until a complete verdict was forthcoming. + Now, in the course of my long entomological career, I have met with but + two species of Anthrax that fulfilled this condition and were to be found + regularly: one at Carpentras; the other at Serignan. The first, Anthrax + sinuata, FALLEN, lives in the cocoons of Osmia tricornis, who herself + builds her nest in the old galleries of the hairy-footed Anthophora; the + second, Anthrax trifasciata, MEIGEN, exploits the Chalicodoma of the + Sheds. I will consult both. + </p> + <p> + Once more, here am I, somewhat late in life, at Carpentras, whose rude + Gallic name sets the fool smiling and the scholar thinking. Dear little + town where I spent my twentieth year and left the first bits of my fleece + upon life's bushes, my visit of today is a pilgrimage; I have come to lay + my eyes once more upon the place which saw the birth of the liveliest + impressions of my early days. I bow, in passing, to the old college where + I tried my prentice hand as a teacher. Its appearance is unchanged; it + still looks like a penitentiary. Those were the views of our mediaeval + educational system. To the gaiety and activity of boyhood, which were + considered unwholesome, it applied the remedy of narrowness, melancholy + and gloom. Its houses of instruction were, above all, houses of + correction. The freshness of Virgil was interpreted in the stifling + atmosphere of a prison. I catch a glimpse of a yard between four high + walls, a sort of bear pit, where the scholars fought for room for their + games under the spreading branches of a plane tree. All around were cells + that looked like horse boxes, without light or air; those were the + classrooms. I speak in the past tense, for doubtless the present day has + seen the last of this academic destitution. + </p> + <p> + Here is the tobacco shop where, on Wednesday evening, coming out of the + college, I would buy on credit the wherewithal to fill my pipe and thus to + celebrate on the eve the joys of the morrow, that blessed Thursday [the + weekly half-holiday in French schools] which I considered so well employed + in solving hard equations, experimenting with new chemical reagents, + collecting and identifying my plants. I would make my timid request, + pretending to have come out without my money, for it is hard for a + self-respecting man to admit that he is penniless. My candor appears to + have inspired some little confidence; and I obtained credit, an + unprecedented thing, with the representative of the revenue. [The + government in France has the sole control of the tobacco trade, which + forms an important branch of the inland revenue.] Ah, why did not I open a + shop and expose for sale some packets of candles, a dozen dried cod, a + barrel of sardines and a few cakes of soap! I am no more of a fool nor any + less industrious than another; and I should have made my way. But, as it + was, what could I expect? As an accoucheur of brains, a molder of + intellects, I had no claim even to bread and cheese. + </p> + <p> + Here is my former habitation, occupied since by droning monks. In the + embrasure of that window, sheltered from profane hands, between the closed + outer shutters and the panes, I used to keep my chemicals, bought for a + few sous cheated out of the weekly budget in the early days of our + housekeeping. The bowl of a pipe was my crucible, a sweet jar my retort, + mustard pots my receptacles for oxides and sulfides. My experiments, + harmless or dangerous, were made on a corner of the fire beside the + simmering broth. + </p> + <p> + How I should love to see that room again where I pored over differentials + and integrals, where I calmed my poor burning head by gazing at Mont + Ventoux, whose summit held in store for my coming expedition' those + denizens of arctic climes, the saxifrage and the poppy! And to see my + familiar friend, the blackboard which I hired at five francs a year from a + crusty joiner, that board whose value I paid many times over, though I. + could never buy it outright, for want of the necessary cash! The conic + sections which I described on that blackboard, the learned hieroglyphics! + </p> + <p> + Though all my efforts, which were the more deserving because I had to work + alone, led to almost nothing in that congenial calling, I would begin it + all over again if I could. I should love to be conversing for the first + time with Leibnitz and Newton, with Laplace and Lagrange, with Cuvier and + Jussieu, even if I had afterwards to solve that other arduous problem: how + to procure one's daily bread. Ah, young men, my successors, what an easy + time you have of it today! If you don't know it, then let me tell you so + by means of these few pages from the life of one of your elders. + </p> + <p> + But let us not forget our insects, while listening to the echoes of + illusions and difficulties roused in my memories by the cupboard window + and the hired blackboard. Let us go back to the sunken roads of the Legue, + which have become classic, so they say, since the appearance of my notes + on the Oil beetles. Ye illustrious ravines, with your sun-baked slopes, if + I have contributed a little to your fame, you, in your turn, have given me + many fair hours of forgetfulness in the happiness of learning. You, at + least, did not lure me with vain hopes; all that you promised you gave me + and often a hundredfold. You are my promised land, where I would have + sought at the last to pitch my observer's tent. My wish was not to be + realized. Let me, at least, in passing, greet my beloved animals of the + old days. + </p> + <p> + I raise my hat to Cerceris tuberculata, whom I see engaged on that slant, + storing her Cleonus [a large species of weevil]. As I saw her then, so I + see her now: the same staggering attempts to hoist the prey to the mouth + of the burrow; the same brawls between males watching in the brushwood of + the kermes oak. The sight of them sends a younger blood coursing through + my veins; I receive as it were the breath of a new springtime of life. + Time presses; let us pass on. + </p> + <p> + Another bow on this side. I hear buzzing up above, on that ledge, a colony + of Sphex wasps, stabbing their crickets. We will give them a friendly + glance, but no more. My acquaintances here are too numerous; I have not + the leisure to renew my former relations with all of them. Without + stopping, a wave of the hat to the Philanthi [bee-hunting wasps] who send + the long avalanches of rubbish streaming down from their nests; and to + Stizus ruficornis, [a hunting wasp] who stacks her praying mantises + between two flakes of sandstone; and to the silky Ammophila [a digger + wasp] with the red legs, who collects an underground store of loopers + [also known as measuring worms, the larvae or caterpillars of the + geometrid moth] and to the Tachtyti [hunting wasps], devourers of locusts; + and to the Eumenes, builders of clay cupolas on a bough. + </p> + <p> + Here we are at last. This high, perpendicular rock, facing the south to a + length of some hundreds of yards and riddled with holes like a monstrous + sponge, is the time-honored dwelling place of the hairy-footed Anthophora + and of her rent free tenant, the three-horned Osmia. Here also swarm their + exterminators: the Sitaris beetle, the parasite of the Anthophora; the + Anthrax fly, the murderer of the Osmia. Ill informed as to the proper + period, I have come rather late, on the 10th of September. I should have + been here a month ago, or even by the end of July, to watch the fly's + operations. My journey threatens to be fruitless: I see but a few rare + Anthrax flies, hovering round the face of the cliff. We will not despair, + however, and we will begin by consulting the locality. + </p> + <p> + The Anthophora's cells contain this bee in the larval stage. Some of them + provide me with the oil beetle and the Sitaris, rare finds at one time, + today of no use to me. Others contain the Melecta [a parasitic bee] in the + form of a highly colored pupa, or even in that of the full grown insect. + The Osmia, still more precocious, though dating from the same period, + shows herself exclusively in the adult form, a bad omen for my + investigations, for what the Anthrax demands is the larva and not the + perfect insect. The fly's grub doubles my apprehensions. Its development + is complete, the larva on which it feeds is consumed, perhaps several + weeks ago. I no longer doubt but that I have come too late to see what + happens in the Osmia's cocoons. + </p> + <p> + Is the game lost? Not yet. My notes contain evidence of Anthrax flies + hatching in the latter half of September. Besides, those whom I now see + exploring the rock are not there to take exercise: their preoccupation is + the settling of the family. These belated ones cannot tackle the Osmia, + who, with her firm, adult flesh, would not suit the nursling's delicate + needs and who, moreover, powerful as she is, would offer resistance. But + in autumn a less numerous colony of honey gatherers takes the place, upon + the slope, of the spring colony, from which it differs in species. In + particular, I see the Diadem Anthidium [a clothier bee who lines her nest + with wool and cotton] at work, entering her galleries at one time with her + harvest of pollen dust and at another with her little bale of cotton. + Might not these autumnal Bees be themselves exploited by the Anthrax, the + same that selected the Osmia as her victim a couple of months earlier? + This would explain the presence of the Anthrax flies whom I now see + fussing about. + </p> + <p> + A little reassured by this conjecture, I take my stand at the foot of the + rock, under a broiling sun; and, for half a day, I follow the evolutions + of my flies. They flit quietly in front of the slope, at a few inches from + the earthy covering. They go from one orifice to the next, but without + even penetrating. For that matter, their big wings, extended crosswise + even when at rest, would resist their entrance into a gallery, which is + too narrow to admit those spreading sails. And so they explore the cliff, + going to and fro and up and down, with a flight that is now sudden, now + smooth and slow. From time to time, I see the Anthrax quickly approach the + wall and lower her abdomen as though to touch the earth with the end of + her ovipositor. This proceeding takes no longer than the twinkling of an + eye. When it is done, the insect alights elsewhere and rests. Then it + resumes its sober flight, its long investigations and its sudden blows + with the tip of its belly against the layer of earth. The Bombylii [bee + flies] observe similar tactics when soaring at a short height above the + ground. + </p> + <p> + I at once rushed to the spot touched, lens in hand, in the hope of finding + the egg which everything told me was laid during that tap of the abdomen. + I could distinguish nothing, in spite of the closest attention. It is true + that my exhaustion, together with the blinding light and scorching heat, + made examination very difficult. Afterwards, when I made the acquaintance + of the tiny thing that issues from that egg, my failure no longer + surprised me. In the leisure of my study, with my eyes rested and with my + most powerful glasses held in a hand no longer shaking with excitement and + fatigue, I have the very greatest difficulty in finding the infinitesimal + creature, though I know exactly where it lies. Then how could I see the + egg, worn out as I was under the sun-baked cliff, how discover the precise + spot of a laying performed in a moment by an insect seen only at a + distance? In the painful conditions wherein I found myself, failure was + inevitable. + </p> + <p> + Despite my negative attempts, therefore, I remain convinced that the + Anthrax flies strew their eggs one by one, on the spots frequented by + those bees who suit their grubs. Each of their sudden strokes with the tip + of the abdomen represents a laying. They take no precaution to place the + germ under cover; for that matter, any such precaution would be rendered + impossible by the mother's structure. The egg, that delicate object, is + laid roughly in the blazing sun, between grains of sand, in some wrinkle + of the calcined chalk. That summary installation is sufficient, provided + the coveted larva be near at hand. It is for the young grub now to manage + as best it can at its own risk and peril. + </p> + <p> + Though the sunken roads of the Legue did not tell me all that I wished to + know, they at least made it very probable that the coming grub must reach + the victualled cell by its own efforts. But the grub which we know, the + one that drains the bag of fat which may be a Chalicodoma larva or an + Osmia larva, cannot move from its place, still less indulge in journeys of + discovery through the thickness of a wall and the web of a cocoon. So an + imperative necessity presents itself: there must perforce be an initial + larva form, capable of moving and organized for searching, a form under + which the grub would attain its end. The Anthrax would thus possess two + larval states: one to penetrate to the provisions; the other to consume + them. I allow myself to be convinced by the logic of it all; I already see + in my mind's eye the wee animal coming out of the egg, endowed with + sufficient power of motion not to dread a walk and with sufficient + slenderness to glide into the smallest crevices. Once in the presence of + the larva on which it is to feed, it doffs its travelling dress and + becomes the obese animal whose one duty it is to grow big and fat in + immobility. This is all very coherent; it is all deduced like a + geometrical proposition. But to the wings of imagination, however smooth + their flight, we must prefer the sandals of observed facts, the slow + sandals with the leaden soles. Thus shod, I proceed. + </p> + <p> + Next year, I resume my investigations, this time on the Anthrax of the + Chalicodoma, who is my neighbor in the surrounding wastelands and will + allow me to repeat my visits daily, morning and evening if need be. Taught + by my earlier studies, I now know the exact period of the Bee's hatching + and therefore of the Anthrax' laying, which must take place soon after. + Anthrax trifasciata settles her family in July, or in August at latest. + Every morning, at nine o'clock, when the heat begins to be unendurable and + when, to use [the author's gardener and factotum] Favier's expression, an + extra log is flung on the bonfire of the sun, I take the field, prepared + to come back with my head aching from the glare, provided that I bring + home the solution of my puzzle. A man must have the devil in him to leave + the shade at this time of the year. And what for, pray? To write the story + of a fly! The greater the heat, the better my chance of success. What + causes me to suffer torture fills the insect with delight; what prostrates + me braces the fly. Come along! + </p> + <p> + The road shimmers like a sheet of molten steel. From the dusty and + melancholy olive trees rises a mighty, throbbing hum, a great andante + whose executants have the whole sweep of woods for their orchestra. 'Tis + the concert of the Cicada, whose bellies sway and rustle with increasing + frenzy as the temperature rises. The strident scrapings of the Cicada of + the Ash, the Carcan of the district, lend their rhythm to the one note + symphony of the common cicada. This is the moment: come along! And, for + five or six weeks, oftenest in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon, I + set myself to explore the flinty plateau. + </p> + <p> + The Chalicodoma's nests abound, but I cannot see a single Anthrax make a + black speck upon their surface. Not one, busy with her laying, settles in + front of me. At most, from time to time, I can just see one passing far + away, with an impetuous rush. I lose her in the distance; and that is all. + It is impossible to be present at the laying of the egg. I know the little + that I learnt from the cliffs in the Legue and nothing more. + </p> + <p> + As soon as I recognize the difficulty, I hasten to enlist assistants. + Shepherds—mere small boys—keep the sheep in these stony + meadows, where the flocks graze, to the greater glory of our local mutton, + on the camphor saturated badafo, that is to say, spike lavender. I explain + as well as I can the object of my search; I talk to them of a big black + Fly and the nests on which she ought to settle, the clay nests so well + known to those who have learnt how to extract the honey with a straw in + springtime and spread it on a crust of bread. They are to watch that fly + and take good note of the nests on which they may see her alight; and, on + the same evening, when they bring their flocks back to the village, they + are to tell me the result of their day's work. On receiving their + favorable report, I will go with them, next day, to continue the + observations. They shall be paid for their trouble, of course. These + latter day Corydons have not the manners of antiquity: they reck little of + the seven holed flute cemented with wax, or of the beechen bowl, + preferring the coppers that will take them to the village inn on Sunday. A + reward in ready money is promised for each nest that fulfils the desired + conditions; and the bargain is enthusiastically accepted. + </p> + <p> + There are three of them; and I make a fourth. Shall we manage it, among us + all? I thought so. By the end of August, however, my last illusions were + dispelled. Not one of us had succeeded in seeing the big black Fly + perching on the dome of the mason bee. + </p> + <p> + Our failure, it seems to me, can be explained thus: outside the spacious + front of the Anthophora's settlement, the Anthrax is in permanent + residence. She visits, on the wing, every nook and corner, without moving + away from the native cliff, because it would be useless to go farther. + There is board and lodging here, indefinitely, for all her family. When + some spot is deemed favorable, she hovers round inspecting it, then comes + up suddenly and strikes it with the tip of her abdomen. The thing is done, + the egg is laid. So I picture it, at least. Within a radius of a few yards + and in a flight broken by short intervals of rest in the sun, she carries + on her search of likely places for the laying and dissemination of her + eggs. The insect's assiduous attendance upon the same slope is caused by + the inexhaustible wealth of the locality exploited. + </p> + <p> + The Anthrax of the Chalicodoma labors under very different conditions. + Stay-at-home habits would be detrimental to her. With her rushing flight, + made easy by the long and powerful spread of her wings, she must travel + far and wide if she would found a colony. The bee's nests are not + discovered in groups, but occur singly on their pebbles, scattered more or + less everywhere over acres of ground. To find a single one is not enough + for the fly: on account of the many parasites, not all the cells, by a + long way, contain the desired larva; others, too well protected, would not + allow of access to the provisions. Very many nests are necessary, perhaps, + for the eggs of one alone; and the finding of them calls for long + journeys. + </p> + <p> + I therefore picture the Anthrax coming and going in every direction across + the stony plain. Her practiced eye requires no slackened flight to + distinguish the earthen dome which she is seeking. Having found it, she + inspects it from above, still on the wing; she taps it once and yet once + again with the tip of her ovipositor and forthwith makes off, without + having set foot on the ground. Should she take a rest, it will be + elsewhere, no matter where, on the soil, on a stone, on a tuft of lavender + or thyme. Given these habits—and my observations in the Carpentras + roads make them seem exceedingly probable—it is small wonder that + the perspicacity of my young shepherds and myself should have come to + naught. I was expecting the impossible: the Anthrax does not halt on the + mason bee's nest to proceed with her laying in a methodical fashion; she + merely pays a flying visit. + </p> + <p> + And so I develop my theory of a primary larval form, differing in every + way from the one which I know. The organization of the Anthrax must be + such, at the beginning, as to permit of its moving on the surface of the + dome where the egg has been dropped so carelessly; the nascent grub must + be supplied with tools to pierce the concrete wall and enter the Bee's + cell through some cranny. The fly grub, perhaps dragging the remnants of + the egg behind it, must set out in quest of board and lodging almost as + soon as it is born. It will succeed under the guidance of instinct, that + faculty which waits not to number the days and which is as far seeing at + the moment of hatching as after the trials of a busy life. This primary + grub does not seem to me outside the limits of possibility; I see it, if + not in the body, at least in its actions, as plainly as though it were + really under the lens. It exists, if reason be not a vain and empty guide; + I must find it; I shall find it. Never in the history of my investigations + has the logic of things been more insistent; never has it directed me with + greater certainty towards a magnificent biological theory. + </p> + <p> + While vainly trying to witness the laying of the eggs, I inquire, at the + same time, into the contents of the Mason bee's nests, in quest of the + grub just issued from the egg. My own harvest and that of my young + shepherds, whose zeal I employ in a task less difficult than the first, + procure me heaps of nests, enough to fill baskets and baskets. These are + all inspected at leisure, on my work table, with the excitement which the + certainty of an approaching fine discovery never fails to give. The + Mason's cocoons are taken from the cells, inspected without, opened and + inspected within. My lens explores their innermost recesses; speck by + speck, it explores the Chalicodoma's slumbering larva; it explores the + inner walls of the cells. Nothing, nothing, nothing! For a fortnight and + more, nests were rejected and heaped up in a corner; my study was crammed + with them. What hecatombs of unfortunate sleepers removed from their + silken bags and doomed, for the most part, to a wretched end, despite the + care which I took to put them in a place of safety, where the work of the + transformation might be pursued! Curiosity makes us cruel. I continue to + rip up cocoons. And nothing, nothing! It needed the sturdiest faith to + make me persevere. That faith I possessed; and well for me that I did. + </p> + <p> + On the 25th of July—the date deserves to be recorded—I saw, or + rather seemed to see, something move on the Chalicodoma's larva. Was it an + illusion born of my hopes? Was it a bit of diaphanous down stirred by my + breath? It was not an illusion, it was not a bit of down, it was really + and truly a grub. What a moment, followed by what perplexities! The thing + has nothing in common with the larva of the Anthrax, it suggests rather + some microscopic Thread worm that, by accident, has made its way through + the skin of its host and come to enjoy itself outside. I do not reckon my + discovery as of much value, because I am so greatly puzzled by the + creature's appearance. No matter: we will take a small glass tube and + place inside it the Chalicodoma grub and the mysterious thing wriggling on + the surface. Suppose it should be what I am looking for? Who knows? + </p> + <p> + Once warned of the probable difficulty of seeing the animalcule for which + I am hunting, I redouble my attention, so much so that, in a couple of + days, I am the owner of half a score of tiny worms similar to the one + which caused me such excitement. Each of them is lodged in a glass tube + with its Chalicodoma grub. The infinitesimal thing is so small, so + diaphanous, blends to such good purpose with its host that the least fold + of skin conceals it from my view. After watching it one day through the + lens, I sometimes fail to find it again on the morrow. I think that I have + lost it, that it has perished under the weight of the overturned larva and + returned to that nothing to which it was so closely akin. Then it moves + and I see it again. For a whole fortnight, there was no limit to my + perplexity. Was it really the original larva of the Anthrax? Yes, for I at + last saw my bantlings transform themselves into the larva previously + described and make their first start at draining their victims with + kisses. A few moments of satisfaction like those which I then enjoyed make + up for many a weary hour. + </p> + <p> + Let us resume the story of the wee animal, now recognized as the genuine + origin of the Anthrax. It is a tiny worm about a millimeter long and + almost as slender as a hair. It is very difficult to see because of its + transparency. When tucked away in a fold of the skin of its fostering + larva, an excessively fine skin, it remains undiscoverable to the lens. + But the feeble creature is very active: it tramps over the sides of the + rich morsel, walks all round it. It covers the ground pretty quickly, + buckling and unbuckling by turns, very much after the manner of the looper + caterpillar. Its two extremities are its chief points of support. When at + a standstill, it moves its front half in every direction, as though to + explore the space around it; when walking, it swells out, magnifies its + segments and then looks like a bit of knotted string. + </p> + <p> + The microscope shows us thirteen rings, including the head. This head is + small, slightly horny, as is proved by its amber color, and bristles in + front with a small number of short, stiff hairs. On each of the three + segments of the thorax there are two long hairs, fixed to the lower + surface; and there are two similar and still longer hairs at the end of + the terminal ring. These four pairs of bristles, three in front and one + behind, are the locomotory organs, to which we must add the hairy edge of + the head and also the anal button, a sustaining base which might very well + work with the aid of a certain stickiness, as happens with the primary + larva of the Sitaris [a Parasitic Beetle noted for the multiplicity of + transformations undergone by the grub]. We see, through the transparent + skin, two long air tubes running parallel to each other from the first + thoracic segment to the last abdominal segment but one. They ought to end + in two pairs of breathing holes which I have not succeeded in + distinguishing quite plainly. Those two big respiratory vessels are + characteristic of the grubs of flies. Their mouths correspond exactly with + the points at which the two sets of stigmata open in the Anthrax larva in + its second form. + </p> + <p> + For a fortnight, the feeble grub remains in the condition which I have + described, without growing and very probably also without nourishment. + Assiduous though my visits be, I never perceive it taking any refreshment. + Besides, what would it eat? In the cocoon invaded there is nothing but the + larva of the mason bee; and the worm cannot make use of this before + acquiring the sucker that comes with the second form. Nevertheless, this + life of abstinence is not a life of idleness. The animalcule explores its + dish, now here, now elsewhere; it runs all over it with looper strides; it + pries into the neighborhood by lifting and shaking its head. + </p> + <p> + I see a need for this long wait under a transitory form that requires no + feeding. The egg is laid by the mother on the surface of the nest, + somewhere near a suitable cell, I dare say, but still at a distance from + the fostering larva, which is protected by a thick rampart. It is for the + new born grub to make its own way to the provisions, not by violence and + house breaking, of which it is incapable, but by patiently slipping + through a maze of cracks, first tried, then abandoned, then tried again. + It is a very difficult task, even for this most slender worm, for the + bee's masonry is exceedingly compact. There are no chinks due to bad + building; no fissures due to the weather; nothing but an apparently + impenetrable homogeneity. I see but one weak part and that only in a few + nests: it is the line where the dome joins the surface of the stone. An + imperfect soldering between two materials of different nature, cement and + flint, may leave a breach wide enough to admit besiegers as thin as a + hair. Nevertheless, the lens is far from always finding an inlet of this + kind on the nests occupied by Anthrax flies. + </p> + <p> + And so I am ready to allow that the animalcule wandering in search of its + cell has the whole area of the dome at its disposal when selecting an + entrance. Where the line auger of the Leucospis can enter, is there not + room enough for the even slimmer Anthrax grub? True, the Leucospis + possesses muscular force and a hard boring tool. The Anthrax is extremely + weak and has nothing but invincible patience. It does at great length of + time what the other, furnished with superior implements, accomplishes in + three hours. This explains the fortnight spent by the Anthrax under the + initial form, the object of which is to overcome the obstacle of the + mason's wall, to pierce through the texture of the cocoon and to reach the + victuals. + </p> + <p> + I even believe that it takes longer. The work is so laborious and the + worker so feeble! I cannot tell how long it is since my bantlings attained + their object. Perhaps, aided by easy roads, they had reached their + fostering larvae long before the completion of their first babyhood, the + end of which they were spending before my eyes, with no apparent purpose, + in exploring their provisions. The time had not yet come for them to + change their skins and take their seats at the table. Their fellows must + still, for the most part, be wandering through the pores of the masonry; + and this was what made my search so vain at the start. + </p> + <p> + A few facts seem to suggest that the entrance into the cell may be delayed + for several months by the difficulty of the passages. There are a few + Anthrax grubs beside the remains of pupae not far removed from the final + metamorphosis; there are others, but very rarely, on Mason bees already in + the perfect state. These grubs are sickly and appear to be ailing; the + provisions are too solid and do not lend themselves to the delicate + suckling of the worms. Who can these laggards be but animalcules that have + roamed too long in the walls of the nest? Failing to make their entrance + at the proper time, they no longer find viands to suit them. The primary + larva of the Sitaris continues from the autumn to the following spring. + Even so the initial form of the Anthrax might well continue, not in + inactivity, but in stubborn attempts to overcome the thick bulwark. + </p> + <p> + My young worms, when transferred with their provisions into tubes, + remained stationary, on the average, for a couple of weeks. At last, I saw + them shrink and then rid themselves of their epidermis and become the grub + which I was so anxiously expecting as the final reply to all my doubts. It + was indeed, from the first, the grub of the Anthrax, the cream-colored + cylinder with the little button of a head, followed by a hump. Applying + its cupping glass to the mason bee, the worm, without delay, began its + meal, which lasts another fortnight. The reader knows the rest. + </p> + <p> + Before taking leave of the animalcule, let us devote a few lines to its + instinct. It has just awakened to life under the fierce kisses of the sun. + The bare stone is its cradle, the rough clay its welcomer, as it makes its + entrance into the world, a poor thread of scarce cohering albumen. But + safety lies within; and behold the atom of animated glair embarking on its + struggle with the flint. Obstinately, it sounds each pore; it slips in, + crawls on, retreats, begins again. The radical of the germinating seed is + no more persevering in its efforts to descend into the cool earth than is + the Anthrax grub in creeping into the lump of mortar. What inspiration + urges it towards its food at the bottom of the clod, what compass guides + it? What does it know of those depths, of what lies therein or where? + Nothing. What does the root know of the earth's fruitfulness? Again + nothing. Yet both make for the nourishing spot. Theories are put forward, + most learned theories, introducing capillary action, osmosis and cellular + imbibition, to explain why the caulicle ascends and the radical descends. + Shall physical or chemical forces explain why the animalcule digs into the + hard clay? I bow profoundly, without understanding or even trying to + understand. The question is far above, our inane means. + </p> + <p> + The biography of the Anthrax is now complete, save for the details + relating to the egg, as yet unknown. In the vast majority of insects + subject to metamorphoses, the hatching yields the larval form which will + remain unchanged until the nymphosis. By virtue of a remarkable variation, + revealing a new vein of observation to the entomologist, the Anthrax + flies, in the larval state, assume two successive shapes, differing + greatly one from the other, both in structure and in the part which they + are called upon to play. I will describe this double stage of the organism + by the phrase 'larval dimorphism.' The initial form, that issuing from the + egg, I will call 'the primary larva;' the second form shall be 'the + secondary larva.' Among the Anthrax flies, the function of the primary + larva is to reach the provisions, on which the mother is unable to lay her + egg. It is capable of moving and endowed with ambulatory bristles, which + allow the slim creature to glide through the smallest interstices in the + wall of a Bee's nest, to slip through the woof of the cocoon and to make + its way to the larva intended for its successor's food. When this object + is attained, its part is played. Then appears the secondary larva, + deprived of any means of progression. Relegated to the inside of the + invaded cell, as incapable of leaving it by its own efforts as it was of + entering, this one has no mission in life but that of eating. It is a + stomach that loads itself, digests and goes on adding to its reserves. + Next comes the pupa, armed for the exit even as the primary larva was + equipped for entering. When the deliverance is accomplished, the perfect + insect appears, busy with its laying. The Anthrax cycle is thus divided + into four periods, each of which corresponds with special forms and + functions. The primary larva enters the casket containing provisions; the + secondary larva consumes these provisions; the pupa brings the insect to + light by boring through the enclosing wall; the perfect insect strews its + eggs; and the cycle starts afresh. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V. HEREDITY + </h2> + <p> + Facts which I have set forth elsewhere prove that certain dung beetles' + make an exception to the rule of paternal indifference—a general + rule in the insect world—and know something of domestic cooperation. + The father works with almost the same zeal as the mother in providing for + the settlement of the family. Whence do these favored ones derive a gift + that borders on morality? + </p> + <p> + One might suggest the cost of installing the youngsters. Once they have to + be furnished with a lodging and to be left the wherewithal to live, is it + not an advantage, in the interests of the race, that the father should + come to the mother's assistance? Work divided between the two will ensure + the comfort which solitary work, its strength overtaxed, would deny. This + seems excellent reasoning; but it is much more often contradicted than + confirmed by the facts. Why is the Sisyphus a hard working paterfamilias + and the sacred beetle an idle vagabond? And yet the two pill rollers + practice the same industry and the same method of rearing their young. Why + does the Lunary Copris know what his near kinsman, the Spanish Copris, + does not? The first assists his mate, never forsakes her. The second seeks + a divorce at an early stage and leaves the nuptial roof before the + children's rations are massed and kneaded into shape. Nevertheless, on + both sides, there is the same big outlay on a cellarful of egg-shaped + pills, whose neat rows call for long and watchful supervision. The + similarity of the produce leads one to believe in similarity of manners; + and this is a mistake. + </p> + <p> + Let us turn elsewhere, to the wasps and bees, who unquestionably come + first in the laying up of a heritage for their offspring. Whether the + treasure hoarded for the benefit of the sons be a pot of honey or a bag of + game, the father never takes the smallest part in the work. He does not so + much as give a sweep of the broom when it comes to tidying the outside of + the dwelling. To do nothing is his invariable rule. The bringing up of the + family, therefore, however expensive it may be in certain cases, has not + given rise to the instinct of paternity. Then where are we to look for a + reply? + </p> + <p> + Let us make the question a wider one. Let us leave the animal, for a + moment, and occupy ourselves with man. We have our own instincts, some of + which take the name of genius when they attain a degree of might that + towers over the plain of mediocrity. We are amazed by the unusual, + springing out of flat commonplaces; we are spellbound by the luminous + speck shining in the wonted darkness. We admire; and, failing to + understand whence came those glorious harvests in this one or in that, we + say of them: "They have the gift." + </p> + <p> + A goatherd amuses himself by making combinations with heaps of little + pebbles. He becomes an astoundingly quick and accurate reckoner without + other aid than a moment's reflection. He terrifies us with the conflict of + enormous numbers which blend in an orderly fashion in his mind, but whose + mere statement overwhelms us by its inextricable confusion. This marvelous + arithmetical juggler has an instinct, a genius, a gift for figures. + </p> + <p> + A second, at the age when most of us delight in tops and marbles, leaves + the company of his boisterous playmates and listens to the echo of + celestial harps singing within him. His head is a cathedral filled with + the strains of an imaginary organ. Rich cadences, a secret concert heard + by him and him alone, steep him in ecstasy. All hail to that predestined + one who, some day, will rouse our noblest emotions with his musical + chords. He has an instinct, a genius, a gift for sounds. + </p> + <p> + A third, a brat who cannot yet eat his bread and jam without smearing his + face all over, takes a delight in fashioning clay into little figures that + are astonishingly lifelike for all their artless awkwardness. He takes a + knife and makes the briar root grin into all sorts of entertaining masks; + he carves boxwood in the semblance of a horse or sheep; he engraves the + effigy of his dog on sandstone. Leave him alone; and, if Heaven second his + efforts, he may become a famous sculptor. He has an instinct, a gift, a + genius for form. + </p> + <p> + And so with others in every branch of human activity: art and science, + industry and commerce, literature and philosophy. We have within us, from + the start, that which will distinguish us from the vulgar herd. Now to + what do we owe this distinctive character? To some throwback of atavism, + men tell us. Heredity, direct in one case, remote in another, hands it + down to us, increased or modified by time. Search the records of the + family and you will discover the source of the genius, a mere trickle at + first, then a stream, then a mighty river. + </p> + <p> + The darkness that lies behind that word heredity! Metaphysical science has + tried to throw a little light upon it and has succeeded only in making + unto itself a barbarous jargon, leaving obscurity more obscure than + before. As for us, who hunger after lucidity, let us relinquish abstruse + theories to whoever delights in them and confine our ambition to + observable facts, without pretending to explain the quackery of the + plasma. Our method certainly will not reveal to us the origin of instinct; + but it will at least show us where it would be waste of time to look for + it. + </p> + <p> + In this sort of research, a subject known through and through, down to its + most intimate peculiarities, is indispensable. Where shall we find that + subject? There would be a host of them and magnificent ones, if it were + possible to read the sealed pages of others' lives; but no one can sound + an existence outside his own and even then he can think himself lucky if a + retentive memory and the habit of reflection give his soundings the proper + accuracy. As none of us is able to project himself into another's skin, we + must needs, in considering this problem, remain inside our own. + </p> + <p> + To talk about one's self is hateful, I know. The reader must have the + kindness to excuse me for the sake of the study in hand. I shall take the + silent beetle's place in the witness box, cross-examining myself in all + simplicity of soul, as I do the animal, and asking myself whence that one + of my instincts which stands out above the others is derived. + </p> + <p> + Since Darwin bestowed upon me the title of 'incomparable observer,' the + epithet has often come back to me, from this side and from that, without + my yet understanding what particular merit I have shown. It seems to me so + natural, so much within everybody's scope, so absorbing to interest one's + self in everything that swarms around us! However, let us pass on and + admit that the compliment is not unfounded. + </p> + <p> + My hesitation ceases if it is a question of admitting my curiosity in + matters that concern the insect. Yes, I possess the gift, the instinct + that impels me to frequent that singular world; yes, I know that I am + capable of spending on those studies an amount of precious time which + would be better employed in making provision, if possible, for the poverty + of old age; yes, I confess that I am an enthusiastic observer of the + animal. How was this characteristic propensity, at once the torment and + delight of my life, developed? And, to begin with, how much does it owe to + heredity? + </p> + <p> + The common people have no history: persecuted by the present, they cannot + think of preserving the memory of the past. And yet what surpassingly + instructive records, comforting too and pious, would be the family papers + that should tell us who our forebears were and speak to us of their + patient struggles with harsh fate, their stubborn efforts to build up, + atom by atom, what we are today. No story would come up with that for + individual interest. But by the very force of things the home is + abandoned; and, when the brood has flown, the nest is no longer + recognized. + </p> + <p> + I, a humble journeyman in the toilers' hive, am therefore very poor in + family recollections. In the second degree of ancestry, my facts become + suddenly obscured. I will linger over them a moment for two reasons: + first, to inquire into the influence of heredity; and, secondly, to leave + my children yet one more page concerning them. + </p> + <p> + I did not know my maternal grandfather. This venerable ancestor was, I + have been told, a process server in one of the poorest parishes of the + Rouergue. He used to engross on stamped paper in a primitive spelling. + With his well-filled pen case and ink horn, he went drawing out deeds up + hill and down dale, from one insolvent wretch to another more insolvent + still. Amid his atmosphere of pettifoggery, this rudimentary scholar, + waging battle on life's acerbities, certainly paid no attention to the + insect; at most, if he met it, he would crush it under foot. The unknown + animal, suspected of evil doing, deserved no further enquiry. Grandmother, + on her side, apart from her housekeeping and her beads, knew still less + about anything. She looked on the alphabet as a set of hieroglyphics only + fit to spoil your sight for nothing, unless you were scribbling on paper + bearing the government stamp. Who in the world, in her day, among the + small folk, dreamt of knowing how to read and write? That luxury was + reserved for the attorney, who himself made but a sparing use of it. The + insect, I need hardly say, was the least of her cares. If sometimes, when + rinsing her salad at the tap, she found a caterpillar on the lettuce + leaves, with a start of fright she would fling the loathsome thing away, + thus cutting short relations reputed dangerous. In short, to both my + maternal grandparents, the insect was a creature of no interest whatever + and almost always a repulsive object, which one dared not touch with the + tip of one's finger. Beyond a doubt, my taste for animals was not derived + from them. + </p> + <p> + I have more precise information regarding my grandparents on the father's + side, for their green old age allowed me to know them both. They were + people of the soil, whose quarrel with the alphabet was so great that they + had never opened a book in their lives; and they kept a lean farm on the + cold granite ridge of the Rouergue tableland. The house, standing alone + among the heath and broom, with no neighbor for many a mile around and + visited at intervals by the wolves, was to them the hub of the universe. + But for a few surrounding villages, whither the calves were driven on fair + days, the rest was only very vaguely known by hearsay. In this wild + solitude, the mossy fens, with their quagmires oozing with iridescent + pools, supplied the cows, the principal source of wealth, with rich, wet + grass. In summer, on the short swards of the slopes, the sheep were penned + day and night, protected from beasts of prey by a fence of hurdles propped + up with pitchforks. When the grass was cropped close at one spot, the fold + was shifted elsewhere. In the center was the shepherd's rolling hut, a + straw cabin. Two watchdogs, equipped with spiked collars, were answerable + for tranquillity if the thieving wolf appeared in the night from out the + neighboring woods. + </p> + <p> + Padded with a perpetual layer of cow dung, in which I sank to my knees, + broken up with shimmering puddles of dark brown liquid manure, the + farmyard also boasted a numerous population. Here the lambs skipped, the + geese trumpeted, the fowls scratched the ground and the sow grunted with + her swarm of little pigs hanging to her dugs. + </p> + <p> + The harshness of the climate did not give husbandry the same chances. In a + propitious season, they would set fire to a stretch of moorland bristling + with gorse and send the swing plow across the ground enriched with the + cinders of the blaze. This yielded a few acres of rye, oats and potatoes. + The best corners were kept for hemp, which furnished the distaffs and + spindles of the house with the material for linen and was looked upon as + grandmother's private crop. + </p> + <p> + Grandfather, therefore, was, before all, a herdsman versed in matters of + cows and sheep, but completely ignorant of aught else. How dumbfounded he + would have been to learn that, in the remote future, one of his family + would become enamoured of those insignificant animals to which he had + never vouchsafed a glance in his life! Had he guessed that that lunatic + was myself, the scapegrace seated at the table by his side, what a smack I + should have caught in the neck, what a wrathful look! + </p> + <p> + "The idea of wasting one's time with that nonsense!" he would have + thundered. + </p> + <p> + For the patriarch was not given to joking. I can still see his serious + face, his unclipped head of hair, often brought back behind his ears with + a flick of the thumb and spreading its ancient Gallic mane over his + shoulders. I see his little three-cornered hat, his small clothes buckled + at the knees, his wooden shoes, stuffed with straw, that echoed as he + walked. Ah, no! Once childhood's games were past, it would never have done + to rear the Grasshopper and unearth the Dung beetle from his natural + surroundings. + </p> + <p> + Grandmother, pious soul, used to wear the eccentric headdress of the + Rouergue highlanders: a large disk of black felt, stiff as a plank, + adorned in the middle with a crown a finger's breadth high and hardly + wider across than a six franc piece. A black ribbon fastened under the + chin maintained the equilibrium of this elegant, but unsteady circle. + Pickles, hemp, chickens, curds and whey, butter; washing the clothes, + minding the children, seeing to the meals of the household: say that and + you have summed up the strenuous woman's round of ideas. On her left side, + the distaff, with its load of flax; in her right hand, the spindle turning + under a quick twist of her thumb, moistened at intervals with her tongue: + so she went through life, unwearied, attending to the order and the + welfare of the house. I see her in my mind's eye particularly on winter + evenings, which were more favorable to family talk. When the hour came for + meals, all of us, big and little, would take our seats round a long table, + on a couple of benches, deal planks supported by four rickety legs. Each + found his wooden bowl and his tin spoon in front of him. At one end of the + table always stood an enormous rye loaf, the size of a cartwheel, wrapped + in a linen cloth with a pleasant smell of washing, and remained until + nothing was left of it. With a vigorous stroke, grandfather would cut off + enough for the needs of the moment; then he would divide the piece among + us with the one knife which he alone was entitled to wield. It was now + each one's business to break up his bit with his fingers and to fill his + bowl as he pleased. + </p> + <p> + Next came grandmother's turn. A capacious pot bubbled lustily and sang + upon the flames in the hearth, exhaling an appetizing savor of bacon and + turnips. Armed with a long metal ladle, grandmother would take from it, + for each of us in turn, first the broth, wherein to soak the bread, and + next the ration of turnips and bacon, partly fat and partly lean, filling + the bowl to the top. At the other end of the table was the pitcher, from + which the thirsty were free to drink at will. What appetites we had and + what festive meals those were, especially when a cream cheese, homemade, + was there to complete the banquet! + </p> + <p> + Near us blazed the huge fireplace, in which whole tree trunks were + consumed in the extreme cold weather. From a corner of that monumental, + soot-glazed chimney, projected, at a convenient height, a bracket with a + slate shelf, which served to light the kitchen when we sat up late. On + this we burnt chips of pine wood, selected among the most translucent, + those containing the most resin. They shed over the room a lurid red + light, which saved the walnut oil in the lamp. + </p> + <p> + When the bowls were emptied and the last crumb of cheese scraped up, + grandam went back to her distaff, on a stool by the chimney corner. We + children, boys and girls, squatting on our heels and putting out our hands + to the cheerful fire of furze, formed a circle round her and listened to + her with eager ears. She told us stories, not greatly varied, it is true, + but still wonderful, for the wolf often played a part in them. I should + have very much liked to see this wolf, the hero of so many tales that made + our flesh creep; but the shepherd always refused to take me into his straw + hut, in the middle of the fold, at night. When we had done talking about + the horrid wolf, the dragon and the serpent and when the resinous + splinters had given out their last gleams, we went to sleep the sweet + sleep that toil gives. As the youngest of the household, I had a right to + the mattress, a sack stuffed with oat chaff. The others had to be content + with straw. + </p> + <p> + I owe a great deal to you, dear grandmother: it was in your lap that I + found consolation for my first sorrows. You have handed down to me, + perhaps, a little of your physical vigor, a little of your love of work; + but certainly you were no more accountable than grandfather for my passion + for insects. + </p> + <p> + Nor was either of my own parents. My mother, who was quite illiterate, + having known no teacher than the bitter experience of a harassed life, was + the exact opposite of what my tastes required for their development. My + peculiarity must seek its origin elsewhere: that I will swear. But I do + not find it in my father, either. The excellent man, who was hard working + and sturdily built like granddad, had been to school as a child. He knew + how to write, though he took the greatest liberties with spelling; he knew + how to read and understood what he read, provided the reading presented no + more serious literary difficulties than occurred in the stories in the + almanac. He was the first of his line to allow himself to be tempted by + the town and he lived to regret it. Badly off, having but little outlet + for his industry, making God knows what shifts to pick up a livelihood, he + went through all the disappointments of the countryman turned townsman. + Persecuted by bad luck, borne down by the burden, for all his energy and + good will, he was far indeed from starting me in entomology. He had other + cares, cares more direct and more serious. A good cuff or two when he saw + me pinning an insect to a cork was all the encouragement that I received + from him. Perhaps he was right. + </p> + <p> + The conclusion is positive: there is nothing in heredity to explain my + taste for observation. You may say that I do not go far enough back. Well, + what should I find beyond the grandparents where my facts come to a stop? + I know, partly. I should find even more uncultured ancestors: sons of the + soil, plowmen, sowers of rye, neat herds; one and all, by the very force + of things, of not the least account in the nice matters of observation. + </p> + <p> + And yet, in me, the observer, the inquirer into things began to take shape + almost in infancy. Why should I not describe my first discoveries? They + are ingenuous in the extreme, but will serve notwithstanding to tell us + something of the way in which tendencies first show themselves. I was five + or six years old. That the poor household might have one mouth less to + feed, I had been placed in grandmother's care, as I have just been saying. + Here, in solitude, my first gleams of intelligence were awakened amidst + the geese, the calves and the sheep. Everything before that is + impenetrable darkness. My real birth is at that moment when the dawn of + personality rises, dispersing the mists of unconsciousness and leaving a + lasting memory. I can see myself plainly, clad in a soiled frieze frock + flapping against my bare heels; I remember the handkerchief hanging from + my waist by a bit of string, a handkerchief often lost and replaced by the + back of my sleeve. + </p> + <p> + There I stand one day, a pensive urchin, with my hands behind my back and + my face turned to the sun. The dazzling splendor fascinates me. I am the + Moth attracted by the light of the lamp. With what am I enjoying the + glorious radiance: with my mouth or my eyes? That is the question put by + my budding scientific curiosity. Reader, do not smile: the future observer + is already practicing and experimenting. I open my mouth wide and close my + eyes: the glory disappears. I open my eyes and shut my mouth: the glory + reappears. I repeat the performance, with the same result. The question's + solved: I have learnt by deduction that I see the sun with my eyes. Oh, + what a discovery! That evening, I told the whole house all about it. + Grandmother smiled fondly at my simplicity: the others laughed at it. 'Tis + the way of the world. + </p> + <p> + Another find. At nightfall, amidst the neighboring bushes, a sort of + jingle attracted my attention, sounding very faintly and softly through + the evening silence. Who is making that noise? Is it a little bird + chirping in his nest? We must look into the matter and that quickly. True, + there is the wolf, who comes out of the woods at this time, so they tell + me. Let's go all the same, but not too far: just there, behind that clump + of groom. I stand on the look out for long, but all in vain. At the + faintest sound of movement in the brushwood, the jingle ceases. I try + again next day and the day after. This time, my stubborn watch succeeds. + Whoosh! A grab of my hand and I hold the singer. It is not a bird; it is a + kind of Grasshopper whose hind legs my playfellows have taught me to like: + a poor recompense for my prolonged ambush. The best part of the business + is not the two haunches with the shrimpy flavor, but what I have just + learnt. I now know, from personal observation, that the Grasshopper sings. + I did not publish my discovery, for fear of the same laughter that greeted + my story about the sun. + </p> + <p> + Oh, what pretty flowers, in a field close to the house! They seem to smile + to me with their great violet eyes. Later on, I see, in their place, + bunches of big red cherries. I taste them. They are not nice and they have + no stones. What can those cherries be? At the end of the summer, + grandfather comes with a spade and turns my field of observation + topsy-turvy. From under ground there comes, by the basketful and sackful, + a sort of round root. I know that root; it abounds in the house; time + after time I have cooked it in the peat stove. It is the potato. Its + violet flower and its red fruit are pigeonholed for good and all in my + memory. + </p> + <p> + With an ever watchful eye for animals and plants, the future observer, the + little six-year-old monkey, practiced by himself, all unawares. He went to + the flower, he went to the insect, even as the large white butterfly goes + to the cabbage and the red admiral to the thistle. He looked and inquired, + drawn by a curiosity whereof heredity did not know the secret. He bore + within him the germ of a faculty unknown to his family; he kept alive a + glimmer that was foreign to the ancestral hearth. What will become of that + infinitesimal spark of childish fancy? It will die out, beyond a doubt, + unless education intervene, giving it the fuel of example, fanning it with + the breath of experience. In that case, schooling will explain what + heredity leaves unexplained. This is what we will examine in the next + chapter. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI. MY SCHOOLING + </h2> + <p> + I am back in the village, in my father's house. I am now seven years old; + and it is high time that I went to school. Nothing could have turned out + better: the master is my godfather. What shall I call the room in which I + was to become acquainted with the alphabet? It would be difficult to find + the exact word, because the room served for every purpose. It was at once + a school, a kitchen, a bedroom, a dining room and, at times, a chicken + house and a piggery. Palatial schools were not dreamt of in those days; + any wretched hovel was thought good enough. + </p> + <p> + A broad fixed ladder led to the floor above. Under the ladder stood a big + bed in a boarded recess. What was there upstairs? I never quite knew. I + would see the master sometimes bring down an armful of hay for the ass, + sometimes a basket of potatoes which the housewife emptied into the pot in + which the little porkers' food was cooked. It must have been a loft of + sorts, a storehouse of provisions for man and beast. Those two apartments + composed the whole building. + </p> + <p> + To return to the lower one, the schoolroom: a window faces south, the only + window in the house, a low, narrow window whose frame you can touch at the + same time with your head and both your shoulders. This sunny aperture is + the only lively spot in the dwelling, it overlooks the greater part of the + village, which straggles along the slopes of a slanting valley. In the + window recess is the master's little table. + </p> + <p> + The opposite wall contains a niche in which stands a gleaming copper pail + full of water. Here the parched children can relieve their thirst when + they please, with a cup left within their reach. At the top of the niche + are a few shelves bright with pewter plates, dishes and drinking vessels, + which are taken down from their sanctuary on great occasions only. + </p> + <p> + More or less everywhere, at any spot which the light touches, are crudely + colored pictures, pasted on the walls. Here is Our Lady of the Seven + Dolours, the disconsolate Mother of God opening her blue cloak to show her + heart pierced with seven daggers. Between the sun and moon, which stare at + you with their great, round eyes, is the Eternal Father, whose robe swells + as though puffed out with the storm. To the right of the window, in the + embrasure, is the Wandering Jew. He wears a three-cornered hat, a large, + white leather apron, hobnailed shoes and a stout stick. 'Never was such a + bearded man seen before or after,' says the legend that surrounds the + picture. The draftsman has not forgotten this detail: the old man's beard + spreads in a snowy avalanche over the apron and comes down to his knees. + On the left is Genevieve of Brabant, accompanied by the roe, with fierce + Golo hiding in the bushes, sword in hand. Above hangs The Death of Mr. + Credit, slain by defaulters at the door of his inn; and so on and so on, + in every variety of subject, at all the unoccupied spots of the four + walls. + </p> + <p> + I was filled with admiration of this picture gallery, which held one's + eyes with its great patches of red, blue, green and yellow. The master, + however, had not set up his collection with a view to training our minds + and hearts. That was the last and least of the worthy man's ambitions. An + artist in his fashion, he had adorned his house according to his taste; + and we benefited by the scheme of decoration. + </p> + <p> + While the gallery of halfpenny pictures made me happy all the year round, + there was another entertainment which I found particularly attractive in + winter, in frosty weather, when the snow lay long on the ground. Against + the far wall stands the fireplace, as monumental in size as at my + grandmother's. Its arched cornice occupies the whole width of the room, + for the enormous redoubt fulfils more than one purpose. In the middle is + the hearth, but, on the right and left, are two breast-high recesses, half + wood and half stone. Each of them is a bed, with a mattress stuffed with + chaff of winnowed corn. Two sliding planks serve as shutters and close the + chest if the sleeper would be alone. This dormitory, sheltered under the + chimney mantel, supplies couches for the favored ones of the house, the + two boarders. They must lie snug in there at night, with their shutters + closed, when the north wind howls at the mouth of the dark valley and + sends the snow awhirl. The rest is occupied by the hearth and its + accessories: the three-legged stools; the salt box, hanging against the + wall to keep its contents dry; the heavy shovel which it takes two hands + to wield; lastly, the bellows similar to those with which I used to blow + out my cheeks in grandfather's house. They consist of a mighty branch of + pine, hollowed throughout its length with a red-hot iron. By means of this + channel, one's breath is applied, from a convenient distance, to the spot + which is to be revived. With a couple of stones for supports, the master's + bundle of sticks and our own logs blaze and flicker, each of us having to + bring a log of wood in the morning, if he would share in the treat. + </p> + <p> + For that matter, the fire was not exactly lit for us, but, above all, to + warm a row of three pots in which simmered the pigs' food, a mixture of + potatoes and bran. That, despite the tribute of a log, was the real object + of the brushwood fire. The two boarders, on their stools, in the best + places, and we others sitting on our heels formed a semicircle around + those big cauldrons, full to the brim and giving off little jets of steam, + with puff-puff-puffing sounds. The bolder among us, when the master's eyes + were engaged elsewhere, would dig a knife into a well cooked potato and + add it to their bit of bread; for I must say that, if we did little work + in my school, at least we did a deal of eating. It was the regular custom + to crack a few nuts and nibble at a crust while writing our page or + setting out our rows of figures. + </p> + <p> + We, the smaller ones, in addition to the comfort of studying with our + mouths full, had every now and then two other delights, which were quite + as good as cracking nuts. The back door communicated with the yard where + the hen, surrounded by her brood of chicks, scratched at the dung hill, + while the little porkers, of whom there were a dozen, wallowed in their + stone trough. This door would open sometimes to let one of us out, a + privilege which we abused, for the sly ones among us were careful not to + close it on returning. Forthwith, the porkers would come running in, one + after the other, attracted by the smell of the boiled potatoes. My bench, + the one where the youngsters sat, stood against the wall, under the copper + pail to which we used to go for water when the nuts had made us thirsty, + and was right in the way of the pigs. Up they came trotting and grunting, + curling their little tails; they rubbed against our legs; they poked their + cold pink snouts into our hands in search of a scrap of crust; they + questioned us with their sharp little eyes to learn if we happened to have + a dry chestnut for them in our pockets. When they had gone the round, some + this way and some that, they went back to the farmyard, driven away by a + friendly flick of the master's handkerchief. Next came the visit of the + hen, bringing her velvet-coated chicks to see us. All of us eagerly + crumbled a little bread for our pretty visitors. We vied with one another + in calling them to us and tickling with our fingers their soft and downy + backs. No, there was certainly no lack of distractions. + </p> + <p> + What could we learn in such a school as that! Let us first speak of the + young ones, of whom I was one. Each of us had, or rather was supposed to + have, in his hands a little penny book, the alphabet, printed on gray + paper. It began, on the cover, with a pigeon, or something like it. Next + came a cross, followed by the letters in their order. When we turned over, + our eyes encountered the terrible ba, be, bi, bo, bu, the stumbling block + of most of us. When we had mastered that formidable page, we were + considered to know how to read and were admitted among the big ones. But, + if the little book was to be of any use, the least that was required was + that the master should interest himself in us to some extent and show us + how to set about things. For this, the worthy man, too much taken up with + the big ones, had not the time. The famous alphabet with the pigeon was + thrust upon us only to give us the air of scholars. We were to contemplate + it on our bench, to decipher it with the help of our next neighbor, in + case he might know one or two of the letters. Our contemplation came to + nothing, being every moment disturbed by a visit to the potatoes in the + stew pots, a quarrel among playmates about a marble, the grunting invasion + of the porkers or the arrival of the chicks. With the aid of these + distractions, we would wait patiently until it was time for us to go home. + That was our most serious work. + </p> + <p> + The big ones used to write. They had the benefit of the small amount of + light in the room, by the narrow window where the Wandering Jew and + ruthless Golo faced each other, and of the large and only table with its + circle of seats. The school supplied nothing, not even a drop of ink; + every one had to come with a full set of utensils. The inkhorn of those + days, a relic of the ancient pen case of which Rabelais speaks, was a long + cardboard box divided into two stages. The upper compartment held the + pens, made of goose or turkey quills trimmed with a penknife; the lower + contained, in a tiny well, ink made of soot mixed with vinegar. + </p> + <p> + The master's great business was to mend the pens—a delicate work, + not without danger for inexperienced fingers—and then to trace at + the head of the white page a line of strokes, single letters or words, + according to the scholar's capabilities. When that is over, keep an eye on + the work of art which is coming to adorn the copy! With what undulating + movements of the wrist does the hand, resting on the little finger, + prepare and plan its flight! All at once, the hand starts off, flies, + whirls; and, lo and behold, under the line of writing is unfurled a + garland of circles, spirals and flourishes, framing a bird with outspread + wings, the whole, if you please, in red ink, the only kind worthy of such + a pen. Large and small, we stood awestruck in the presence of these + marvels. The family, in the evening, after supper, would pass from hand to + hand the masterpiece brought back from school: 'What a man!' was the + comment. 'What a man, to draw you a Holy Ghost with a stroke of the pen!' + </p> + <p> + What was read at my school? At most, in French, a few selections from + sacred history. Latin recurred oftener, to teach us to sing vespers + properly. The more advanced pupils tried to decipher manuscript, a deed of + sale, the hieroglyphics of some scrivener. + </p> + <p> + And history, geography? No one ever heard of them. What difference did it + make to us whether the earth was round or square! In either case, it was + just as hard to make it bring forth anything. + </p> + <p> + And grammar? The master troubled his head very little about that; and we + still less. We should have been greatly surprised by the novelty and the + forbidding look of such words in the grammatical jargon as substantive, + indicative and subjunctive. Accuracy of language, whether of speech or + writing, must be learnt by practice. And none of us was troubled by + scruples in this respect. What was the use of all these subtleties, when, + on coming out of school, a lad simply went back to his flock of sheep! + </p> + <p> + And arithmetic? Yes, we did a little of this but not under that learned + name. We called it sums. To put down rows of figures, not too long, add + them and subtract them one from the other was more or less familiar work. + On Saturday evenings, to finish up the week, there was a general orgy of + sums. The top boy stood up and, in a loud voice, recited the + multiplication table up to twelve times. I say twelve times, for in those + days, because of our old duodecimal measures, it was the custom to count + as far as the twelve times table, instead of the ten times of the metric + system. When this recital was over, the whole class, the little ones + included, took it up in chorus, creating such an uproar that chicks and + porkers took to flight if they happened to be there. And this went on to + twelve times twelve, the first in the row starting the next table and the + whole class repeating it as loud as it could yell. Of all that we were + taught in school, the multiplication table was what we knew best, for this + noisy method ended by dinning the different numbers into our ears. This + does not mean that we became skilful reckoners. The cleverest of us easily + got muddled with the figures to be carried in a multiplication sum. As for + division, rare indeed were they who reached such heights. In short, the + moment a problem, however insignificant, had to be solved, we had recourse + to mental gymnastics much rather than to the learned aid of arithmetic. + </p> + <p> + When all is said, our master was an excellent man who could have kept + school very well but for his lack of one thing; and that was time. He + devoted to us all the little leisure which his numerous functions left + him. And, first of all, he managed the property of an absentee landowner, + who only occasionally set foot in the village. He had under his care an + old castle with four towers, which had become so many pigeon houses; he + directed the getting in of the hay, the walnuts, the apples and the oats. + We used to help him during the summer, when the school, which was well + attended in winter, was almost deserted. All that remained, because they + were not yet big enough to work in the fields, were a few children, + including him who was one day to set down these memorable facts. Lessons + at that time were less dull. They were often given on the hay or on the + straw; oftener still, lesson time was spent in cleaning out the dovecote + or stamping on the snails that had sallied in rainy weather from their + fortresses, the tall box borders of the garden belonging to the castle. + </p> + <p> + Our master was a barber. With his light hand, which was so clever at + beautifying our copies with curlicue birds, he shaved the notabilities of + the place: the mayor, the parish priest, the notary. Our master was a bell + ringer. A wedding or a christening interrupted the lessons: he had to ring + a peal. A gathering storm gave us a holiday: the great bell must be tolled + to ward off the lightning and the hail. Our master was a choir singer. + With his mighty voice, he filled the church when he led the Magnificat at + vespers. Our master wound up and regulated the village clock. This was his + proudest function. Giving a glance at the sun, to ascertain the time more + or less nearly, he would climb to the top of the steeple, open a huge cage + of rafters and find himself in a maze of wheels and springs whereof the + secret was known to him alone. + </p> + <p> + With such a school and such a master and such examples, what will become + of my embryo tastes, as yet so imperceptible? In that environment, they + seem bound to perish, stifled for ever. Yet no, the germ has life; it + works in my veins, never to leave them again. It finds nourishment + everywhere, down to the cover of my penny alphabet, embellished with a + crude picture of a pigeon which I study and contemplate much more + zealously than the A B C. Its round eye, with its circlet of dots, seems + to smile upon me. Its wing, of which I count the feathers one by one, + tells me of flights on high, among the beautiful clouds; it carries me to + the beeches raising their smooth trunks above a mossy carpet studded with + white mushrooms that look like eggs dropped by some vagrant hen; it takes + me to the snow-clad peaks where the birds leave the starry print of their + red feet. He is a fine fellow, my pigeon friend: he consoles me for the + woes hidden behind the cover of my book. Thanks to him, I sit quietly on + my bench and wait more or less till school is over. + </p> + <p> + School out of doors has other charms. When the master takes us to kill the + snails in the box borders, I do not always scrupulously fulfil my office + as an exterminator. My heel sometimes hesitates before coming down upon + the handful which I have gathered. They are so pretty! Just think, there + are yellow ones and pink, white ones and brown, all with dark spiral + streaks. I fill my pockets with the handsomest, so as to feast my eyes on + them at my leisure. + </p> + <p> + On hay making days in the master's field, I strike up an acquaintance with + the frog. Flayed and stuck at the end of a split stick, he serves as bait + to tempt the crayfish to come out of his retreat by the brook side. On the + alder trees I catch the Hoplia, the splendid scarab who pales the azure of + the heavens. I pick the narcissus and learn to gather, with the tip of my + tongue, the tiny drop of honey that lies right at the bottom of the cleft + corolla. I also learn that too long indulgence in this feast brings a + headache; but this discomfort in no way impairs my admiration for the + glorious white flower, which wears a narrow red collar at the throat of + its funnel. + </p> + <p> + When we go to beat the walnut trees, the barren grass plots provide me + with locusts spreading their wings, some into a blue fan, others into a + red. And thus the rustic school, even in the heart of winter, furnished + continuous food for my interest in things. There was no need for precept + and example: my passion for animals and plants made progress of itself. + </p> + <p> + What did not make progress was my acquaintance with my letters, greatly + neglected in favor of the pigeon. I was still at the same stage, + hopelessly behindhand with the intractable alphabet, when my father, by a + chance inspiration, brought me home from the town what was destined to + give me a start along the road of reading. Despite the not insignificant + part which it played in my intellectual awakening, the purchase was by no + means a ruinous one. It was a large print, price six farthings, colored + and divided into compartments in which animals of all sorts taught the A B + C by means of the first letters of their names. + </p> + <p> + Where should I keep the precious picture? As it happened, in the room set + apart for the children at home, there was a little window like the one in + the school, opening in the same way out of a sort of recess and in the + same way overlooking most of the village. One was on the right, the other + on the left of the castle with the pigeon house towers; both afforded an + equally good view of the heights of the slanting valley. I was able to + enjoy the school window only at rare intervals, when the master left his + little table; the other was at my disposal as often as I liked. I spent + long hours there, sitting on a little fixed window seat. + </p> + <p> + The view was magnificent. I could see the ends of the earth, that is to + say, the hills that blocked the horizon, all but a misty gap through which + the brook with the crayfish flowed under the alders and willows. High up + on the skyline, a few wind-battered oaks bristled on the ridges; and + beyond there lay nothing but the unknown, laden with mystery. + </p> + <p> + At the back of the hollow stood the church, with its three steeples and + its clock; and, a little higher, the village square, where a spring, + fashioned into a fountain, gurgled from one basin into another, under a + wide arched roof. I could hear from my window the chatter of the women + washing their clothes, the strokes of their beaters, the rasping of the + pots scoured with sand and vinegar. Sprinkled over the slopes are little + houses with their garden patches in terraces banked up by tottering walls, + which bulge under the thrust of the earth. Here and there are very steep + lanes, with the dents of the rock forming a natural pavement. The mule, + sure-footed though he be, would hesitate to enter these dangerous passes + with his load of branches. + </p> + <p> + Further on, beyond the village, half-way up the hills, stood the great + ever-so-old lime tree, the Tel, as we used to call it, whose sides, + hollowed out by the ages, were the favorite hiding places of us children + at play. On fair days, its immense, spreading foliage cast a wide shadow + over the herds of oxen and sheep. Those solemn days, which only came once + a year, brought me a few ideas from without: I learnt that the world did + not end with my amphitheater of hills. I saw the inn keeper's wine arrive + on mule back and in goat skin bottles. I hung about the market place and + watched the opening of jars full of stewed pears, the setting out of + baskets of grapes, an almost unknown fruit, the object of eager + covetousness. I stood and gazed in admiration at the roulette board on + which, for a sou, according to the spot at which its needle stopped on a + circular row of nails, you won a pink poodle made of barley sugar, or a + round jar of aniseed sweets, or, much oftener, nothing at all. On a piece + of canvas on the ground, rolls of printed calico with red flowers, were + displayed to tempt the girls. Close by rose a pile of beechwood clogs, + tops and boxwood flutes. Here the shepherds chose their instruments, + trying them by blowing a note or two. How new it all was to me! What a lot + of things there were to see in this world! Alas, that wonderful time was + of but short duration! At night, after a little brawling at the inn, it + was all over; and the village returned to silence for a year. + </p> + <p> + But I must not linger over these memories of the dawn of life. We were + speaking of the memorable picture brought from town. Where shall I keep + it, to make the best use of it? Why, of course, it must be pasted on the + embrasure of my window. The recess, with its seat, shall be my study cell; + here I can feast my eyes by turns on the big lime tree and the animals of + my alphabet. And this was what I did. + </p> + <p> + And now, my precious picture, it is our turn, yours and mine. You began + with the sacred beast, the ass, whose name, with a big initial, taught me + the letter A. The boeuf, the ox, stood for B; the canard, the duck, told + me about C; the dindon, the turkey, gave me the letter D. And so on with + the rest. A few compartments, it is true, were lacking in clearness. I had + no friendly feeling for the hippopotamus, the kamichi, or horned screamer, + and the zebu, who aimed at making me say H, K and Z. Those outlandish + beasts, which failed to give the abstract letter the support of a + recognized reality, caused me to hesitate for a time over their + recalcitrant consonants. No matter: father came to my aid in difficult + cases; and I made such rapid progress that, in a few days, I was able to + turn in good earnest the pages of my little pigeon book, hitherto so + undecipherable. I was initiated; I knew how to spell. My parents marveled. + I can explain this unexpected progress today. Those speaking pictures, + which brought me amongst my friends the beasts, were in harmony with my + instincts. If the animal has not fulfilled all that it promised in so far + as I am concerned, I have at least to thank it for teaching me to read. I + should have succeeded by other means, I do not doubt, but not so quickly + nor so pleasantly. Animals forever! + </p> + <p> + Luck favored me a second time. As a reward for my prowess, I was given La + Fontaine's Fables, in a popular, cheap edition, crammed with pictures, + small, I admit, and very inaccurate, but still delightful. Here were the + crow, the fox, the wolf, the magpie, the frog, the rabbit, the ass, the + dog, the cat: all persons of my acquaintance. The glorious book was + immensely to my taste, with its skimpy illustrations on which the animal + walked and talked. As to understanding what it said, that was another + story! Never mind, my lad! Put together syllables that say nothing to you + as yet; they will speak to you later and La Fontaine will always remain + your friend. + </p> + <p> + I come to the time when I was ten years old and at Rodez College. My + functions as a serving boy in the chapel entitled me to free instruction + as a day boarder. There were four of us in white surplices and red + skull-caps and cassocks. I was the youngest of the party and did little + more than walk on. I counted as a unit; and that was about all, for I was + never certain when to ring the bell or move the missal. I was all of a + tremble when we gathered two on this side and two on that, with + genuflection's, in the middle of the sanctuary, to intone the Domine, + salvum fac regern at the end of mass. Let me make a confession: + tongue-tied with shyness, I used to leave it to the others. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, I was well thought of, for, in the school, I cut a good + figure in composition and translation. In that classical atmosphere, there + was talk of Procas, King of Alba, and of his two sons, Numitor and + Amulius. We heard of Cynoegirus, the strong jawed man, who, having lost + his two hands in battle, seized and held a Persian galley with his teeth, + and of Cadmus the Phoenician, who sowed a dragon's teeth as though they + were beans and gathered his harvest in the shape of a host of armed men, + who killed one another as they rose up from the ground. The only one who + survived the slaughter was one as tough as leather, presumably the son of + the big back grinder. + </p> + <p> + Had they talked to me about the man in the moon, I could not have been + more startled. I made up for it with my animals, which I was far from + forgetting amid this phantasmagoria of heroes and demigods. While honoring + the exploits of Cadmus and Cynoegirus, I hardly ever failed, on Sundays + and Thursdays [the weekly half-holiday in French schools], to go and see + if the cowslip or the yellow daffodil was making its appearance in the + meadows, if the Linnet was hatching on the juniper bushes, if the + Cockchafers were plopping down from the wind shaken poplars. Thus was the + sacred spark kept aglow, ever brighter than before. + </p> + <p> + By easy stages, I came to Virgil and was very much smitten with Meliboeus, + Corydon, Menalcas, Damoetas and the rest of them. The scandals of the + ancient shepherds fortunately passed unnoticed; and within the frame in + which the characters moved were exquisite details concerning the bee, the + cicada, the turtle dove, the crow, the nanny goat and the golden broom. A + veritable delight were these stories of the fields, sung in sonorous + verse; and the Latin poet left a lasting impression on my classical + recollections. + </p> + <p> + Then, suddenly, goodbye to my studies, goodbye to Tityrus and Menalcas. + Ill luck is swooping down on us, relentlessly. Hunger threatens us at + home. And now, boy, put your trust in God; run about and earn your + penn'orth of potatoes as best you can. Life is about to become a hideous + inferno. Let us pass quickly over this phase. Amid this lamentable chaos, + my love for the insect ought to have gone under. Not at all. It would have + survived the raft of the Medusa. I still remember a certain pine + cockchafer met for the first time. The plumes on her antennae, her pretty + pattern of white spots on a dark brown ground were as a ray of sunshine in + the gloomy wretchedness of the day. + </p> + <p> + To cut a long story short: good fortune, which never abandons the brave, + brought me to the primary normal school at Vaucluse where I was assured + food: dried chestnuts and chickpeas. The principal, a man of broad views, + soon came to trust his new assistant. He left me practically a free hand, + so long as I satisfied the school curriculum, which was very modest in + those days. Possessing a smattering of Latin and grammar, I was a little + ahead of my fellow pupils. I took advantage of this to get some order into + my vague knowledge of plants and animals. While a dictation lesson was + being corrected around me, with generous assistance from the dictionary, I + would examine, in the recesses of my desk, the oleander's fruit, the + snapdragon's seed vessel, the wasp's sting and the ground beetle's + wing-case. + </p> + <p> + With this foretaste of natural science, picked up haphazard and by + stealth, I left school more deeply in love than ever with insects and + flowers. And yet I had to give it all up. That wider education, which + would have to be my source of livelihood in the future, demanded this + imperiously. What was I to take in hand to raise me above the primary + school, whose staff could barely earn their bread in those days? Natural + history could not bring me anywhere. The educational system of the time + kept it at a distance, as unworthy of association with Latin and Greek. + Mathematics remained, with its very simple equipment: a blackboard, a bit + of chalk and a few books. + </p> + <p> + So I flung myself with might and main into conic sections and the + calculus: a hard battle, if ever there was one, without guides or + counselors, face to face for days on end with the abstruse problem which + my stubborn thinking at last stripped of its mysteries. Next came the + physical sciences, studied in the same manner, with an impossible + laboratory, the work of my own hands. + </p> + <p> + The reader can imagine the fate of my favorite branch of science in this + fierce struggle. At the faintest sign of revolt, I lectured myself + severely, lest I should let myself be seduced by some new grass, some + unknown Beetle. I did violence to my feelings. My natural history books + were sentenced to oblivion, relegated to the bottom of a trunk. + </p> + <p> + And so, in the end, I am sent to teach physics and chemistry at Ajaccio + College. This time, the temptation is too much for me. The sea, with its + wonders, the beach, whereon the tide casts such beautiful shells, the + maquis of myrtles, arbutus and mastic trees: all this paradise of gorgeous + nature has too much on its side in the struggle with the sine and the + cosine. I succumb. My leisure time is divided into two parts. One, the + larger, is allotted to mathematics, the foundation of my academical + future, as planned by myself; the other is spent, with much misgiving, in + botanizing and looking for the treasures of the sea. What a country and + what magnificent studies to be made, if, unobsessed by x and y, I had + devoted myself wholeheartedly to my inclinations! + </p> + <p> + We are the wisp of straw, the plaything of the winds. We think that we are + making for a goal deliberately chosen; destiny drives us towards another. + Mathematics, the exaggerated preoccupation of my youth, did me hardly any + service; and animals, which I avoided as much as ever I could, are the + consolation of my old age. Nevertheless, I bear no grudge against the sine + and the cosine, which I continue to hold in high esteem. They cost me many + a pallid hour at one time, but they always afforded me some first rate + entertainment: they still do so, when my head lies tossing sleeplessly on + its pillow. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, Ajaccio received the visit of a famous Avignon botanist, + Requien by name, who, with a box crammed with paper under his arm, had + long been botanizing all over Corsica, pressing and drying specimens and + distributing them to his friends. We soon became acquainted. I accompanied + him in my free time on his explorations and never did the master have a + more attentive disciple. To tell the truth, Requien was not a man of + learning so much as an enthusiastic collector. Very few would have felt + capable of competing with him when it came to giving the name or the + geographical distribution of a plant. A blade of grass, a pad of moss, a + scab of lichen, a thread of seaweed: he knew them all. The scientific name + flashed across his mind at once. What an unerring memory, what a genius + for classification amid the enormous mass of things observed! I stood + aghast at it. I owe much to Requien in the domain of botany. Had death + spared him longer, I should doubtless have owed more to him, for his was a + generous heart, ever open to the troubles of novices. + </p> + <p> + In the following year, I met Moquin-Tandon, with whom, thanks to Requien, + I had already exchanged a few letters on botany. The illustrious Toulouse + professor came to study on the spot the flora which he proposed to + describe systematically. When he arrived, all the hotel bedrooms were + reserved for the members of the general council which had been summoned; + and I offered him board and lodging: a shakedown in a room overlooking the + sea; fare consisting of lampreys, turbot and sea urchins: common enough + dishes in that land of Cockayne, but possessing no small attraction for + the naturalist, because of their novelty. My cordial proposal tempted him; + he yielded to my blandishments; and there we were for a fortnight chatting + at table de omni re scibili after the botanical excursion was over. + </p> + <p> + With Moquin-Tandon, new vistas opened before me. Here it was no longer the + case of a nomenclator with an infallible memory: he was a naturalist with + far-reaching ideas, a philosopher who soared above petty details to + comprehensive views of life, a writer, a poet who knew how to clothe the + naked truth in the magic mantle of the glowing word. Never again shall I + sit at an intellectual feast like that: 'Leave your mathematics,' he said. + 'No one will take the least interest in your formula. Get to the beast, + the plant; and, if, as I believe, the fever burns in your veins, you will + find men to listen to you.' + </p> + <p> + We made an expedition to the center of the island, to Monte Renoso, with + which I was already familiar. I made the scientist pick the hoary + everlasting (Helichrysum frigidum), which makes a wonderful patch of + silver; the many-headed thrift, or mouflon grass (Armeria multiceps), + which the Corsicans call erba muorone; the downy marguerite (Leucanthemum + tomosum), which, clad in wadding, shivers amid the snows; and many other + rarities dear to the botanist. Moquin-Tandon was jubilant. I, on my side, + was much more attracted and overcome by his words and his enthusiasm than + by the hoary everlasting. When we came down from the cold mountaintop, my + mind was made up: mathematics would be abandoned. + </p> + <p> + On the day before his departure, he said to me: 'You interest yourself in + shells. That is something, but it is not enough. You must look into the + animal itself. I will show you how it's done.' + </p> + <p> + And, taking a sharp pair of scissors from the family work-basket and a + couple of needles stuck into a bit of vine shoot which served as a + makeshift handle, he showed me the anatomy of a snail in a soup plate + filled with water. Gradually he explained and sketched the organs which he + spread before my eyes. This was the only, never-to-be-forgotten lesson in + natural history that I ever received in my life. + </p> + <p> + It is time to conclude. I was cross-examining myself, being unable to + cross-examine the silent Beetle. As far as it is possible to read within + myself, I answer as follows: 'From early childhood, from the moment of my + first mental awakening, I have felt drawn towards the things of nature, + or, to return to our catchword, I have the gift, the bump of observation.' + </p> + <p> + After the details which I have already given about my ancestors, it would + be ridiculous to look to heredity for an explanation of the fact. Nor + would any one venture to suggest the words or example of my masters. Of + scientific education, the fruit of college training, I had none whatever. + I never set foot in a lecture hall except to undergo the ordeal of + examinations. Without masters, without guides, often without books, in + spite of poverty, that terrible extinguisher, I went ahead, persisted, + facing my difficulties, until the indomitable bump ended by shedding its + scanty contents. Yes, they were very scanty, yet possibly of some value, + if circumstances had come to their assistance. I was a born animalist. Why + and how? No reply. + </p> + <p> + We thus have, all of us, in different directions and in a greater or + lesser degree, characteristics that brand us with a special mark, + characteristics of an unfathomable origin. They exist because they exist; + and that is all that any one can say. The gift is not handed down: the man + of talent has a fool for a son. Nor is it acquired; but it is improved by + practice. He who has not the germ of it in his veins will never possess + it, in spite of all the pains of a hothouse education. + </p> + <p> + That to which we give the name of instinct when speaking of animals is + something similar to genius. It is, in both cases, a peak that rises above + the ordinary level. But instinct is handed down, unchanged and + undiminished, throughout the sequence of a species; it is permanent and + general and in this it differs greatly from genius, which is not + transmissible and changes in different cases. Instinct is the inviolable + heritage of the family and falls to one and all, without distinction. Here + the difference ends. Independent of similarity of structure, it breaks out + like genius, here or elsewhere, for no perceptible reason. Nothing causes + it to be foreseen, nothing in the organization explains it. If + cross-examined on this point, the Dung beetles and the rest, each with his + own peculiar talent, would answer, were we able to understand them: + 'Instinct is the animal's genius.' + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII. THE POND + </h2> + <p> + The pond, the delight of my early childhood, is still a sight whereof my + old eyes never tire. What animation in that verdant world! On the warm mud + of the edges, the frog's little tadpole basks and frisks in its black + legions; down in the water, the orange-bellied newt steers his way slowly + with the broad rudder of his flat tail; among the reeds are stationed the + flotillas of the caddis worms, half protruding from their tubes, which are + now a tiny bit of stick and again a turret of little shells. + </p> + <p> + In the deep places, the water beetle dives, carrying with him his reserves + of breath: an air bubble at the tip of the wing cases and, under the + chest, a film of gas that gleams like a silver breastplate; on the + surface, the ballet of those shimmering pearls, the whirligigs, turns and + twists about; hard by there skims the unsubmersible troop of the pond + skaters, who glide along with side strokes similar to those which the + cobbler makes when sewing. + </p> + <p> + Here are the water boatmen, who swim on their backs with two oars spread + cross-wise, and the flat water scorpions; here, squalidly clad in mud, is + the grub of the largest of our dragonflies, so curious because of its + manner of progression: it fills its hinder parts, a yawning funnel, with + water, spurts it out again and advances just so far as the recoil of its + hydraulic cannon. + </p> + <p> + The mollusks abound, a peaceful tribe. At the bottom, the plump river + snails discreetly raise their lid, opening ever so little the shutters of + their dwelling; on the level of the water, in the glades of the aquatic + garden, the pond snails—Physa, Limnaea and Planorbis—take the + air. Dark leeches writhe upon their prey, a chunk of earthworm; thousands + of tiny, reddish grubs, future mosquitoes, go spinning around and twist + and curve like so many graceful dolphins. + </p> + <p> + Yes, a stagnant pool, though but a few feet wide, hatched by the sun, is + an immense world, an inexhaustible mine of observation to the studious man + and a marvel to the child who, tired of his paper boat, diverts his eyes + and thoughts a little with what is happening in the water. Let me tell + what I remember of my first pond, at a time when ideas began to dawn in my + seven-year-old brain. + </p> + <p> + How shall a man earn his living in my poor native village, with its + inclement weather and its niggardly soil? The owner of a few acres of + grazing land rears sheep. In the best parts, he scrapes the soil with the + swing plow; he flattens it into terraces banked by walls of broken stones. + Pannierfuls of dung are carried up on donkey-back from the cowshed. Then, + in due season, comes the excellent potato, which, boiled and served hot in + a basket of plaited straw, is the chief stand-by in winter. + </p> + <p> + Should the crop exceed the needs of the household, the surplus goes to + feed a pig, that precious beast, a treasure of bacon and ham. The ewes + supply butter and curds; the garden boasts cabbages, turnips and even a + few hives in a sheltered corner. With wealth like that one can look fate + in the face. + </p> + <p> + But we, we have nothing, nothing but the little house inherited by my + mother and its adjoining patch of garden. The meager resources of the + family are coming to an end. It is time to see to it and that quickly. + What is to be done? That is the stern question which father and mother sat + debating one evening. + </p> + <p> + Hop-o'-my-Thumb, hiding under the woodcutter's stool, listened to his + parents overcome by want. I also, pretending to sleep, with my elbows on + the table, listen not to blood curdling designs, but to grand plans that + set my heart rejoicing. This is how the matter stands: at the bottom of + the village, near the church, at the spot where the water of the large + roofed spring escapes from its underground weir and joins the brook in the + valley, an enterprising man, back from the war, has set up a small tallow + factory. He sells the scrapings of his pans, the burnt fat, reeking of + candle grease, at a low price. He proclaims these wares to be excellent + for fattening ducks. + </p> + <p> + "Suppose we bred some ducks," says mother. "They sell very well in town. + Henri would mind them and take them down to the brook." + </p> + <p> + "Very well," says father, "let's breed some ducks. There may be + difficulties in the way; but we'll have a try." + </p> + <p> + That night, I had dreams of paradise: I was with my ducklings, clad in + their yellow suits; I took them to the pond, I watched them have their + bath, I brought them back again, carrying the more tired ones in a basket. + </p> + <p> + A month or two after, the little birds of my dreams were a reality. There + were twenty-four of them. They had been hatched by two hens, of whom one, + the big, black one, was an inmate of the house, while the other was + borrowed from a neighbor. + </p> + <p> + To bring them up, the former is sufficient, so careful is she of her + adopted family. At first, everything goes perfectly: a tub with two + fingers' depth of water serves as a pond. On sunny days, the ducklings + bathe in it under the anxious eye of the hen. + </p> + <p> + A fortnight later, the tub is no longer enough. It contains neither + cresses crammed with tiny shellfish nor worms and tadpoles, dainty morsels + both. The time has come for dives and hunts amid the tangle of the water + weeds; and for us the day of trouble has also come. True, the miller, down + by the brook, has fine ducks, easy and cheap to bring up; the tallow + smelter, who has extolled his burnt fat so loudly, has some as well, for + he has the advantage of the waste water from the spring at the bottom of + the village; but how are we, right up there, at the top, to procure + aquatic sports for our broods? In summer, we have hardly water to drink! + </p> + <p> + Near the house, in a freestone recess, a scanty source trickles into a + basin made in the rock.. Four or five families have, like ourselves, to + draw their water there with copper pails. By the time that the + schoolmaster's donkey has slaked her thirst and the neighbors have taken + their provision for the day, the basin is dry. We have to wait for + four-and-twenty hours for it to fill. No, this is not the hole in which + the ducks would delight nor indeed in which they would be tolerated. + </p> + <p> + There remains the brook. To go down to it with the troop of ducklings is + fraught with danger. On the way through the village, we might meet cats, + bold ravishers of small poultry; some surly mongrel might frighten and + scatter the little band; and it would be a hard puzzle to collect it in + its entirety. We must avoid the traffic and take refuge in peaceful and + sequestered spots. + </p> + <p> + On the hills, the path that climbs behind the chateau soon takes a sudden + turn and widens into a small plain beside the meadows. It skirts a rocky + slope whence trickles, level with the ground, a streamlet, forming a pond + of some size. Here profound solitude reigns all day long. The ducklings + will be well off; and the journey can be made in peace by a deserted + footpath. + </p> + <p> + You, little man, shall take them to that delectable spot. What a day it + was that marked my first appearance as a herdsman of ducks! Why must there + be a jar to the even tenor of such joys? The too frequent encounter of my + tender skin with the hard ground had given me a large and painful blister + on the heel. Had I wanted to put on the shoes stowed away in the cupboard + for Sundays and holidays, I could not. There was nothing for it but to go + barefoot over the broken stones, dragging my leg and carrying high the + injured heel. + </p> + <p> + Let us make a start, hobbling along, switch in hand, behind the ducks. + They too, poor little things, have sensitive soles to their feet; they + limp, they quack with fatigue. They would refuse to go any farther if I + did not, from time to time, call a halt under the shelter of an ash. + </p> + <p> + We are there at last. The place could not be better for my birdlets; + shallow, tepid water, interspersed with muddy knolls and green eyots. The + diversions of the bath begin forthwith. The ducklings clap their beaks and + rummage here, there and everywhere; they sift each mouthful, rejecting the + clear water and retaining the good bits. In the deeper parts, they point + their sterns into the air and stick their heads under water. They are + happy; and it is a blessed thing to see them at work. We will let them be. + It is my turn to enjoy the pond. + </p> + <p> + What is this? On the mud lie some loose, knotted, soot-colored cords. One + could take them for threads of wool like those which you pull out of an + old ravelly stocking. Can some shepherdess, knitting a black sock and + finding her work turn out badly, have begun all over again and, in her + impatience, have thrown down the wool with all the dropped stitches? It + really looks like it. + </p> + <p> + I take up one of those cords in my hand. It is sticky and extremely slack; + the thing slips through the fingers before they can catch hold of it. A + few of the knots burst and shed their contents. What comes out is a black + globule, the size of a pin's head, followed by a flat tail. I recognize, + on a very small scale, a familiar object: the tadpole, the frog's baby. I + have seen enough. Let us leave the knotted cords alone. + </p> + <p> + The next creatures please me better. They spin round on the surface of the + water and their black backs gleam in the sun. If I lift a hand to seize + them, that moment they disappear, I know not where. It's a pity: I should + have much liked to see them closer and to make them wriggle in a little + bowl which I should have put ready for them. + </p> + <p> + Let us look at the bottom of the water, pulling aside those bunches of + green string whence beads of air are rising and gathering into foam. There + is something of everything underneath. I see pretty shells with compact + whorls, flat as beans; I notice little worms carrying tufts and feathers; + I make out some with flabby fins constantly flapping on their backs. What + are they all doing there? What are their names? I do not know. And I stare + at them for ever so long, held by the incomprehensible mystery of the + waters. + </p> + <p> + At the place where the pond dribbles into the adjoining field are some + alder trees; and here I make a glorious find. It is a scarab—not a + very large one, oh no! He is smaller than a cherry-stone, but of an + unutterable blue. The angels in paradise must wear dresses of that color. + I put the glorious one inside an empty snail-shell, which I plug up with a + leaf. I shall admire that living jewel at my leisure, when I get back. + Other distractions summon me away. + </p> + <p> + The spring that feeds the pond trickles from the rock, cold and clear. The + water first collects into a cup, the size of the hollow of one's two + hands, and then runs over in a stream. These falls call for a mill: that + goes without saying. Two bits of straw, artistically crossed upon an axis, + provide the machinery; some flat stones set on edge afford supports. It is + a great success: the mill turns admirably. My triumph would be complete, + could I but share it. For want of other playmates, I invite the ducks. + </p> + <p> + Everything palls in this poor world of ours, even a mill made of two + straws. Let us think of something else: let us contrive a dam to hold back + the waters and form a pool. There is no lack of stones for the brickwork. + I pick the most suitable; I break the larger ones. And, while collecting + these blocks, suddenly I forget all about the dam which I meant to build. + </p> + <p> + On one of the broken stones, in a cavity large enough for me to put my + fist in, something gleams like glass. The hollow is lined with facets + gathered in sixes which flash and glitter in the sun. I have seen + something like this in church, on the great saints' days, when the light + of the candles in the big chandelier kindles the stars in its hanging + crystal. + </p> + <p> + We children, lying, in summer, on the straw of the threshing floor, have + told one another stories of the treasures which a dragon guards + underground. Those treasures now return to my mind: the names of precious + stones ring out uncertainly but gloriously in my memory. I think of the + king's crown, of the princesses' necklaces. In breaking stones, can I have + found, but on a much richer scale, the thing that shines quite small in my + mother's ring? I want more such. + </p> + <p> + The dragon of the subterranean treasures treats me generously. He gives me + his diamonds in such quantities that soon I possess a heap of broken + stones sparkling with magnificent clusters. He does more: he gives me his + gold. The trickle of water from the rock falls on a bed of fine sand which + it swirls into bubbles. If I bent over towards the light, I see something + like gold filings whirling where the fall touches the bottom. Is it really + the famous metal of which twenty-franc pieces, so rare with us at home, + are made? One would think so, from the glitter. + </p> + <p> + I take a pinch of sand and place it in my palm. The brilliant particles + are numerous, but so small that I have to pick them up with a straw + moistened in my mouth. Let us drop this: they are too tiny and too + bothersome to collect. The big, valuable lumps must be farther on, in the + thickness of the rock. We'll come back later; we'll blast the mountain. + </p> + <p> + I break more stones. Oh, what a queer thing has just come loose, all in + one piece! It is turned spiral-wise, like certain flat snails that come + out of the cracks of old walls in rainy weather. With its gnarled sides, + it looks like a little ram's horn. Shell or horn, it is very curious. How + do things like that find their way into the stone? + </p> + <p> + Treasures and curiosities make my pockets bulge with pebbles. It is late + and the little ducklings have had all they want to eat. Come along, + youngsters, let's go home. My blistered heel is forgotten in my + excitement. The walk back is a delight. A voice sings in my ear, an + untranslatable voice, softer than any language and bewildering as a dream. + It speaks to me for the first time of the mysteries of the pond; it + glorifies the heavenly insect which I hear moving in the empty snail + shell, its temporary cage; it whispers the secrets of the rock, the gold + filings, the faceted jewels, the ram's horn turned to stone. + </p> + <p> + Poor simpleton, smother your joy! I arrive. My parents catch sight of my + bulging pockets, with their disgraceful load of stones. The cloth has + given way under the rough and heavy burden. + </p> + <p> + "You rascal!" says father, at sight of the damage. "I send you to mind the + ducks and you amuse yourself picking up stones, as though there weren't + enough of them all round the house! Make haste and throw them away!" + </p> + <p> + Broken hearted, I obey. Diamonds, gold dust, petrified ram's horn, + heavenly beetle are all flung on a rubbish heap outside the door. + </p> + <p> + Mother bewails her lot: "A nice thing, bringing up children to see them + turn out so badly! You'll bring me to my grave. Green stuff I don't mind: + it does for the rabbits. But stones, which ruin your pockets; poisonous + animals, which'll sting your hand: what good are they to you, silly? + There's no doubt about it: some one has thrown a spell over you!" + </p> + <p> + Yes, my poor mother, you were right, in your simplicity: a spell had been + cast upon me; I admit it today. When it is hard enough to earn one's bit + of bread, does not improving one's mind but render one more meet for + suffering? Of what avail is the torment of learning to the derelicts of + life? + </p> + <p> + A deal better off am I, at this late hour, dogged by poverty and knowing + that the diamonds of the duck pool were rock crystal, the gold dust mica, + the stone horn an Ammonite and the sky-blue beetle a Hoplia! We poor men + would do better to mistrust the joys of knowledge: let us dig our furrow + in the fields of the commonplace, flee the temptations of the pond, mind + our ducks and leave to others, more favored by fortune, the job of + explaining the world's mechanism, if the spirit moves them. + </p> + <p> + And yet no! Alone among living creatures, man has the thirst for + knowledge; he alone pries into the mysteries of things. The least among us + will utter his whys and his wherefores, a fine pain unknown to the brute + beast. If these questionings come from us with greater persistence, with a + more imperious authority, if they divert us from the quest of lucre, + life's only object in the eyes of most men, does it become us to complain? + Let us be careful not to do so, for that would be denying the best of all + our gifts. + </p> + <p> + Let us strive, on the contrary, within the measure of our capacity, to + force a gleam of light from the vast unknown; let us examine and question + and, here and there, wrest a few shreds of truth. We shall sink under the + task; in the present ill ordered state of society, we shall end, perhaps, + in the workhouse. Let us go ahead for all that: our consolation shall be + that we have increased by one atom the general mass of knowledge, the + incomparable treasure of mankind. + </p> + <p> + As this modest lot has fallen to me, I will return to the pond, + notwithstanding the wise admonitions and the bitter tears which I once + owed to it. I will return to the pond, but not to that of the small ducks, + the pond aflower with illusions: those ponds do not occur twice in a + lifetime. For luck like that, you must be in all the new glory of your + first breeches and your first ideas. + </p> + <p> + Many another have I come upon since that distant time, ponds very much + richer and, moreover, explored with the ripened eye of experience. + Enthusiastically I searched them with the net, stirred up their mud, + ransacked their trailing weeds. None in my memories comes up to the first, + magnified in its delights and mortifications by the marvelous perspective + of the years. + </p> + <p> + Nor would any of them suit my plans of today. Their world is too vast. I + should lose myself in their immensities, where life swarms freely in the + sun. Like the ocean, they are infinite in their fruitfulness. And then any + assiduous watching, undisturbed by passers by, is an impossibility on the + public way. What I want is a pond on an extremely reduced scale, sparingly + stocked in my own fashion an artificial pond standing permanently on my + study table. + </p> + <p> + A louis has been overlooked in a corner of the drawer. I can spend it + without seriously jeopardizing the domestic balance. Let me make this gift + to science, who, I fear, will be none too much obliged to me. A gorgeous + equipment may be all very well for laboratories wherein the cells and + fibers of the dead are consulted at great expense; but such magnificence + is of doubtful utility when we have to study the actions of the living. It + is the humble makeshift, of no value, that stumbles on the secrets of + life. + </p> + <p> + What did the best results of my studies of instinct cost me? Nothing but + time and, above all, patience. My extravagant expenditure of twenty + francs, therefore, will be a risky speculation if devoted to the purchase + of an apparatus of study. It will bring me in nothing in the way of fresh + views, of that I am convinced. However, let us try. + </p> + <p> + The blacksmith makes me the framework of a cage out of a few iron rods. + The joiner, who is also a glazier on occasion—for, in my village, + you have to be a Jack-of-all-trades if you would make both ends meet—sets + the framework on a wooden base and supplies it with a movable board as a + lid; he fixes thick panes of glass in the four sides. Behold the + apparatus, complete, with a bottom of tarred sheet iron and a trap to let + the water out. + </p> + <p> + The makers express themselves satisfied with their work, a singular + novelty in their respective shops, where many an inquisitive caller has + wondered what use I intend to make of my little glass trough. The thing + creates a certain stir. Some insist that it is meant to hold my supplies + of oil and to take the place of the receptacle in general use in our + parts, the urn dug out of a block of stone. What would those utilitarians + have thought of my crazy mind, had they known that my costly gear would + merely serve to let me watch some wretched animals kicking about in the + water! + </p> + <p> + Smith and glazier are content with their work. I myself am pleased. For + all its rustic air, the apparatus does not lack elegance. It looks very + well, standing on a little table in front of a window visited by the sun + for the greater part of the day. Its holding capacity is some ten or + eleven gallons. What shall we call it? An aquarium? No, that would be too + pretentious and would, very unjustly, suggest the aquatic toy filled with + rock work, waterfalls and goldfish beloved of the dwellers in suburbia. + Let us preserve the gravity of serious things and not treat my learned + trough as though it were a drawing room futility. We will call it the + glass pond. + </p> + <p> + I furnish it with a heap of those limy incrustations wherewith certain + springs in the neighborhood cover the dead clump of rushes. It is light, + full of holes and gives a faint suggestion of a coral reef. Moreover, it + is covered with a short, green, velvety moss, a downy sward of + infinitesimal pond weed. I count on this modest vegetation to keep the + water in a reasonably wholesome state, without driving me to frequent + renewals which would disturb the work of my colonies. Sanitation and quiet + are the first conditions of success. Now the stocked pond will not be long + in filling itself with gases unfit to breathe, with putrid effluvia and + other animal refuse; it will become a sink in which life will have killed + life. Those dregs must disappear as soon as they are formed, must be burnt + and purified; and from their oxidized ruins there must even rise a perfect + life-giving gas, so that the water may retain an unchangeable store of the + breathable element. The plant effects this purification in its sewage farm + of green cells. + </p> + <p> + When the sun beats upon the glass pond, the work of the water weeds is a + sight to behold. The green-carpeted reef is lit up with an infinity of + scintillating points and assumes the appearance of a fairy lawn of velvet, + studded with thousands of diamond pin's heads. From this exquisite jewelry + pearls break loose continuously and are at once replaced by others in the + generating casket; slowly they rise, like tiny globes of light. They + spread on every side. It is a constant display of fireworks in the depths + of the water. + </p> + <p> + Chemistry tells us that, thanks to its green matter and the stimulus of + the sun's rays, the weeds decompose the carbonic acid gas wherewith the + water is impregnated by the breathing of its inhabitants and the + corruption of the organic refuse; it retains the carbon, which is wrought + into fresh tissues; it exhales the oxygen in tiny bubbles. These partly + dissolve in the water and partly reach the surface, where their froth + supplies the atmosphere with an excess of breathable gas. The dissolved + portion keeps the colonists of the pond alive and causes the unhealthy + products to be oxidized and disappear. + </p> + <p> + Old hand though I be, I take an interest in this trite marvel of a bundle + of weeds perpetuating hygienic principles in a stagnant pool; I look with + a delighted eye upon the inexhaustible spray of spreading bubbles; I see + in imagination the prehistoric times when seaweed, the first-born of + plants, produced the first atmosphere for living things to breathe at the + time when the silt of the continents was beginning to emerge. What I see + before my eyes, between the glass panes of my trough, tells me the story + of the planet surrounding itself with pure air. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VIII. THE CADDIS WORM + </h2> + <p> + Whom shall I lodge in my glass trough, kept permanently wholesome by the + action of the water weeds? I shall keep caddis worms, those expert + dressers. Few of the self-clothing insects surpass them in ingenious + attire. The ponds in my neighborhood supply me with five or six species, + each possessing an art of its own. Today, but one of these shall receive + historical honors. + </p> + <p> + I obtain it from the muddy bottomed, stagnant pools crammed with small + reeds. As far as one can judge from the habitation merely, it should be, + according to the specialists, Limnophilus flavicornis, whose work has + earned for the whole corporation the pretty name of Phryganea, a Greek + term meaning a bit of wood, a stick. In a no less expressive fashion, the + Provencal peasant calls it lou portofais, lou porto-caneu. This is the + little grub that carries through the still waters a faggot of tiny + fragments fallen from the reeds. + </p> + <p> + Its sheath, a travelling house, is a composite and barbaric piece of work, + a megalithic pile wherein art, retires in favor of amorphous strength. The + materials are many and sundry, so much so that we might imagine that we + had the work of dissimilar builders before our eyes, if frequent + transitions did not tell us the contrary. + </p> + <p> + With the young ones, the novices, it starts with a sort of deep basket in + rustic wicker-work. The twigs employed present nearly always the same + characteristics and are none other than bits of small, stiff roots, long + steeped and peeled under water. The grub that has made a find of these + fibers saws them with its mandibles and cuts them into little straight + sticks, which it fixes one by one to the edge of its basket, always + crosswise, perpendicular to the axis of the work. + </p> + <p> + Picture a circle surrounded by a bristling mass of tangents, or rather a + polygon with its sides extended in all directions. On this assemblage of + straight lines we place repeated layers of others, without troubling about + similarity of position, thus obtaining a sort of ragged fascine, whose + sticks project on every side. Such is the bastion of the child grub, an + excellent system of defense, with its continuous pile of spikes, but + difficult to steer through the tangle of aquatic plants. + </p> + <p> + Sooner or later, the worm forsakes this kind of caltrop which catches on + to everything. It was a basket maker, it now turns carpenter; it builds + with little beams and joists—that is to say, with round bits of + wood, browned by the water, often as wide as a thick straw and a + finger's-breadth long, more or less—taking them as chance supplies + them. + </p> + <p> + For the rest, there is something of everything in this rag bag: bits of + stubble, fag ends of rushes, scraps of plants, fragments of some tiny twig + or other, chips of wood, shreds of bark, largish grains, especially the + seeds of the yellow iris, which were red when they fell from their + capsules and are now black as jet. + </p> + <p> + The heterogeneous collection is piled up anyhow. Some pieces are fixed + lengthwise, others across, others aslant. There are angles in this + direction and angles in the other, resulting in sharp little turns and + twists; the big is mixed with the little, the correct rubs shoulders with + the shapeless. It is not an edifice, it is a frenzied conglomeration. + Sometimes, a fine disorder is an effect of art. This is not so here: the + work of the Caddis worm is not a masterpiece worth signing. + </p> + <p> + And this mad heaping up follows straight upon the regular basket work of + the start. The young grub's fascine did not lack a certain elegance, with + its dainty laths, all stacked crosswise, methodically; and, lo and behold, + the builder, grown larger, more experienced and, one would think, more + skilful, abandons the orderly plan to adopt another which is wild and + incoherent! There is no transition stage between the two systems. The + extravagant pile rises abruptly from the original basket. But that we + often find the two kinds of work placed one above the other, we would not + dare ascribe to them a common origin. The fact of their being joined + together is the only thing that makes them one, in spite of the + incongruity. + </p> + <p> + But the two storeys do not last indefinitely. When the worm has grown + slightly and is housed to its satisfaction in a heap of joists, it + abandons the basket of its childhood, which has become too narrow and is + now a troublesome burden. It cuts through its sheath, lops off and lets go + the stern, the original work. When moving to a higher and roomier flat, it + understands how to lighten its portable house by breaking off a part of + it. All that remains is the upper floor, which is enlarged at the + aperture, as and when required, by the same architecture of disordered + beams. + </p> + <p> + Side by side with these cases, which are mere ugly faggots, we find others + just as often of exquisite beauty and composed entirely of tiny shells. Do + they come from the same workshop? It takes very convincing proofs to make + us believe this. Here is order with its charm, there disorder with its + hideousness; on the one hand a dainty mosaic of shells, on the other a + clumsy heap of sticks. And yet it is all produced by the same laborer. + </p> + <p> + Proofs abound. On some case which offends the eye with the want of + arrangement in its bits of wood, patches are apt to appear which are quite + regular and made of shells; in the same way, it is not unusual to see a + horrid tangle of joists braced to a masterpiece of shell work. One feels a + certain annoyance at seeing the pretty sheath so barbarously spoilt. + </p> + <p> + This mixed construction tells us that the rustic stacker of wooden beams + excels, when occasion offers, in making elegant shell pavements and that + it practices rough carpentry and delicate mosaic work indifferently. In + the latter instance, the scabbard is made, above all, of Planorbes, + selected among the smaller of these pond snails and laid flat. Without + being scrupulously regular, the work, at its best, does not lack merit. + The pretty, close-whorled spirals, placed one against the other on the + same level, have a very pleasing general effect. No pilgrim returning from + Santiago de Compostella ever slung handsomer tippet from his shoulders. + </p> + <p> + But only too often the caddis worm dashes ahead, regardless of proportion. + The big is joined to the small, the exaggerated suddenly stands out, to + the great detriment of order. Side by side with tiny Planorbes, each at + most the size of a lentil, others are fixed as large as one's fingernail; + and these cannot possibly be fitted in correctly. They overlap the regular + parts and spoil their finish. + </p> + <p> + To crown the disorder, the caddis worm adds to the flat spirals any dead + shell that comes handy, without distinction of species, provided it be not + excessively large. I notice, in its collection of bric-a-brac, the Physa, + the Paludina, the Limnaea, the Amber snail [all pond snails] and even the + Pisidium [a bivalve], that little twin-valved casket. + </p> + <p> + Land shells, swept into the ditches by the rains after the inmate's death, + are accepted quite as readily. In the work made of the Mollusk's cast-off + clothing, I find encrusted the spindle shell of the Clausilium, the key + shell of the pupa, the spiral of the smaller Helix, the yawning volute of + the Vitrina, or glass snail, the turret shell of the Bulimus [all land + snails], denizens all of the fields. In short, the caddis worm builds with + more or less everything that comes from the plant or the dead mollusk. + Among the diversified refuse of the pond, the only materials rejected are + those of a gravelly nature. Stone and pebble are excluded from the + building with a care that is very rarely absent. This is a question of + hydrostatics to which we will return presently. For the moment, let us try + to follow the construction of the scabbard. + </p> + <p> + In a tumbler small enough to allow of easy and precise observation, I + install three or four caddis worms, extracted this moment from their + sheaths with every possible precaution. After a number of attempts which + have at last shown me the right road, I place at their disposal two kinds + of materials, possessing opposite qualities; the supple and the firm, the + soft and the hard. On the one hand, we have a live aquatic plant, such as + watercress, for instance, or ombrelle d'eau, having at its base a tufty + bunch of fine white roots about as thick as a horsehair. In these soft + tresses, the caddis worm, which observes a vegetarian diet, will find at + one and the same time the wherewithal to build and eat. On the other hand, + we have a little faggot of bits of wood, very dry, equal in length and + each possessing the thickness of a good sized pin. The two sorts of + building material lie side by side, mingling their threads and sticks. The + animal can make its choice from the lump. + </p> + <p> + A few hours later, having recovered from the shock of losing its sheath, + the caddis worm sets to work to manufacture a new one. It settles across a + bunch of tangled rootlets, which are brought together by the builder's + legs and more or less arranged by the undulating movement of the hinder + part. This gives a kind of incoherent and ill defined suspended belt, a + narrow hammock with a number of loose catches; for the various bits of + which it is made up are respected by the teeth and extended from place to + place beyond the main cords of the roots. Here, without much trouble, is + the support, suitably fixed by natural moorings. A few threads of silk, + casually distributed, make the frail combination a trifle more secure. + </p> + <p> + And now to the work of building. Supported by the suspended belt, the + caddis worm stretches itself and thrusts out its middle legs, which, being + longer than the others, are the grapnels intended to seize things at a + distance. It meets a bit of root, fastens on to it, climbs above the point + gripped, as though it were measuring the piece to a requisite length, and + then, with the fine scissors of its mandibles, cuts the string. + </p> + <p> + There is at once a brief recoil, which brings the animal back to the level + of the hammock. The bit detached lies across the worm's chest, held in its + forelegs, which turn it, twist it, wave it about, lay it down, lift it up, + as though trying for the best position. Those forelegs make admirably + dexterous arms. Being less long than the other two pairs, they are brought + into immediate contact with those primordial implements, the mandibles and + the spinneret. Their delicate terminal jointing, with a movable and + crooked finger, is the caddis worm's equivalent of our hand. They are the + working legs. The second pair, which are exceptionally long, serve to + spear distant materials and to give the worker a firm footing when + measuring a piece and cutting it with the pliers. Lastly, the hind legs, + of medium length, afford a support when the others are busy. + </p> + <p> + The caddis worm, I was saying, with the piece which it has removed held + crosswise to its chest, retreats a little way along its suspended hammock + until the spinneret is level with the support furnished by the close + tangle of rootlets. With a quick movement, it shifts its burden, gets it + as nearly by the middle as it can, so that the two ends stick out equally + on either side, and chooses the spot to place it, whereupon the spinneret + sets to work at once, while the little fore legs hold the scrap of root + motionless in its transversal position. The soldering is effected with a + touch of silk in the middle of the bit and along a certain distance to the + right and left, as far as the bending of the head permits. + </p> + <p> + Without delay, other sticks are speared in like manner at a distance, cut + off and placed in position. As the immediate neighborhood is stripped, the + material is gathered at a yet greater distance and the caddis worm bends + even farther from its support, which now holds only its last few segments. + It is a curious gymnastic display, that of this soft, hanging spine + turning and swaying, while the grapnels feel in every direction for a + thread. + </p> + <p> + All this labor results in a sort of casing of little white cords. The work + lacks firmness and regularity. Nevertheless, judging by the builder's + methods, I can see that the building would not be devoid of merit if the + materials gave it a better chance. The caddis worm estimates the size of + its pieces very fairly; it cuts them all to nearly the same length; it + always arranges them crosswise on the margin of the case; it fixes them by + the middle. + </p> + <p> + Nor is this all: the manner of working helps the general arrangement + considerably. When the bricklayer is building the narrow shaft of a + factory chimney, he stands in the center of his turret and turns round and + round while gradually laying new rows. The caddis worm acts in the same + way. It twists round in its sheath; it adopts without inconvenience + whatever position it pleases, so as to bring its spinneret full face with + the point to be gummed. There is no straining of the neck to left or + right, no throwing back of the head to reach points behind. The animal has + constantly before it, within the exact range of its implements, the place + at which the bit is to be fixed. When the piece is soldered, the worm + turns a little aside, to a length equal to that of the last soldering, and + here, along an extent which hardly ever varies, an extent determined by + the swing which its head is able to give, it fixes the next piece. + </p> + <p> + These several conditions ought to result in a geometrically ordered + dwelling, having a regular polygon as an opening. Then how comes it that + the cylinder of bits of root is so confused, so clumsily fashioned? The + reason is this: the worker possesses talent, but the materials do not lend + themselves to accurate work. The rootlets supply stumps of very uneven + shape and thickness. They include big and small ones, straight and bent, + simple and ramified. To combine all these dissimilar pieces into an + orderly whole is hardly possible, all the more so as the caddis worm does + not appear to attach very much importance to its cylinder, which is a + temporary work, hurriedly constructed to afford a speedy shelter. Matters + are urgent; and very soft fibers, clipped with a bite of the mandibles, + are more quickly gathered and more easily put together than joists, which + require the patient work of the saw. The inaccurate cylinder, in short, + held in position by numerous guy ropes, is a base upon which a solid and + definite structure will rise before long. Soon, the original work will + crumble to ruins and disappear, whereas the new one, a permanent + structure, will even outlast the owner. + </p> + <p> + The insects reared in a tumbler show yet another method of building the + first dwelling. This time, the caddis worm is given a few very leafy + stalks of pond weed (Potamogeton densum) and a bundle of small dry twigs. + It perches on a leaf, which the nippers of the mandibles cut half across. + The portion left untouched will act as a lanyard and give the necessary + steadiness to the early operations. + </p> + <p> + From an adjoining leaf a section is cut out entirely, an angular and good + sized piece. There is plenty of material and no need for economy. The + piece is soldered with silk to the strip which was not wholly cut off. The + result of three or four similar operations is to surround the Caddis worm + with a conical bag, whose wide mouth is scalloped with pointed and very + irregular notches. The work of the nippers continues; fresh pieces are + fixed, from one to another, inside the funnel, not far from the edge, so + that the bag lengthens, tapers and ends by wrapping the animal in a light + and floating drapery. + </p> + <p> + Thus clad for the time being, either in the fine silk of the pond weed or + in the linsey-woolsey supplied by the roots of the watercress, the caddis + worm begins to think of building a more solid sheath. The present casing + will serve as a foundation for the stronger building. But the necessary + materials are seldom near at hand: you have to go and fetch them, you have + to move your position, an effort which has been avoided until now. With + this object, the caddis worm cuts its moorings, that is to say, the + rootlets which keep the cylinder fixed, or else the half-severed leaf of + pond weed on which the cone-shaped bag has come into being. + </p> + <p> + The worm is now free. The smallness of the artificial pond, the tumbler, + soon brings it into touch with what it is seeking. This is a little faggot + of dry twigs, which I have selected of equal length and of slight + thickness. Displaying greater care than it did when treating the slender + roots, the carpenter measures out the requisite length on the joist. The + distance to which it has to extend its body in order to reach the point + where the break will be made tells it pretty accurately what length of + stick it wants. + </p> + <p> + The piece is patiently sawn off with the mandibles; it is next taken in + the fore legs and held crosswise below the neck. The backward movement + which brings the caddis worm home also brings the bit of twig to the edge + of the tube. Thereupon, the methods employed in working with the scraps of + root are renewed in precisely the same manner. The sticks are scaffolded + to the regulation height, all alike in length, amply soldered in the + middle and free at either end. + </p> + <p> + With the picked materials provided, the carpenter has turned out a work of + some elegance. The joists are all arranged crosswise, because this way is + the handiest for carrying the sticks and putting them in position; they + are fixed by the middle, because the two arms that hold the stick while + the spinneret does its work require an equal grasp on either side; each + soldering covers a length which is seen to be practically invariable, + because it is equal to the width described by the head in bending first to + this side and then to that when the silk is emitted; the whole assumes a + polygonal shape, not far removed from a rectilinear pentagon, because, + between laying one piece and the next, the caddis worm turns by the width + of an arc corresponding with the length of a soldering. The regularity of + the method produces the regularity of the work; but it is essential, of + course, that the materials should lend themselves to precise coordination. + </p> + <p> + In its natural pond, the caddis worm does not often have at its disposal + the picked joists which I give it in the tumbler. It comes across + something of everything; and that something of everything it employs as it + finds it. Bits of wood, large seeds, empty shells, stubble stalks, + shapeless fragments are used in the building for better or for worse, just + as they occur, without being trimmed by the saw; and this jumble, the + result of chance, results in a shockingly faulty structure. + </p> + <p> + The caddis worm does not forget its talents; but it lacks choice pieces. + Give it a proper timber yard and it at once reverts to correct + architecture, of which it carries the plans within itself. With small, + dead pond snails, all of the same size, it fashions a splendid patchwork + scabbard; with a cluster of slender roots, reduced by rotting to their + stiff, straight, woody axis, it manufactures pretty specimens of wicker + work which could serve as models to our basket makers. + </p> + <p> + Let us watch it at work when it is unable to use its favorite joist. There + is no point in giving it clumsy building stones; that would only bring us + back to the uncouth sheaths. Its propensity to make use of soaked seeds, + those of the iris, for instance, suggests that I might try grains. I + select rice, which, because of its hardness, will be tantamount to wood + and, because of its clean whiteness and its oval shape, will lend itself + to artistic masonry. + </p> + <p> + Obviously, my denuded caddis worms cannot start their work with bricks of + this kind. Where would they fix their first layer? They must have a + foundation, quick and easy to build. This is once more supplied by a + temporary cylinder of watercress roots. On this support follow the grains + of rice, which, grouped one atop the other, straight or slanting, end by + giving a magnificent turret of ivory. Next to the sheaths made of tiny + snail shells, this is the prettiest thing with which the caddis worm's + industry has furnished me. A fine sense of order has returned, because the + materials, regular and of identical character, have cooperated with the + correct method of the worker. + </p> + <p> + The two demonstrations are enough. Sticks and grains of rice make it plain + that the caddis worm is not the bungler that one would expect from the + monstrous buildings in the pond. Those Cyclopean piles, those mad + conglomerations, are the inevitable results of chance finds, which are + used for the best because there is no choice. The water carpenter has an + art of its own, has method and rules of symmetry. When well served by + fortune, it is quite able to turn out good work; when ill-served, it acts + like others: the work which it turns out is bad. Poverty makes for + ugliness. + </p> + <p> + There is another matter wherein the caddis worm deserves our attention. + With a perseverance which repeated trials do not tire, it makes itself a + new tube when I strip it. This is opposed to the habits of the generality + of insects, which do not recommence the thing once done, but simply + continue it according to the usual rules, taking no account of the ruined + or vanished portions. The caddis worm is a striking exception: it starts + again. Whence does it derive this capacity? + </p> + <p> + I begin by learning that, given a sudden alarm, it readily leaves its + scabbard. When I go fishing for caddis worms, I put them in tin boxes, + containing no other moisture than that wherewith my catches are soaked. I + heap them up loosely, to avoid any grievous tumult and to fill the space + at my disposal as best I may. I take no further precaution. This is enough + to keep the caddis worms in good condition during the two or three hours + which I devote to fishing and to walking home. + </p> + <p> + On my return, I find that a number of them have left their houses. They + are swarming naked among the empty scabbards and those still occupied by + their inhabitants. It is a pitiful sight to see these evicted ones + dragging their bare abdomens and their frail respiratory threads over the + bristling sticks. There is no great harm done, however; and I empty the + whole lot into the glass pond. + </p> + <p> + Not one resumes possession of an unoccupied sheath. Perhaps it would take + them too long to find one of the exact size. They think it better to + abandon the old clouts and to manufacture cases new from top to bottom. + The process is a rapid one. By the next day, with the materials wherein + the glass trough abounds—bundles of twigs and tufts of watercress—all + the denuded worms have made themselves at least a temporary home in the + form of a tube of rootlets. + </p> + <p> + The lack of water, combined with the excitement of the crowding in the + boxes, has upset my captives greatly; and, scenting a grave peril, they + have made off hurriedly, doffing the cumbersome jacket, which is difficult + to carry. They have stripped themselves so as to flee with greater ease. + The alarm cannot have been due to me: there are not many simpletons like + myself who are interested in the affairs of the pond; and the caddis worm + has not been cautioned against their tricks. The sudden desertion of the + crib has certainly some other reason than man's molestations. + </p> + <p> + I catch a glimpse of this reason, the real one. The glass pond was + originally occupied by a dozen Dytisci, or water beetles, whose diving + performances are so curious to watch. One day, meaning no harm and for + want of a better receptacle, I fling among them a couple of handfuls of + caddis worms. Blunderer that I am, what have I done! The corsairs, hiding + in the rugged corners of the rock work, at once perceive the windfall. + They rise to the surface with great strokes of their oars; they hasten and + fling themselves upon the crowd of carpenters. Each pirate grabs a sheath + by the middle and strives to rip it open by tearing off shells and sticks. + While this ferocious enucleation continues with the object of reaching the + dainty morsel contained within, the caddis worm, close pressed, appears at + the mouth of the sheath, slips out and quickly decamps under the eyes of + the Dytiscus, who appears to notice nothing. + </p> + <p> + I have said before that the trade of killing can dispense with + intelligence. The brutal ripper of sheaths does not see the little white + sausage that slips between his legs, passes under his fangs and madly + flees. He continues to tear away the outer case and to tug at the silken + lining. When the breach is made, he is quite crestfallen at not finding + what he expected. + </p> + <p> + Poor fool! Your victim went out under your nose and you never saw it. The + worm has sunk to the bottom and taken refuge in the mysteries of the rock + work. If things were happening in the large expanse of a pond, it is clear + that, with their system of expeditious removals, most of the lodgers would + escape scot-free. Fleeing to a distance and recovering from the sharp + alarm, they would build themselves a new scabbard and all would be over + until the next attack, which would be baffled afresh by the selfsame + trick. + </p> + <p> + In my narrow trough, things take a more tragic turn. When the sheaths are + done for, when the caddis worms that are too slow in making off have been + eaten up, the Water beetles return to the rockery at the bottom. Here, + sooner or later, there are lamentable happenings. The naked fugitives are + discovered and, succulent morsels that they are, are forthwith torn to + pieces and devoured. Within twenty-four hours, not one of my band of + caddis worms is left alive. In order to continue my studies, I had to + lodge the water beetles elsewhere. + </p> + <p> + Under natural conditions, the caddis worm has its persecutors, the most + formidable of whom appears to be the Water beetle. When we consider that, + to thwart the brigand's attacks, it has invented the idea of quitting its + scabbard with all speed, its tactics are certainly most appropriate; but, + in that case, an exceptional condition becomes obligatory, namely, the + capacity for recommencing the work. This most unusual gift of recommencing + it possesses in a high measure. I am ready to see its origin in the + persecutions of the Dytiscus and other pirates. Necessity is the mother of + industry. + </p> + <p> + Certain caddis worms, of the Sericostoma and Leptocerus species, clothe + themselves in grains of sand and do not leave the bed of the stream. On a + clear bottom, swept by the current, they walk about from one bank of + verdure to the other and do not think of coming to the surface to float + and sail in the sunlight. The collectors of sticks and shells are more + highly privileged. They can remain on the level of the water indefinitely, + with no other support than their skiff, can rest in unsubmersible + flotillas and can even shift their place by working the rudder. + </p> + <p> + To what do they owe this privilege? Are we to look upon the bundle of + sticks as a sort of raft whose density is less than that of the water? Can + the shells, which are always empty and able to contain a few bubbles of + air in their spiral, he floats? Can the big joists, which break in so ugly + a fashion the none too great regularity of the work, serve to buoy up the + over-heavy raft? In short, is the caddis worm versed in the laws of + equilibrium and does it choose its pieces, now lighter and now heavier as + the case may be, so as to constitute a whole that is capable of floating? + The following facts are a refutation of any such hydrostatic calculations + in the animal. + </p> + <p> + I remove a number of caddis worms from their sheaths and submit these, as + they are, to the test of water. Whether formed wholly of fibrous remnants + or of mixed materials, not one of them floats. The scabbards made of + shells go to the bottom with the swiftness of a bit of gravel; the others + sink gently. I experiment with the separate materials one by one. No shell + remains on the surface, not even among the Planorbes, which a many-whorled + spiral ought, one would think, to keep afloat. The fibrous remnants must + be divided into two categories. The first, darkened by time and soaked + with moisture, sink to the bottom. These are the most plentiful. The + second, considerably fewer in number, of more recent date and less + saturated with water, float very well. The general result is immersion, as + in the case of the intact scabbards. I may add that the animal, when + removed from its tube, is also unable to float. + </p> + <p> + Then how does the caddis worm manage to remain on the surface without the + support of the grasses, considering that itself and its sheath are both + heavier than water? Its secret is soon revealed. I place a few high and + dry on a sheet of blotting paper, which will absorb the excess of liquid + unfavorable to successful observation. Outside its natural environment, + the animal moves about violently and restlessly. With its body half out of + the scabbard, this time composed entirely of fibrous matter, it clutches + with its feet at the supporting plane. Then, contracting itself, it draws + the scabbard towards it, half-raising it and sometimes even making it + assume a vertical position. Even so do the Bulimi move along, lifting + their shell as they complete each crawling step. + </p> + <p> + After a couple of minutes in the free air, I replace the caddis worm in + the water. This time, it floats, but like a cylinder with too much weight + below. The sheath remains vertical, with its hinder orifice level with the + water. Soon, an air bubble escapes from the orifice. Deprived of this + buoy, the skiff at once goes down. + </p> + <p> + The result is the same with the caddis worms in shell casings. At first, + they float, straight up on end, and then dip under and sink, faster than + the others, after sending out an air bubble or two through the back + window. + </p> + <p> + That is enough: the secret is out. When cased in wood or in shells, the + caddis worms, which are always heavier than water, are able to keep on the + surface by means of a temporary air balloon which decreases the density of + the whole structure. + </p> + <p> + This apparatus works in the simplest manner. Consider the rear of the + sheath. It is truncated, wide open and supplied with a membranous + partition, the work of the spinneret. A round hole occupies the center of + this screen. Beyond it lies the interior of the scabbard, which is + smoothly lined and wadded with satin, however rough the exterior may be. + Armed at the stern with two hooks which bite into the silky lining, the + animal is able to move backwards and forwards at will inside the cylinder, + to fix its grapnels at whatever point it pleases and thus to keep a hold + on the cylinder while the six legs and the fore part are outside. + </p> + <p> + When at rest, the body remains indoors entirely and the grub occupies the + whole of the tube. But let it contract ever so little towards the front, + or, better still, let it stick out a part of its body: a vacuum is formed + behind this sort of piston, which may be compared with that of a pump. + Thanks to the rear window, a valve without a plug, this vacuum at once + fills, thus renewing the aerated water around the gills, a soft fleece of + hairs distributed over the back and belly. + </p> + <p> + The piston stroke affects only the work of breathing; it does not alter + the density, makes hardly any change in that which is heavier than water. + To lighten the weight, the caddis worm must first rise to the surface. + With this object, it scales the grasses of one support after the other; it + clambers up, sticking to its purpose in spite of the drawback of its + faggot dragging through the tangle. When it has reached the goal, it lifts + the rear end a little above the water and gives a stroke of the piston. + The vacuum thus obtained fills with air. That is enough: skiff and boatman + are in a position to float. The now useless support of the grasses is + abandoned. The time has come for evolutions on the surface, in the glad + sunlight. + </p> + <p> + The caddis worm possesses no great talent as a navigator. To turn round, + to tack about, to shift its place slightly by a backward movement is all + that it can do; and even that it does very clumsily. The front part of the + body, sticking out of the case, acts as a rudder. Three or four times + over, it rises abruptly, bends, comes down again and strikes the water. + These paddle strokes, repeated at intervals, carry the unskilled oarsman + to fresh latitudes. It becomes a voyage on the right seas when the + crossing measures a hand's breadth. + </p> + <p> + However, tacking on the surface of the water affords the caddis worm no + pleasure. It prefers to twitter in one spot, to remain stationary in + flotillas. When the time comes to return to the quiet of the mud bed at + the bottom, the animal, having had enough of the sun, draws itself wholly + into its sheath again and, with a piston stroke, expels the air from the + back room. The normal density is restored and it sinks slowly to the + bottom. + </p> + <p> + We see, therefore, that the caddis worm has not to trouble about + hydrostatics when building its scabbard. In spite of the incongruity of + its work, in which the bulky and less dense portions seem to balance the + more solid, concentrated part, it is not called upon to contrive an + equipoise between the light and the heavy. It has other artifices whereby + to rise to the surface, to float and to dive down again. The ascent is + made by the ladder of the water weeds. The average density of the sheath + is of no importance, so long as the burden to be dragged is not beyond the + animal's strength. Besides, the weight of the load is greatly reduced when + moved in the water. + </p> + <p> + The admission of a bubble of air into the back chamber, which the animal + ceases to occupy, allow it, without further to-do, to remain for an + indefinite period on the surface. To dive down again, the caddis worm has + only to retreat entirely into its sheath. The air is driven out; and the + canoe, resuming its mean density, a greater specific density than that of + water, goes under at once and descends of its own accord. + </p> + <p> + There is, therefore, no choice of materials on the builder's part, no nice + calculation of equilibrium, save for one condition, that no stony matter + be admitted. That apart, everything serves, large and small, joist and + shell, seed and billet. Built up at haphazard, all these things make an + impregnable wall. One point alone is essential: the weight of the whole + must slightly exceed that of the water displaced; if not, there could be + no steadiness at the bottom of the pond, without a perpetual anchorage + struggling against the pull of the water. In the same manner, quick + submersion would be impossible at times when the surface became dangerous + and the frightened creature wanted to leave it. + </p> + <p> + Nor does this important heavier-than-water question call for lucid + discernment, seeing that almost the whole of the sheath is constructed at + the bottom of the pond, whither all the materials picked up at random, + having descended once before, are likely to descend again. In the sheaths, + the parts capable of floating are very rare. Without taking their specific + levity into account, simply so as not to remain idle, the caddis worm + fixed them to its bundle when sporting on the surface of the water. + </p> + <p> + We have our submarines, in which hydraulic ingenuity displays its highest + resources. The caddis worms have theirs, which emerge, float on the + surface, dip down and even stop at mid-depth by releasing gradually their + surplus air. And this apparatus, so perfectly balanced, so skilful, + requires no knowledge on the part of its constructor. It comes into being + of itself, in accordance with the plans of the universal harmony of + things. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IX. THE GREENBOTTLES + </h2> + <p> + I have wished for a few things in my life, none of them capable of + interfering with the common weal. I have longed to possess a pond, + screened from the indiscretion of the passers by, close to my house, with + clumps of rushes and patches of duckweed. Here, in my leisure hours, in + the shade of a willow, I should have meditated upon aquatic life, a + primitive life, easier than our own, simpler in its affections and its + brutalities. I should have watched the unalloyed happiness of the mollusk, + the frolics of the Whirligig, the figure-skating of the Hydrometra [a + water bug known as the Pond skater], the dives of the Dytiscus beetle, the + veering and tacking of the Notonecta [the water boatman], who, lying on + her back, rows with two long oars, while her short forelegs, folded + against her chest, wait to grab the coming prey. I should have studied the + eggs of the Planorbis, a glairy nebula wherein focuses of life are + condensed even as suns are condensed in the nebulae of the heavens. I + should have admired the nascent creature that turns, slowly turns in the + orb of its egg and describes a volute, the draft, perhaps, of the future + shell. No planet circles round its center of attraction with greater + geometrical accuracy. + </p> + <p> + I should have brought back a few ideas from my frequent visits to the + pond. Fate decided otherwise: I was not to have my sheet of water. I have + tried the artificial pond, between four panes of glass. A poor shift! Our + laboratory aquariums are not even equal to the print left in the mud by a + mule's hoof, when once a shower has filled the humble basin and life has + stocked it with its marvels. + </p> + <p> + In spring, with the hawthorn in flower and the crickets at their concerts, + a second wish often came to me. Along the road, I light upon a dead mole, + a snake killed with a stone, victims both of human folly. The mole was + draining the soil and purging it of its vermin. Finding him under his + spade, the laborer broke his back for him and flung him over the hedge. + The snake, roused from her slumber by the soft warmth of April, was coming + into the sun to shed her skin and take on a new one. Man catches sight of + her: 'Ah, would you?' says he. 'See me do something for which the world + will thank me!' + </p> + <p> + And the harmless beast, our auxiliary in the terrible battle which + husbandry wages against the insect, has its head smashed in and dies. + </p> + <p> + The two corpses, already decomposing, have begun to smell. Whoever + approaches with eyes that do not see turns away his head and passes on. + The observer stops and lifts the remains with his foot; he looks. A world + is swarming underneath; life is eagerly consuming the dead. Let us replace + matters as they were and leave death's artisans to their task. They are + engaged in a most deserving work. + </p> + <p> + To know the habits of those creatures charged with the disappearance of + corpses, to see them busy at their work of disintegration, to follow in + detail the process of transmutation that makes the ruins of what has lived + return apace into life's treasure house: these are things that long + haunted my mind. I regretfully left the mole lying in the dust of the + road. I had to go, after a glance at the corpse and its harvesters. It was + not the place for philosophizing over a stench. What would people say who + passed and saw me! + </p> + <p> + And what will the reader himself say, if I invite him to that sight? + Surely, to busy one's self with those squalid sextons means soiling one's + eyes and mind? Not so, if you please! Within the domain of our restless + curiosity, two questions stand out above all others: the question of the + beginning and the question of the end. How does matter unite in order to + assume life? How does it separate when returning to inertia? The pond, + with its Planorbis eggs turning round and round, would have given us a few + data for the first problem; the Mole, going bad under conditions not too + repulsive, will tell us something about the second: he will show us the + working of the crucible wherein all things are melted to begin anew. A + truce to nice delicacy! Odi profanum vulgus et arceo; hence, ye profane: + you would not understand the mighty lesson of the rag tank. + </p> + <p> + I am now in a position to realize my second wish. I have space, air and + quiet in the solitude of the harmas. None will come here to trouble me, to + smile or to be shocked at my investigations. So far, so good; but observe + the irony of things: now that I am rid of passers by, I have to fear my + cats, those assiduous prowlers, who, finding my preparations, will not + fail to spoil and scatter them. In anticipation of their misdeeds, I + establish workshops in midair, whither none but genuine corruption agents + can come, flying on their wings. At different points in the enclosure, I + plant reeds, three by three, which, tied at their free ends, form a stable + tripod. From each of these supports, I hang, at a man's height, an + earthenware pan filled with fine sand and pierced at the bottom with a + hole to allow the water to escape, if it should rain. I garnish my + apparatus with dead bodies. The snake, the lizard, the toad receive the + preference, because of their bare skins, which enable me better to follow + the first attack and the work of the invaders. I ring the changes with + furred and feathered beasts. A few children of the neighborhood, allured + by pennies, are my regular purveyors. Throughout the good season, they + come running triumphantly to my door, with a snake at the end of a stick, + or a lizard in a cabbage leaf. They bring me the rat caught in a trap, the + chicken dead of the pip, the mole slain by the gardener, the kitten killed + by accident, the rabbit poisoned by some weed. The business proceeds to + the mutual satisfaction of sellers and buyer. No such trade had ever been + known before in the village nor ever will be again. + </p> + <p> + April ends; and the pans rapidly fill. An ant, ever so small, is the first + arrival. I thought I should keep this intruder off by hanging my apparatus + high above the ground: she laughs at my precautions. A few hours after the + deposit of the morsel, fresh still and possessing no appreciable smell, up + comes the eager picker-up of trifles, scales the stems of the tripod in + processions and starts the work of dissection. If the joint suits her, she + even goes to live in the sand of the pan and digs herself temporary + platforms in order to work the rich find more at her ease. + </p> + <p> + All through the season, from start to finish, she will always be the + promptest, always the first to discover the dead animal, always the last + to beat a retreat when nothing more remains than a heap of little bones + bleached by the sun. How does the vagabond, passing at a distance, know + that, up there, invisible, high on the gibbet, there is something worth + going for? The others, the real knackers, wait for the meat to go bad; + they are informed by the strength of the effluvia. The ant, gifted with + greater powers of scent, hurries up before there is any stench at all. + But, when the meat, now two days old and ripened by the sun, exhales its + flavor, soon the master ghouls appear upon the scene: Dermestes [bacon + beetles, small flesh-eating beetles] and Saprini [exceedingly small + flesh-eating beetles], Silphae [carrion beetles] and Necrophori [burying + beetles], flies and Staphylini [rove beetles], who attack the corpse, + consume it and reduce it almost to nothing. With the ant alone, who each + time carries off a mere atom, the sanitary operation would take too long; + with them, it is a quick business, especially as certain of them + understand the process of chemical solvents. + </p> + <p> + These last, who are high class scavengers, are entitled to first mention. + They are flies, of many various species. If time permitted, each of those + strenuous ones would deserve a special examination; but that would weary + the patience of both the reader and the observer. The habits of one will + give us a summary notion of the habits of the rest. We will therefore + confine ourselves to the two principal subjects, namely, the Luciliae, or + greenbottles, and the Sarcophagae, or grey flesh flies. + </p> + <p> + The Luciliae—flies that glitter—are magnificent flies known to + all of us. Their metallic luster, generally a golden green, rivals that of + our finest beetles, the Rosechafers, Buprestes and leaf beetles. It gives + one a shock of surprise to see so rich a garb adorn those workers in + putrefaction. Three species frequent my pans: Lucilia Caesar, LIN., L. + cadaverina, LIN., and L. cuprea, ROB. The first two, both of whom are + gold-green, are plentiful; the third, who sports a coppery luster, is + rare. All three have red eyes, set in a silver border. + </p> + <p> + Lucilia Caesar is larger than L. cadaverina and also more forward in her + business. I catch her in labor on the 23rd of April. She has settled in + the spinal canal of a neck of mutton and is laying her eggs on the marrow. + For more than an hour, motionless in the gloomy cavity, she goes on + packing her eggs. I can just see her red eyes and her silvery face. At + last, she comes out. I gather the fruit of her labor, an easy matter, for + it all lies on the marrow, which I extract without touching the eggs. + </p> + <p> + A census would seem important. To take it at once is impracticable: the + germs form a compact mass, which would be difficult to count. The best + thing is to rear the family in a jar and to reckon by the pupae buried in + the sand. I find a hundred and fifty-seven. This is evidently but a + minimum; for Lucilia Caesar and the others, as the observations that + follow will tell me, lay in packets at repeated intervals. It is a + magnificent family, promising a fabulous legion to come. + </p> + <p> + The greenbottles, I was saying, break up their laying into sections. The + following scene affords a proof of this. A Mole, shrunk by a few days' + evaporation, lies spread upon the sand of the pan. At one point, the edge + of the belly is raised and forms a deep arch. Remark that the + Greenbottles, like the rest of the flesh eating flies, do not trust their + eggs to uncovered surfaces, where the heat of the sun's rays might + endanger the existence of the delicate germs. They want dark hiding + places. The favorite spot is the lower side of the dead animal, when this + is accessible. + </p> + <p> + In the present case, the only place of access is the fold formed by the + edge of the belly. It is here and here alone that this day's mothers are + laying. There are eight of them. After exploring the piece and recognizing + its good quality, they disappear under the arch, first this one, then + that, or else several at a time. They remain under the Mole for a + considerable while. Those outside wait, but go repeatedly to the threshold + of the cavern to take a look at what is happening within and see whether + the earlier ones have finished. These come out at last, perch on the + animal and wait in their turn. Others at once take their place in the + recesses of the cave. They remain there for some time and then, having + done their business, make room for more mothers and come forth into the + sunlight. This going in and out continues throughout the morning. + </p> + <p> + We thus learn that the laying is effected by periodical emissions, broken + with intervals of rest. As long as she does not feel ripe eggs coming to + her oviduct, the greenbottle remains in the sun, hovering to and fro and + sipping modest mouthfuls from the carcass. But, as soon as a fresh stream + descends from her ovaries, quick as lightning she makes for a propitious + site whereon to deposit her burden. It appears to be the work of several + days thus to divide the total laying and to distribute it at different + points. + </p> + <p> + I carefully raise the animal under which these things are happening. The + egg laying mothers do not disturb themselves; they are far too busy. Their + ovipositor extended telescope fashion, they heap egg upon egg. With the + point of their hesitating, groping instrument, they try to lodge each + germ, as it comes, farther into the mass. Around the serious, red-eyed + matrons, the Ants circle, intent on pillage. Many of them make off with a + greenbottle egg between their teeth. I see some who, greatly daring, + effect their theft under the ovipositor itself. The layers do not put + themselves out, let the ants have their way, remain impassive. They know + their womb to be rich enough to make good any such larceny. + </p> + <p> + Indeed, what escapes the depredations of the ants promises a plenteous + brood. Let us come back a few days later and lift the mole again. + Underneath, in a pool of sanies, is a surging mass of swarming sterns and + pointed heads, which emerge, wriggle and dive in again. It suggests a + seething billow. It turns one's stomach. It is horrible, most horrible. + Let us steel ourselves against the sight: it will be worse elsewhere. + </p> + <p> + Here is a fat snake. Rolled into a compact whorl, she fills the whole pan. + The greenbottles are plentiful. New ones arrive at every moment and, + without quarrel or strife, take their place among the others, busily + laying. The spiral furrow left by the reptile's curves is the favorite + spot. Here alone, in the narrow space between the folds, are shelters + against the heat of the sun. The glistening Flies take their places, side + by side, in rows; they strive to push their abdomen and their ovipositor + as far forward as possible, at the risk of rumpling their wings and + cocking them towards their heads. The care of the person is neglected amid + this serious business. Placidly, with their red eyes turned outwards, they + form a continuous cordon. Here and there, at intervals, the rank is + broken; layers leave their posts, come and walk about upon the snake, what + time their ovaries ripen for another emission, and then hurry back, slip + into the rank and resume the flow of germs. Despite these interruptions, + the work of breeding goes fast. In the course of one morning, the depths + of the spiral furrow are hung with a continuous white bark, the heaped up + eggs. They come off in great slabs, free of any stain; they can be + shoveled up, as it were, with a paper scoop. It is a propitious moment if + we wish to follow the evolution at close quarters. I therefore gather a + profusion of this white manna and lodge it in glass tubes, test tubes and + jars, with the necessary provisions. + </p> + <p> + The eggs, about a millimeter long, are smooth cylinders, rounded at both + ends. They hatch within twenty-four hours. The first question that + presents itself is this: how do the greenbottle grubs feed? I know quite + well what to give them, but I do not in the least see how they manage to + consume it. Do they eat, in the strict sense of the word? I have reasons + to doubt it. + </p> + <p> + Let us consider the grub grown to a sufficient size. It is the usual fly + larva, the common maggot, shaped like an elongated cone, pointed in front, + truncated behind, where two little red spots show, level with the skin: + these are the breathing holes. The front, which is called the head by + stretching a word—for it is little more than the entrance to an + intestine—the front is armed with two little black hooks, which + slide in a translucent sheath, project a little way outside and go in turn + by turn. Are we to look upon these as mandibles? Not at all, for, instead + of having their points facing each other, as would be required in a real + mandibular apparatus, the two hooks work in parallel directions and never + meet. What they are is ambulatory organs, grapnels assisting locomotion, + which give a purchase on the plane and enable the animal to advance by + means of repeated contractions. The maggot walks with the aid of what a + superficial examination would pronounce to be a machine for eating. It + carries in its gullet the equivalent of the climber's alpenstock. + </p> + <p> + Let us hold it, on a piece of flesh, under the lens. We shall see it + walking about, raising and lowering its head and, each time, stabbing the + meat with its pair of hooks. When stationary, with its crupper at rest, it + explores space with a continual bending of its fore part; its pointed head + pokes about, jabs forward, goes back again, producing and withdrawing its + black mechanism. There is a perpetual piston play. Well, look as carefully + and conscientiously as I please, I do not once see the weapons of the + mouth tackle a particle of flesh that is torn away and swallowed. The + hooks come down upon the meat at every moment, but never take a visible + mouthful from it. Nevertheless, the grub waxes big and fat. How does this + singular consumer, who feeds without eating, set about it? If he does not + eat, he must drink; his diet is soup. As meat is a compact substance, + which does not liquefy of its own accord, there must, in that case, be a + certain recipe to dissolve it into a fluid broth. Let us try to surprise + the maggot's secret. + </p> + <p> + In a glass tube, sealed at one end, I insert a piece of lean flesh, the + size of a walnut, which I have drained of its juices by squeezing it in + blotting paper. On the top of this, I place a few slabs of greenbottle + eggs collected a moment ago from the snake in my earthen pan. The number + of germs is, roughly, two hundred. I close the tube with a cotton plug, + stand it upright, in a shady corner of my study, and leave things to take + their course. A control tube, prepared like the first, but not stocked + with maggots, is placed beside it. + </p> + <p> + As early as two or three days after the hatching, I obtain a striking + result. The meat, which was thoroughly drained by the blotting paper, has + become so moist that the young vermin leave a wet mark behind them as they + crawl over the glass. The swarming brood creates a sort of mist with the + crossing and criss-crossing of its trails. The control tube, on the + contrary, keeps dry, proving that the moisture in which the worms move is + not due to a mere exudation from the meat. + </p> + <p> + Besides, the work of the maggot becomes more and more evident. Gradually, + the flesh flows in every direction like an icicle placed before the fire. + Soon, the liquefaction is complete. What we see is no longer meat, but + fluid Liebig's extract. If I overturned the tube, not a drop of it would + remain. + </p> + <p> + Let us clear our minds of any idea of solution by putrefaction, for in the + second tube a piece of meat of the same kind and size has remained, save + for color and smell, what it was at the start. It was a lump and it is a + lump, whereas the piece treated by the worms runs like melted butter. Here + we have maggot chemistry able to rouse the envy of physiologists when + studying the action of the gastric juice. + </p> + <p> + I obtain better results still with hard-boiled white of egg. When cut into + pieces the size of a hazel nut and handed over to the greenbottle's grubs, + the coagulated albumen dissolves into a colorless liquid which the eye + might mistake for water. The fluidity becomes so great that, for lack of a + support, the worms perish by drowning in the broth; they are suffocated by + the immersion of their hind part, with its open breathing holes. On a + denser liquid, they would have kept at the surface; on this, they cannot. + </p> + <p> + A control tube, filled in the same way, but not colonized, stands beside + that in which the strange liquefaction takes place. The hardboiled white + of egg retains its original appearance and consistency. In course of time, + it dries up, if it does not turn moldy; and that is all. + </p> + <p> + The other quaternary compounds performing the same functions as albumen—the + gluten of cereals, the fibrin of blood, the casein of cheese and the + legumin of chickpeas—undergo a similar modification, in varying + degrees. Fed, from the moment of leaving the egg, on any one of these + substances, the worms thrive very well, provided that they escape drowning + when the gruel becomes too clear; they would not fare better on a corpse. + And, as a general rule, there is not much danger of going under: the + matter only half liquefies; it becomes a running pea soup, rather than an + actual fluid. + </p> + <p> + Even in this imperfect case, it is obvious that the greenbottle grubs + begin by liquefying their food. Incapable of taking solid nourishment, + they first transform the spoil into running matter; then, dipping their + heads into the product, they drink, they slake their thirst, with long + sups. Their dissolvent, comparable in its effects with the gastric juice + of the higher animals, is, beyond a doubt, emitted through the mouth. The + piston of the hooks, continually in movement, never ceases spitting it out + in infinitesimal doses. Each spot touched receives a grain of some subtle + pepsin, which soon suffices to make that spot run in every direction. As + digesting, when all is said, merely means liquefying, it is no paradox to + assert that the maggot digests its food before swallowing it. + </p> + <p> + These experiments with my filthy, evil smelling tubes have given me some + delightful moments. The worthy Abbe Spallanzani must have known some such + when he saw pieces of raw meat begin to run under the action of the + gastric juice which he took, with pellets of sponge, from the stomachs of + crows. He discovered the secrets of digestion; he realized in a glass tube + the hitherto unknown labors of gastric chemistry. I, his distant disciple, + behold once more, under a most unexpected aspect, what struck the Italian + scientist so forcibly. Worms take the place of the crows. They slaver upon + meat, gluten, albumen; and those substances turn to fluid. What our + stomach does within its mysterious recesses the maggot achieves outside, + in the open air. It first digests and then imbibes. + </p> + <p> + When we see it plunging into the carrion broth, we even wonder if it + cannot feed itself, at least to some extent, in a more direct fashion. Why + should not its skin, which is one of the most delicate, be capable of + absorbing? I have seen the egg of the sacred beetle and other dung beetles + growing considerably larger—I should like to say, feeding—in + the thick atmosphere of the hatching chamber. Nothing tells us that the + grub of the greenbottle does not adopt this method of growing. I picture + it capable of feeding all over the surface of its body. To the gruel + absorbed by the mouth it adds the balance of what is gathered and strained + through the skin. This would explain the need for provisions liquefied + beforehand. + </p> + <p> + Let us give one last proof of this preliminary liquefaction. If the + carcass—mole, snake or another—left in the open air have a + wire gauze cover placed over it, to keep out the flies, the game dries + under a hot sun and shrivels up without appreciably wetting the sand on + which it lies. Fluids come from it, certainly, for every organized body is + a sponge swollen with water; but the liquid discharge is so slow and + restricted in quantity that the heat and the dryness of the air disperse + it as it appears, while the underlying sand remains dry, or very nearly + so. The carcass becomes a sapless mummy, a mere bit of leather. On the + other hand, do not use the wire gauze cover, let the flies do their work + unimpeded; and things forthwith assume another aspect. In three or four + days, an oozing sanies appears under the animal and soaks the sand to some + distance. + </p> + <p> + I shall never forget the striking spectacle with which I conclude this + chapter. This time, the dish is a magnificent Aesculapius' snake, a yard + and a half long and as thick as a wide bottleneck. Because of its size, + which exceeds the dimensions of my pan, I roll the reptile in a double + spiral, or in two storeys. When the copious joint is in full process of + dissolution, the pan becomes a puddle wherein wallow, in countless + numbers, the grubs of the greenbottle and those of Sarcophaga carnaria, + the Grey or checkered flesh fly, which are even mightier liquefiers. All + the sand in the apparatus is saturated, has turned into mud, as though + there had been a shower of rain. Through the hole at the bottom, which is + protected by a flat pebble, the gruel trickles drop by drop. It is a still + at work, a mortuary still, in which the Snake is being drawn off. Wait a + week or two; and the whole will have disappeared, drunk up by the sun: + naught but the scales and bones will remain on a sheet of mud. + </p> + <p> + To conclude: the maggot is a power in this world. To give back to life, + with all speed, the remains of that which has lived, it macerates and + condenses corpses, distilling them into an essence wherewith the earth, + the plant's foster mother, may be nourished and enriched. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER X. THE GREY FLESH FLIES + </h2> + <p> + Here the costume changes, not the manner of life. We find the same + frequenting of dead bodies, the same capacity for the speedy liquefaction + of the fleshy matter. I am speaking of an ash-gray fly, the greenbottle's + superior in size, with brown streaks on her back and silver gleams on her + abdomen. Note also the blood-red eyes, with the hard look of the knacker + in them. The language of science knows her as Sarcophaga, the flesh eater; + in the vulgar tongue she is the grey flesh fly, or simply the flesh fly. + </p> + <p> + Let not these expressions, however accurate, mislead us into believing for + a moment that the Sarcophagae are the bold company of master tainters who + haunt our dwellings, more particularly in autumn, and plant their vermin + in our ill-guarded viands. The author of those offences is Calliphora + vomitoria, the bluebottle, who is of a stouter build and arrayed in + darkest blue. It is she who buzzes against our windowpanes, who craftily + besieges the meat safe and who lies in wait in the darkness for an + opportunity to outwit our vigilance. The other, the grey fly, works + jointly with the greenbottles, who do not venture inside our houses and + who work in the sunlight. Less timid, however, than they, should the + outdoor yield be small, she will sometimes come indoors to perpetrate her + villainies. When her business is done, she makes off as fast as she can, + for she does not feel at home with us. + </p> + <p> + At this moment, my study, a very modest extension of my open air + establishments, has become something of a charnel house. The grey fly pays + me a visit. If I lay a piece of butcher's meat on the windowsill, she + hastens up, works her will on it and retires. No hiding place escapes her + notice among the jars, cups, glasses and receptacles of every kind with + which my shelves are crowded. + </p> + <p> + With a view to certain experiments, I collected a heap of wasp grubs, + asphyxiated in their underground nests. Stealthily she arrives, discovers + the fat pile and, hailing as treasure trove this provender whereof her + race perhaps has never made use before, entrusts to it an installment of + her family. I have left at the bottom of a glass the best part of a + hard-boiled egg from which I have taken a few bits of white intended for + the greenbottle maggots. The grey fly takes possession of the remains, + recks not of their novelty and colonizes them. Everything suits her that + falls within the category of albuminous matters: everything, down to dead + silkworms; everything, down to a mess of kidney-beans and chick-peas. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, her preference is for the corpse: furred beast and feathered + beast, reptile and fish, indifferently. Together with the greenbottles, + she is sedulous in her attendance on my pans. Daily she visits my snakes, + takes note of the condition of each of them, savors them with her + proboscis, goes away, comes back, takes her time and at last proceeds to + business. Still, it is not here, amid the tumult of callers, that I + propose to follow her operations. A lump of butcher's meat laid on the + window sill, in front of my writing table, will be less offensive to the + eye and will facilitate my observations. + </p> + <p> + Two flies of the genus Sarcophaga frequent my slaughter yard: Sarcophaga + carnaria and Sarcophaga haemorrhoidalis, whose abdomen ends in a red + speck. The first species, which is a little larger than the second, is + more numerous and does the best part of the work in the open air shambles + of the pans. It is this fly also who, at intervals and nearly always + alone, hastens to the bait exposed on the windowsill. + </p> + <p> + She comes up suddenly, timidly. Soon she calms herself and no longer + thinks of fleeing when I draw near, for the dish suits her. She is + surprisingly quick about her work. Twice over—buzz! Buzz!—the + tip of her abdomen touches the meat; and the thing is done: a group of + vermin wriggles out, releases itself and disperses so nimbly that I have + no time to take my lens and count then accurately. As seen by the naked + eye, there were a dozen of them. What has become of them? One would think + that they had gone into the flesh, at the very spot where they were laid, + so quickly have they disappeared. But that dive into a substance of some + consistency is impossible to these newborn weaklings. Where are they? I + find them more or less everywhere in the creases of the meat; singly and + already groping with their mouths. To collect them in order to number them + is not practicable, for I do not want to damage them. Let us be satisfied + with the estimate made at a rapid glance: there are a dozen or so, brought + into the world in one discharge of almost inappreciable length. + </p> + <p> + Those live grubs, taking the place of the usual eggs, have long been + known. Everybody is aware that the flesh flies bring forth living maggots, + instead of laying eggs. They have so much to do and their work is so + urgent! To them, the instruments of the transformation of dead matter, a + day means a day, a long space of time which it is all important to + utilize. The greenbottle's eggs, though these are of very rapid + development, take twenty-four hours to yield their grubs. The flesh flies + save all this time. From their matrix, laborers flow straightway and set + to work the moment they are born. With these ardent pioneers of + sanitation, there is no rest attendant upon the hatching, there is not a + minute lost. + </p> + <p> + The gang, it is true, is not a numerous one; but how often can it not be + renewed! Read Reaumur's description of the wonderful procreating machinery + boasted by the Flesh flies. It is a spiral ribbon, a velvety scroll whose + nap is a sort of fleece of maggots set closely together and each cased in + a sheath. The patient biographer counted the host: it numbers, he tells + us, nearly twenty thousand. You are seized with stupefaction at this + anatomical fact. + </p> + <p> + How does the gray fly find the time to settle a family of such dimensions, + especially in small packets, as she has just done on my window sill? What + a number of dead dogs, moles and snakes must she not visit before + exhausting her womb! Will she find them? Corpses of much size do not + abound to that extent in the country. As everything suits her, she will + alight on other remains of minor importance. Should the prize be a rich + one, she will return to it tomorrow, the day after and later still, over + and over again. In the course of the season, by dint of packets of grubs + deposited here, there and everywhere, she will perhaps end by housing her + entire brood. But then, if all things prosper, what a glut, for there are + several families born during the year! We feel it instinctively: there + must be a check to these generative enormities. Let us first consider the + grub. It is a sturdy maggot, easy to distinguish from the greenbottle's by + its larger girth and especially by the way in which its body terminates + behind. There is here a sudden breaking off, hollowed into a deep cup. At + the bottom of this crater are two breathing holes, two stigmata with + amber-red tips. The edge of the cavity is fringed with half a score of + pointed, fleshy festoons, which diverge like the spikes of a coronet. The + creature can close or open this diadem at will by bringing the + denticulations together or by spreading them out wide. This protects the + air holes which might otherwise be choked up when the maggot disappears in + the sea of broth. Asphyxia would supervene, if the two breathing holes at + the back became obstructed. During the immersion, the festooned coronet + shuts like a flower closing its petals and the liquid is not admitted to + the cavity. + </p> + <p> + Next follows the emergence. The hind part reappears in the air, but + appears alone, just at the level of the fluid. Then the coronet spreads + out afresh, the cup gapes and assumes the aspect of a tiny flower, with + the white denticulations for petals and the two bright red dots, the + stigmata at the bottom, for stamens. When the grubs, pressed one against + the other, with their heads downwards in the fetid soup, make an unbroken + shoal, the sight of those breathing cups incessantly opening and closing, + with a little clack like a valve, almost makes one forget the horrors of + the charnel yard. It suggests a carpet of tiny Sea anemones. The maggot + has its beauties after all. + </p> + <p> + It is obvious, if there be any logic in things, that a grub so + well-protected against asphyxiation by drowning must frequent liquid + surroundings. One does not encircle one's hindquarters with a coronet for + the sole satisfaction of displaying it. With its apparatus of spokes, the + Grey Fly's grub informs us of the dangerous nature of its functions: when + working upon a corpse, it runs the risk of drowning. How is that? Remember + the grubs of the greenbottle, fed on hard-boiled white of egg. The dish + suits them; only, by the action of their pepsin, it becomes so fluid that + they die submerged. Because of their hinder stigmata, which are actually + on the skin and devoid of any defensive machinery, they perish when they + find no support apart from the liquid. + </p> + <p> + The flesh fly's maggots, though incomparable liquefiers, know nothing of + this peril, even in a puddle of carrion broth. Their bulky hind part + serves as a float and keeps the air holes above the surface. When, for + further investigation, they must needs go under completely, the anemone at + the back shuts and protects the stigmata. The grubs of the gray fly are + endowed with a life buoy because they are first class liquefiers, ready to + incur the danger of a ducking at any moment. + </p> + <p> + When high and dry on the sheet of cardboard where I place them to observe + them at my ease, they move about actively, with their breathing rose + widespread and their stigmata rising and falling as a support. The + cardboard is on my table, at three steps from an open window, and lit at + this time of day only by the soft light of the sky. Well, the maggots, one + and all of them, turn in the opposite direction to the window; they + hastily, madly take to flight. + </p> + <p> + I turn the cardboard round, without touching the runaways. This action + makes the creatures face the light again. Forthwith, the troop stops, + hesitates, takes a half turn and once more retreats towards the darkness. + Before the end of the racecourse is reached, I again turn the cardboard. + For the second time, the maggots veer round and retrace their steps. + Repeat the experiment as often as I will, each time the squad wheels about + in the opposite direction to the window and persists in avoiding the trap + of the revolving cardboard. + </p> + <p> + The track is only a short one: the cardboard measures three hand's + breadths in length. Let us give more space. I settle the grubs on the + floor of the room; with a hair pencil, I turn them with their heads + pointing towards the lighted aperture. The moment they are free, they turn + and run from the light. With all the speed whereof their cripple's shuffle + allows, they cover the tiled floor of the study and go and knock their + heads against the wall, twelve feet off, skirting it afterwards, some to + the right and some to the left. They never feel far enough away from that + hateful illuminated opening. + </p> + <p> + What they are escaping from is evidently the light, for, if I make it dark + with a screen, the troop does not change its direction when I turn the + cardboard. It then progresses quite readily towards the window; but, when + I remove the screen, it turns tail at once. + </p> + <p> + That a grub destined to live in the darkness, under the shelter of a + corpse, should avoid the light is only natural; the strange part is its + very perception. The maggot is blind. Its pointed fore part, which we + hesitate to call a head, bears absolutely no trace of any optical + apparatus; and the same with every other part of the body. There is + nothing but one bare, smooth, white skin. And this sightless creature, + deprived of any special nervous points served by ocular power, is + extremely sensitive to the light. Its whole skin is a sort of retina, + incapable of seeing, of course, but able, at any rate, to distinguish + between light and darkness. Under the direct rays of a searching sun, the + grub's distress could be easily explained. We ourselves; with our coarse + skin, in comparison with that of the maggot, can distinguish between + sunshine and shadow without the help of the eyes. But, in the present + case, the problem becomes singularly complicated. The subjects of my + experiment receive only the diffused light of the sky, entering my study + through an open window; yet this tempered light frightens them out of + their senses. They flee the painful apparition; they are bent upon + escaping at all costs. + </p> + <p> + Now what do the fugitives feel? Are they physically hurt by the chemical + radiations? Are they exasperated by other radiations, known or unknown? + Light still keeps many a secret hidden from us and perhaps our optical + science, by studying the maggot, might become the richer by some valuable + information. I would gladly have gone farther into the question, had I + possessed the necessary apparatus. But I have not, I never have had and of + course I never shall have the resources which are so useful to the seeker. + These are reserved for the clever people who care more for lucrative posts + than for fair truths. Let us continue, however, within the measure which + the poverty of my means permits. + </p> + <p> + When duly fattened, the grubs of the flesh flies go underground to + transform themselves into pupae. The burial is intended, obviously, to + give the worm the tranquillity necessary for the metamorphosis. Let us add + that another object of the descent is to avoid the importunities of the + light. The maggot isolates itself to the best of its power and withdraws + from the garish day before contracting into a little keg. In ordinary + conditions, with a loose soil, it goes hardly lower than a hand's breadth + down, for provision has to be made for the difficulties of the return to + the surface when the insect, now full grown, is impeded by its delicate + fly wings. The grub, therefore, deems itself suitably isolated at a + moderate depth. Sideways, the layer that shields it from the light is of + indefinite thickness; upwards, it measures about four inches. Behind this + screen reigns utter darkness, the buried one's delight. This is capital. + </p> + <p> + What would happen if, by an artifice, the sideward layer were nowhere + thick enough to satisfy the grub? Now, this time, I have the wherewithal + to solve the problem, in the shape of a big glass tube, open at both ends, + about three feet long and less than an inch wide. I use it to blow the + flame of hydrogen in the little chemistry lessons which I give my + children. + </p> + <p> + I close one end with a cork and fill the tube with fine, dry, sifted sand. + On the surface of this long column, suspended perpendicularly in a corner + of my study, I install some twenty Sarcophaga grubs, feeding them with + meat. A similar preparation is repeated in a wider jar, with a mouth as + broad as one's hand. When they are big enough, the grubs in either + apparatus will go down to the depth that suits them. There is no more to + be done but to leave them to their own devices. + </p> + <p> + The worms at last bury themselves and harden into pupae. This is the + moment to consult the two apparatus. The jar gives me the answer which I + should have obtained in the open fields. Four inches down, or thereabouts, + the worms have found a quiet lodging, protected above by the layer through + which they have passed and on every side by the thickness of the vessel's + contents. Satisfied with the site, they have stopped there. + </p> + <p> + It is a very different matter in the tube. The least buried of the pupae + are half a yard down. Others are lower still; most of them even have + reached the bottom of the tube and are touching the cork stopper, an + insuperable barrier. These last, we can see, would have gone yet deeper if + the apparatus had allowed them. Not one of the score of grubs has settled + at the customary halting place; all have traveled farther down the column, + until their strength gave way. In their anxious flight, they have dug + deeper and ever deeper. + </p> + <p> + What were they flying from? The light. Above them, the column traversed + forms a more than sufficient shelter; but, at the sides, the irksome + sensation is still felt through a coat of earth half an inch thick if the + descent is made perpendicularly. To escape the disturbing impression, the + grub therefore goes deeper and deeper, hoping to obtain lower down the + rest which is denied it above. It only ceases to move when worn out with + the effort or stopped by an obstacle. + </p> + <p> + Now, in a soft diffused light, what can be the radiations capable of + acting upon this lover of darkness? They are certainly not the simple + luminous rays, for a screen of fine, heaped up earth, nearly half an inch + in thickness, is perfectly opaque. Then, to alarm the grub, to warn it of + the over proximity of the exterior and send it to mad depths in search of + isolation, other radiations, known or unknown, must be required, + radiations capable of penetrating a screen against which ordinary + radiations are powerless. Who knows what vistas the natural philosophy of + the maggot might open out to us? For lack of apparatus, I confine myself + to suspicions. + </p> + <p> + To go underground to a yard's depth—and farther if my tube had + allowed it—is on the part of the Flesh fly's grub a vagary provoked + by unkind experiment: never would it bury itself so low down, if left to + its own wisdom. A hand's breadth thickness is quite enough, is even a + great deal when, after completing the transformation, it has to climb back + to the surface, a laborious operation absolutely resembling the task of an + entombed well sinker. It will have to fight against the sand that slips + and gradually fills up the small amount of empty space obtained; it will + perhaps, without crowbar or pickaxe, have to cut itself a gallery through + something tantamount to tufa, that is to say, through earth which a shower + has rendered compact. For the descent, the grub has its fangs; for the + assent, the fly has nothing. Only that moment come into existence, she is + a weakling, with tissues still devoid of any firmness. How does she manage + to get out? We shall know by watching a few pupae placed at the bottom of + a test-tube filled with earth. The method of the Flesh flies will teach us + that of the greenbottles and the other Flies, all of whom make use of the + same means. + </p> + <p> + Enclosed in her pupa, the nascent fly begins by bursting the lid of her + casket with a hernia which comes between her two eyes and doubles or + trebles the size of her head. This cephalic blister throbs: it swells and + subsides by turns, owing to the alternate flux and reflux of the blood. It + is like the piston of an hydraulic press opening and forcing back the + front part of the keg. + </p> + <p> + The head makes its appearance. The hydrocephalous monster continues the + play of her forehead, while herself remaining stationary. Inside the pupa, + a delicate work is being performed: the casting of the white nymphal + tunic. All through this operation, the hernia is still projecting. The + head is not the head of a fly, but a queer, enormous mitre, spreading at + the base into two red skull caps, which are the eyes. To split her cranium + in the middle, shunt the two halves to the right and left and send surging + through the gap a tumor which staves the barrel with its pressure: this + constitutes the Fly's eccentric method. + </p> + <p> + For what reason does the hernia, once the keg is staved, continue swollen + and projecting? I take it to be a waste pocket into which the insect + momentarily forces back its reserves of blood in order to diminish the + bulk of the body to that extent and to extract it more easily from the + nymphal slough and afterwards from the narrow channel of the shell. As + long as the operation of the release lasts, it pushes outside all that it + is able to inject of its accumulated humors; it makes itself small inside + the pupa and swells into a bloated deformity without. Two hours and more + are spent in this laborious stripping. + </p> + <p> + At last, the fly comes into view. The wings, mere scanty stumps, hardly + reach the middle of the abdomen. On the outer edge, they have a deep notch + similar to the waist of a violin. This diminishes by just so much the + surface and the length, an excellent device for decreasing the friction + along the earthy column which has next to be scaled. The hydrocephalous + one resumes her performance more vigorously than ever; she inflates and + deflates her frontal knob. The pounded sand rustles down the insect's + sides. The legs play but a secondary part. Stretched behind, motionless, + when the piston stroke is delivered, they furnish a support. As the sand + descends, they pile it and nimbly push it back, after which they drag + along lifelessly until the next avalanche. The head advances each time by + a length equal to that of the sand displaced. Each stroke of the frontal + swelling means a step forward. In a dry, loose soil, things go pretty + fast. A column six inches high is traversed in less than a quarter of an + hour. + </p> + <p> + As soon as it reaches the surface, the insect, covered with dust, proceeds + to make its toilet. It thrusts out the blister of its forehead for the + last time and brushes it carefully with its front tarsi. It is important + that the little pounding engine should be carefully dusted before it is + taken inside to form a forehead that will open no more: this lest any grit + should lodge in the head. The wings are carefully brushed and polished; + they lose their curved notches; they lengthen and spread. Then, motionless + on the surface of the sand, the fly matures fully. Let us set her at + liberty. She will go and join the others on the Snakes in my pans. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XI. THE BUMBLEBEE FLY + </h2> + <p> + Underneath the wasp's brown paper manor house, the ground is channeled + into a sort of drain for the refuse of the nest. Here are shot the dead or + weakly larvae which a continual inspection roots out from the cells to + make room for fresh occupants; here, at the time of the autumn massacre, + are flung the backward grubs; here, lastly, lies a good part of the crowd + killed by the first touch of winter. During the rack and ruin of November + and December, this sewer becomes crammed with animal matter. + </p> + <p> + Such riches will not remain unemployed. The world's great law which says + that nothing edible shall be wasted provides for the consumption of a mere + ball of hair disgorged by the owl. How shall it be with the vast stores of + a ruined wasps' nest! If they have not come yet, the consumers whose task + it is to salve this abundant wreckage for nature's markets, they will not + tarry in coming and waiting for the manna that will soon descend from + above. That public granary, lavishly stocked by death, will become a busy + factory of fresh life. Who are the guests summoned to the banquet? + </p> + <p> + If the wasps flew away, carrying the dead or sickly grubs with them, and + dropped them on the ground round about their home, those banqueters would + be, first and foremost, the insect-eating birds, the warblers, all of whom + are lovers of small game. In this connection, we will allow ourselves a + brief digression. We all know with what jealous intolerance the + nightingales occupy each his own cantonment. Neighborly intercourse among + them is tabooed. The males frequently exchange defiant couplets at a + distance; but, should the challenged party draw near, the challenger makes + him clear off. Now, not far from my house, in a scanty clump of holly oaks + which would barely give the woodcutter the wherewithal for a dozen + faggots, I used, all through the spring, to hear such full-throated + warbling of nightingales that the songs of those virtuosi, all giving + voice at once and with no attempt at order, degenerated into a deafening + hubbub. + </p> + <p> + Why did those passionate devotees of solitude come and settle in such + large numbers at a spot where custom decrees that there is just room + enough for one household only? What reasons have made the recluse become a + congregation? I asked the owner of the spinney about the matter. + </p> + <p> + 'It's like that every year,' he said. 'The clump is overrun by + Nightingales.' + </p> + <p> + 'And the reason?' + </p> + <p> + 'The reason is that there is a hive close by, behind that wall.' + </p> + <p> + I looked at the man in amazement, unable to understand what connection + there could be between a hive and the thronging nightingales. + </p> + <p> + 'Why, yes,' he added, 'there are a lot of nightingales because there are a + lot of bees. + </p> + <p> + Another questioning look from my side. I did not yet understand. The + explanation came: 'The bees,' he said, 'throw out their dead grubs. The + front of the hive is strewn with them in the mornings; and the + nightingales come and collect them for themselves and their families. They + are very fond of them.' + </p> + <p> + This time I had solved the puzzle. Delicious food, abundant and fresh each + day, had brought the songsters together. Contrary to their habit, numbers + of nightingales are living on friendly terms in a cluster of bushes, in + order to be near the hive and to have a larger share in the morning + distribution of plump dainties. + </p> + <p> + In the same way, the nightingale and his gastronomical rivals would haunt + the neighborhood of the wasps' nests, if the dead grubs were cast out on + the surface of the soil; but these delicacies fall inside the burrow and + no little bird would dare to enter the murky cave, even if the entrance + were not too small to admit it. Other consumers are needed here, small in + size and great in daring; the fly is called for and her maggot, the king + of the departed. What the greenbottles, the bluebottles and the flesh + flies do in the open air, at the expense of every kind of corpse, other + flies, narrowing their province, do underground at the Wasps' expense. + </p> + <p> + Let us turn our attention, in September, to the wrapper of a wasps' nest. + On the outer surface and there alone, this wrapper is strewn with a + multitude of big, white, elliptical dots, firmly fixed to the brown paper + and measuring about two millimeters and a half long by one and a half + wide. Flat below, convex above and of a lustrous white, these dots + resemble very neat drops fallen from a tallow candle. Lastly, their backs + are streaked with faint transversal lines, an elegant detail perceptible + only with the lens. These curious objects are scattered all over the + surface of the wrapper, sometimes at a distance from one another, + sometimes gathered into more or less dense groups. They are the eggs of + the Volucella, or bumblebee fly (Volucella zonaria, LIN.) + </p> + <p> + Also stuck to the brown paper of the outer wrapper and mixed up with the + Volucella's are a large number of other eggs, chalk white, spear-shaped + and ridged lengthwise with seven or eight thin ribs, after the manner of + the seeds of certain Umbelliferae. The finishing touch to their delicate + beauty is the fine stippling all over the surface. They are smaller by + half than the others. I have seen grubs come out of them which might + easily be the earliest stage of some pointed maggots which I have already + noticed in the burrows. My attempts to rear them failed; and I am not able + to say which fly these eggs belong to. Enough for us to note the nameless + one in passing. There are plenty of others, which we must make up our + minds to leave unlabelled, in view of the jumbled crowd of feasters in the + ruined wasps' nest. We will concern ourselves only with the most + remarkable, in the front rank of which stands the bumblebee Fly. + </p> + <p> + She is a gorgeous and powerful fly; and her costume, with its brown and + yellow bands, shows a vague resemblance to that of the wasps. Our + fashionable theorists have availed themselves of this brown and yellow to + cite the Volucella as a striking instance of protective mimicry. Obliged, + if not on her own behalf, at least on that of her family, to introduce + herself as a parasite into the wasp's home, she resorts, they tell us, to + trickery and craftily dons her victim's livery. Once inside the wasps' + nest, she is taken for one of the inhabitants and attends quietly to her + business. + </p> + <p> + The simplicity of the wasp, duped by a very clumsy imitation of her garb, + and the depravity of the fly, concealing her identity under a counterfeit + presentment, exceed the limits of my credulity. The wasp is not so silly + nor the Volucella so clever as we are assured. If the latter really meant + to deceive the Wasp by her appearance, we must admit that her disguise is + none too successful. Yellow sashes round the abdomen do not make a wasp. + It would need more than that and, above all, a slender figure and a nimble + carriage; and the Volucella is thickset and corpulent and sedate in her + movements. Never will the wasp take that unwieldy insect for one of her + own kind. The difference is too great. + </p> + <p> + Poor Volucella, mimesis has not taught you enough. You ought—this is + the essential point—to have adopted a wasp's shape; and that you + forgot to do: you remained a fat fly, easily recognizable. Nevertheless, + you penetrate into the terrible cavern; you are able to stay there for a + long time, without danger, as the eggs profusely strewn on the wrapper of + the wasps' nest show. How do you set about it? + </p> + <p> + Let us, first of all, remember that the bumblebee fly does not enter the + enclosure in which the combs are heaped: she keeps to the outer surface of + the paper rampart and there lays her eggs. Let us, on the other hand, + recall the Polistes [a tree nesting wasp] placed in the company of the + wasps in my vivarium. Here of a surety is one who need not have recourse + to mimicry to find acceptance. She belongs to the guild, she is a wasp + herself. Any of us that had not the trained eye of the entomologist would + confuse the two species. Well, this stranger, as long as she does not + become too importunate, is quite readily tolerated by the caged wasps. + None seeks to pick a quarrel with her. She is even admitted to the table, + the strip of paper smeared with honey. But she is doomed if she + inadvertently sets foot upon the combs. Her costume, her shape, her size, + which tally almost exactly with the costume, shape and size of the wasp, + do not save her from her fate. She is at once recognized as a stranger and + attacked and slaughtered with the same vigor as the larvae of the Hylotoma + sawfly and the Saperda beetle, neither of which bears any outward + resemblance to the larva of the wasps. + </p> + <p> + Seeing that identity of shape and costume does not save the Polistes, how + will the Volucella fare, with her clumsy imitation? The wasp's eye, which + is able to discern the dissimilar in the like, will refuse to be caught. + The moment she is recognized, the stranger is killed on the spot. As to + that there is not the shadow of a doubt. + </p> + <p> + In the absence of bumblebee flies at the moment of experimenting, I employ + another fly, Milesia fulminans, who, thanks to her slim figure and her + handsome yellow bands, presents a much more striking likeness to the wasp + than does the fat Volucella zonaria. Despite this resemblance, if she + rashly venture on the combs, she is stabbed and slain. Her yellow sashes, + her slender abdomen deceive nobody. The stranger is recognized behind the + features of a double. + </p> + <p> + My experiments under glass, which varied according to the captures which I + happened to make, all lead me to this conclusion: as long as there is more + propinquity, even around the honey, the other occupants are tolerated + fairly well; but, if they touch the cells, they are assaulted and often + killed, without distinction of shape or costume. The grubs' dormitory is + the sanctum sanctorum which no outsider must enter under pain of death. + </p> + <p> + With these caged captives I experiment by daylight, whereas the free wasps + work in the absolute darkness of their underground retreat. Where light is + absent, color goes for nothing. Once, therefore, that she has entered the + cavern, the bumblebee fly derives no benefit from her yellow bands, which + are supposed to be her safeguard. Whether garbed as she is or otherwise, + it is easy for her to effect her purpose in the dark, on condition that + she avoids the tumultuous interior of the wasps' nest. So long as she has + the prudence not to hustle the passers by, she can dab her eggs, without + danger, on the paper wall. No one will know of her presence. The dangerous + thing is to cross the threshold of the burrow in broad daylight, before + the eyes of those who go in and out. At that moment alone, protective + mimicry would be convenient. Now does the entrance of the Volucella into + the presence of a few wasps entail such very great risks? The wasps' nest + in my enclosure, the one which was afterwards to perish in the sun under a + bell glass, gave me the opportunity for prolonged observations, but + without any result upon the subject of my immediate concern. The bumblebee + fly did not appear. The period for her visits had doubtless passed; for I + found plenty of her grubs when the nest was dug up. + </p> + <p> + Other flies rewarded me for my assiduity. I saw some—at a respectful + distance, I need hardly say—entering the burrow. They were + insignificant in size and of a dark gray color, not unlike that of the + housefly. They had not a patch of yellow about them and certainly had no + claim to protective mimicry. Nevertheless, they went in and out as they + pleased, calmly, as though they were at home. As long as there was not too + great a number at the door, the wasps left them alone. When there was + anything of a crowd, the gray visitors waited near the threshold for a + less busy moment. No harm came to them. + </p> + <p> + Inside the establishment, the same peaceful relations prevail. In this + respect I have the evidence of my excavations. In the underground charnel + house, so rich in Fly grubs, I find no corpses of adult flies. If the + strangers had been slaughtered in passing through the entrance hall, or + lower down, they would fall to the bottom of the burrow anyhow, with the + other rubbish. Now in this charnel house, as I said, there are never any + dead bumblebee flies, never a fly of any sort. The incomers are respected. + Having done their business, they go out unscathed. + </p> + <p> + This tolerance on the part of the wasps is surprising. And a suspicion + comes to one's mind: can it be that the Volucella and the rest are not + what the accepted theories of natural history call them, namely, enemies, + grub killers sacking the wasps' nest? We will look into this by examining + them when they are hatched. Nothing is easier, in September and October, + than to collect the Volucella's eggs in such numbers as we please. They + abound on the outer surface of the wasps' nest. Moreover, as with the + larvae of the wasp, it is some time before they are suffocated by the + petroleum fumes; and so most of them are sure to hatch. I take my + scissors, cut the most densely populated bits from the paper wall of the + nest and fill a jar with them. This is the warehouse from which I shall + daily, for the best part of the next two months, draw my supply of nascent + grubs. + </p> + <p> + The Volucella's egg remains where it is, with its white color always + strongly marked against the brown of the background. The shell wrinkles + and collapses; and the fore end tears open. From it there issues a pretty + little white grub, thin in front, swelling slightly in the rear and + bristling all over with fleshy protuberances. The creature's papillae are + set on its sides like the teeth of a comb; at the rear, they lengthen and + spread into a fan; on the back, they are shorter and arranged in four + longitudinal rows. The last section but one carries two short, bright red + breathing tubes, standing aslant and joined to each other. The fore part, + near the pointed mouth, is of a darker, brownish color. This is the biting + and motor apparatus, seen through the skin and consisting of two fangs. + Taken all round, the grub is a pretty little thing, with its bristling + whiteness, which gives it the appearance of a tiny snowflake. But this + elegance does not last long: grown big and strong, the bumblebee fly's + grub becomes soiled with sanies, turns a russety brown and crawls about in + the guise of a hulking porcupine. + </p> + <p> + What becomes of it when it leaves the egg? This my warehousing jar tells + me, partly. Unable to keep its balance on sloping surfaces, it drops to + the bottom of the receptacle, where I find it, daily, as hatched, + wandering restlessly. Things must happen likewise at the wasps'. Incapable + of standing on the slant of the paper wall, the newborn grubs slide to the + bottom of the underground cavity, which contains, especially at the end of + the summer, a heaped up provender of deceased wasps and dead larvae + removed from the cells and flung outside the house, all nice and gamy, as + proper maggot's food should be. The Volucella's offspring, themselves + maggots, notwithstanding their snowy apparel, find in this charnel house + victuals to their liking, incessantly renewed. Their fall from the high + walls might well be not accidental, but rather a means of reaching, + quickly and without searching, the good things down at the bottom of the + cavern. Perhaps, also, some of the white grubs, thanks to the holes that + make the wrapper resemble a spongy cover, manage to slip inside the Wasps' + nest. Still, most of the Volucella's grubs, at whatever stage of their + development, are in the basement of the burrow, among the carrion remains. + The others, those settled in the wasps' home itself, are comparatively + few. + </p> + <p> + These returns are enough to show us that the grubs of the bumblebee fly do + not deserve the bad reputation that has been given them. Satisfied with + the spoils of the dead, they do not touch the living; they do not ravage + the wasps' nest: they disinfect it. + </p> + <p> + Experiment confirms what we have learnt in the actual nests. Over and over + again, I bring wasp grubs and Volucella grubs together in small test + tubes, which are easy to observe. The first are well and strong; I have + just taken them from their cells. The others are in various stages, from + that of the snowflake born the same day to that of the sturdy porcupine. + There is nothing tragic about the encounter. The grubs of the bumblebee + fly roam about the test-tube without touching the live tidbit. The most + that they do is to put their mouths for a moment to the morsel; then they + take it away again, not caring for the dish. + </p> + <p> + They want something different: a wounded, a dying grub; a corpse + dissolving into sanies. Indeed, if I prick the wasp grub with a needle, + the scornful ones at once come and sup at the bleeding wound. If I give + them a dead grub, brown with putrefaction, the worms rip it open and feast + on its humors. Better still: I can feed them quite satisfactorily with + wasps that have turned putrid under their horny rings; I see them greedily + suck the juices of decomposing Rosechafer grubs; I can keep them thriving + with chopped up butcher's meat, which they know how to liquefy by the + method of the common maggot. And these unprejudiced ones, who accept + anything that comes their way, provided it be dead, refuse it when it is + alive. Like the true flies that they are, frank body snatchers, they wait, + before touching a morsel, for death to do its work. + </p> + <p> + Inside the wasps' nest, robust grubs are the rule and weaklings the rare + exception, because of the assiduous supervision which eliminates anything + that is diseased and like to die. Here, nevertheless, Volucella grubs are + found, on the combs, among the busy wasps. They are not, it is true, so + numerous as in the charnel house below, but still pretty frequent. Now + what do they do in this abode where there are no corpses? Do they attack + the healthy? Their continual visits from cell to cell would at first make + one think so; but we shall soon be undeceived if we observe their + movements closely; and this is possible with my glass roofed colonies. + </p> + <p> + I see them fussily crawling on the surface of the combs, curving their + necks from side to side and taking stock of the cells. This one does not + suit, nor that one either; the bristly creature passes on, still in + search, thrusting its pointed fore part now here, now there. This time, + the cell appears to fulfil the requisite conditions. A larva, glowing with + health, opens wide its mouth, believing its nurse to be approaching. It + fills the hexagonal chamber with its bulging sides. + </p> + <p> + The gluttonous visitor bends and slides its slender fore part, a blade of + exquisite suppleness, between the wall and the inhabitant, whose slack + rotundity yields to the pressure of this animated wedge. It plunges into + the cell, leaving no part of itself outside but its wide hind quarters, + with the red dots of the two breathing tubes. + </p> + <p> + It remains in this posture for some time, occupied with its work at the + bottom of the cell. Meanwhile, the wasps present do not interfere, remain + impassive, showing that the grub visited is in no peril. The stranger, in + fact, withdraws with a soft, gliding motion. The chubby babe, a sort of + India rubber bag, resumes its original volume without having suffered any + harm, as its appetite proves. A nurse offers it a mouthful, which it + accepts with every sign of unimpaired vigor. As for the Volucella grub, it + licks its lips after its own fashion, pushing its two fangs in and out; + then, without further loss of time, goes and repeats its probing + elsewhere. + </p> + <p> + What it wants down there, at the bottom of the cells, behind the grubs, + cannot be decided by direct observation; it must be guessed at. Since the + visited larva remains intact, it is not prey that the Volucella grub is + after. Besides, if murder formed part of its plans, why descend to the + bottom of the cell, instead of attacking the defenseless recluse straight + way? It would be much easier to suck the patient's juices through the + actual orifice of the cell. Instead of that, we see a dip, always a dip + and never any other tactics. + </p> + <p> + Then what is there behind the wasp grub? Let us try to put it as decently + as possible. In spite of its exceeding cleanliness, this grub is not + exempt from the physiological ills inseparable from the stomach. Like all + that eats, it has intestinal waste matter with regard to which its + confinement compels it to behave with extreme discretion. Like so many + other close-cabined larvae of Wasps and Bees, it waits until the moment of + the transformation to rid itself of its digestive refuse. Then, once and + for all, it casts out the unclean accumulation whereof the pupa, that + delicate, reborn organism, must not retain the least trace. This is found + later, in any empty cell, in the form of a dark purple plug. But, without + waiting for this final purge, this lump, there are, from time to time, + slight excretions of fluid, clear as water. We have only to keep a Wasp + grub in a little glass tube to recognize these occasional discharges. + Well, I see nothing else to explain the action of the Volucella's grubs + when they dip into the cells without wounding the larvae. They are looking + for this liquid, they provoke its emission. It represents to them a dainty + which they enjoy over and above the more substantial fare provided by the + corpses. + </p> + <p> + The bumblebee fly, that sanitary inspector of the Vespine city, fulfils a + double office: she wipes the wasp's children and she rids the nest of its + dead. For this reason, she is peacefully received, as an auxiliary, when + she enters the burrow to lay her eggs; for this reason, her grub is + tolerated, nay more, respected, in the very heart of the dwelling, where + none might stray with impunity. I remember the brutal reception given to + the Saperda and Hylotoma grubs when I place them on a comb. Forthwith + grabbed, bruised and riddled with stings, the poor wretches perish. It is + quite a different matter with the offspring of the Volucella. They come + and go as they please, poke about in the cells, elbow the inhabitants and + remain unmolested. Let us give some instances of this clemency, which is + very strange in the irascible Wasp. + </p> + <p> + For a couple of hours, I fix my attention on a Volucella grub established + in a cell, side by side with the Wasp grub, the mistress of the house. The + hind quarters emerge, displaying their papillae. Sometimes also the fore + part, the head, shows, bending from side to side with sudden, snake-like + motions. The wasps have just filled their crops at the honey pot; they are + dispensing the rations, are very busily at work; and things are taking + place in broad daylight, on the table by the window. + </p> + <p> + As they pass from cell to cell, the nurses repeatedly brush against and + stride across the Volucella grub. There is no doubt that they see it. The + intruder does not budge, or, if trodden on, curls up, only to reappear the + next moment. Some of the wasps stop, bend their heads over the opening, + seem to be making inquiries and then go off, without troubling further + about the state of things. One of them does something even more + remarkable: she tries to give a mouthful to the lawful occupant of the + cell; but the larva, which is being squeezed by its visitor, has no + appetite and refuses. Without the least sign of anxiety on behalf of the + nursling which she sees in awkward company, the wasp retires and goes to + distribute its ration elsewhere. In vain I prolong my examination: there + is no fluster of any kind. The Volucella grub is treated as a friend, or + at least as a visitor that does not matter. There is no attempt to + dislodge it, to worry it, to put it to flight. Nor does the grub seem to + trouble greatly about those who come and go. Its tranquillity, tells us + that it feels at home. + </p> + <p> + Here is some further evidence: the grub has plunged, head downwards, into + an empty cell, which is too small to contain the whole of it. Its + hindquarters stick out, very visibly. For long hours, it remains + motionless in this position. At every moment, wasps pass and repass close + by. Three of them, at one time together, at another separately, come and + nibble at the edges of the cell; they break off particles which they + reduce to paste for a new piece of work. The passers by, intent upon their + business, may not perceive the intruder; but these three certainly do. + During their work of demolition, they touch the grub with their legs, + their antennae, their palpi; and yet none of them minds it. The fat grub, + so easily recognized by its queer figure, is left alone; and this in broad + daylight, where everybody can see it. What must it be when the profound + darkness of the burrows protects the visitor with its mysteries! + </p> + <p> + I have been experimenting all along with big Volucella grubs, colored with + the dirty red which comes with age. What effect will pure white produce? I + sprinkle on the surface of the combs some larvae that have lately left the + egg. The tiny, snow-white grubs make for the nearest cells, go down into + them, come out again and hunt elsewhere. The wasps peaceably let them go + their way, as heedless of the little white invaders as of the big red + ones. Sometimes, when it enters an occupied cell, the little creature is + seized by the owner, the wasp grub, which nabs it and turns and returns it + between its mandibles. Is this a defensive bite? No, the wasp grub has + merely blundered, taking its visitor for a proffered mouthful. There is no + great harm done. Thanks to its suppleness, the little grub emerges from + the grip intact and continues its investigations. + </p> + <p> + It might occur to us to attribute this tolerance to some lack of + penetration in the wasps' vision. What follows will undeceive us: I place + separately, in empty cells, a grub of Saperda scalaria and a Volucella + grub, both of them white and selected so as not to fill the cell entirely. + Their presence is revealed only by the paleness of the hind part which + serves as a plug to the opening. A superficial examination would leave the + nature of the recluse undecided. The wasps make no mistake: they extirpate + the Saperda grub, kill it, fling it on the dust heap; they leave the + Volucella grub in peace. + </p> + <p> + The two strangers are quite well recognized in the secrecy of the cells: + one is the intruder that must be turned out; the other is the regular + visitor that must be respected. Sight helps, for things take place in the + daylight, under glass; but the wasps have other means of information in + the dimness of the burrow. When I produce darkness by covering the + apparatus with a screen, the murder of the trespassers is accomplished + just the same. For so say the police regulations of the wasps' nest: any + stranger discovered must be slain and thrown on the midden. + </p> + <p> + To thwart this vigilance, the real enemies need to be masters of the art + of deceptive immobility and cunning disguise. But there is no deception + about the Volucella grub. It comes and goes, openly, wheresoever it will; + it looks round amongst the wasps for cells to suit it. What has it to make + itself thus respected? Strength? Certainly not. It is a harmless creature, + which the wasp could rip open with a blow of her shears, while a touch of + the sting would mean lightning death. It is a familiar guest, to whom no + denizen of a wasps' nest bears any ill will. Why? Because it renders good + service: so far from working mischief, it does the scavenging for its + hosts. Were it an enemy or merely an intruder, it would be exterminated; + as a deserving assistant, it is respected. + </p> + <p> + Then what need is there for the Volucella to disguise herself as a wasp? + Any fly, whether clad in drab or motley, is admitted to the burrow + directly she makes herself useful to the community. The mimicry of the + bumblebee fly, which was said to be one of the most conclusive cases, is, + after all, a mere childish notion. Patient observation, continually face + to face with facts, will have none of it and leaves it to the armchair + naturalists, who are too prone to look at the animal world through the + illusive mists of theory. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XII. MATHEMATICAL MEMORIES: NEWTON'S BINOMIAL THEOREM + </h2> + <p> + The spider's web is a glorious mathematical problem. I should enjoy + working it out in all its details, were I not afraid of wearying the + reader's attention. Perhaps I have even gone too far in the little that I + have said, in which case I owe him some compensation: 'Would you like me,' + I will ask him, 'would you like me to tell you how I acquired sufficient + algebra to master the logarithmic systems and how I became a surveyor of + Spiders' webs? Would you? It will give us a rest from natural history.' + </p> + <p> + I seem to catch a sign of acquiescence. The story of my village school, + visited by the chicks and the porkers, has been received with some + indulgence; why should not my harsh school of solitude possess its + interest as well? Let us try to describe it. And who knows? Perhaps, in + doing so, I shall revive the courage of some other poor derelict hungering + after knowledge. + </p> + <p> + I was denied the privilege of learning with a master. I should be wrong to + complain. Solitary study has its advantages: it does not cast you in the + official mould; it leaves you all your originality. Wild fruit, when it + ripens, has a different taste from hothouse produce: it leaves on a + discriminating palate a bittersweet flavor whose virtue is all the greater + for the contrast. Yes, if it were in my power, I would start afresh, face + to face with my only counselor, the book itself, not always a very lucid + one; I would gladly resume my lonely watches, my struggles with the + darkness whence, at last, a glimmer appears as I continue to explore it; I + should retraverse the irksome stages of yore, stimulated by the one desire + that has never failed me, the desire of learning and of afterwards + bestowing my mite of knowledge on others. + </p> + <p> + When I left the normal school, my stock of mathematics was of the + scantiest. How to extract a square root, how to calculate and prove the + surface of a sphere: these represented to me the culminating points of the + subject. Those terrible logarithms, when I happened to open a table of + them, made my head swim, with their columns of figures; actual fright, not + unmixed with respect, overwhelmed me on the very threshold of that + arithmetical cave. Of algebra I had no knowledge whatever. I had heard the + name; and the syllables represented to my poor brain the whole whirling + legion of the abstruse. + </p> + <p> + Besides, I felt no inclination to decipher the alarming hieroglyphics. + They made one of those indigestible dishes which we confidently extol + without touching them. I greatly preferred a fine line of Virgil, whom I + was now beginning to understand; and I should have been surprised indeed + had any one told me that, for long years to come, I should be an + enthusiastic student of the formidable science. Good fortune procured me + my first lesson in algebra, a lesson given and not received, of course. + </p> + <p> + A young man of about my own age came to me and asked me to teach him + algebra. He was preparing for his examination as a civil engineer; and he + came to me because, ingenuous youth that he was, he took me for a well of + learning. The guileless applicant was very far out in his reckoning. + </p> + <p> + His request gave me a shock of surprise, which was forthwith repressed on + reflection: 'I give algebra lessons?' said I to myself. 'It would be + madness: I don't know anything about the subject!' + </p> + <p> + And I left it at that for a moment or two, thinking hard, drawn now this + way, now that with indecision: 'Shall I accept? Shall I refuse?' continued + the inner voice. + </p> + <p> + Pooh, let's accept! An heroic method of learning to swim is to leap boldly + into the sea. Let us hurl ourselves head first into the algebraical gulf; + and perhaps the imminent danger of drowning will call forth efforts + capable of bringing me to land. I know nothing of what he wants. It makes + no difference: let's go ahead and plunge into the mystery. I shall learn + by teaching. + </p> + <p> + It was a fine courage that drove me full tilt into a province which I had + not yet thought of entering. My twenty-year-old confidence was an + incomparable lever. + </p> + <p> + 'Very well,' I replied. 'Come the day after tomorrow, at five, and we'll + begin.' + </p> + <p> + This twenty-four hours' delay concealed a plan. It secured me the respite + of a day, the blessed Thursday, which would give me time to collect my + forces. + </p> + <p> + Thursday comes. The sky is gray and cold. In this horrid weather, a grate + well filled with coke has its charms. Let's warm ourselves and think. + </p> + <p> + Well, my boy, you've landed yourself in a nice predicament! How will you + manage tomorrow? With a book, plodding all through the night, if + necessary, you might scrape up something resembling a lesson, just enough + to fill the dread hour more or less. Then you could see about the next: + sufficient for the day is the evil thereof. But you haven't the book. And + it's no use running out to the bookshop. Algebraical treatises are not + current wares. You'll have to send for one, which will take a fortnight at + least. And I've promised for tomorrow, for tomorrow certain! Another + argument and one that admits of no reply: funds are low; my last pecuniary + resources lie in the corner of a drawer. I count the money: it amounts to + twelve sous, which is not enough. + </p> + <p> + Must I cry off? Rather not! One resource suggests itself: a highly + improper one, I admit, not far removed indeed from larceny. O quiet paths + of algebra, you are my excuse for this venial sin! Let me confess the + temporary embezzlement. + </p> + <p> + Life at my college is more or less cloistered. In return for a modest + payment, most of us masters are lodged in the building; and we take our + meals at the principal's table. The science master, who is the big gun of + the staff and lives in the town, has nevertheless, like ourselves, his own + two cells, in addition to a balcony, or leads, where the chemical + preparations give forth their suffocating gases in the open air. For this + reason, he finds it more convenient to hold his class here during the + greater part of the year. The boys come to these rooms in winter, in front + of a grate stuffed full of coke, like mine, and there find a blackboard, a + pneumatic trough, a mantelpiece covered with glass receivers, panoplies of + bent tubes on the walls, and, lastly, a certain cupboard in which I + remember seeing a row of books, the oracles consulted by the master in the + course of his lessons. + </p> + <p> + 'Among those books,' said I to myself, 'there is sure to be one on + algebra. To ask the owner for the loan of it does not appeal to me. My + amiable colleague would receive me superciliously and laugh at my + ambitious aims. I am sure he would refuse my request.' + </p> + <p> + The future was to show that my distrust was justified. Narrow mindedness + and petty jealousy prevail everywhere alike. + </p> + <p> + I decide to help myself to this book, which I should never get by asking. + This is the half-holiday. The science master will not put in an appearance + today; and the key of my room is practically the same as his. I go, with + eyes and ears on the alert. My key does not quite fit; it sticks a little, + then goes in; and an extra effort makes it turn in the lock. The door + opens. I inspect the cupboard and find that it does contain an algebra + book, one of the big, fat books which men used to write in those days, a + book nearly half a foot thick. My legs give way beneath me. You poor + specimen of a housebreaker, suppose you were caught at it! However, all + goes well. Quick, let's lock the door again and go back to our own + quarters with the pilfered volume. + </p> + <p> + And now we are together, O mysterious tome, whose Arab name breathes a + strange mustiness of occult lore and claims kindred with the sciences of + almagest and alchemy. What will you show me? Let us turn the leaves at + random. Before fixing one's eyes on a definite point in the landscape, it + is well to take a summary view of the whole. Page follows swiftly upon + page, telling me nothing. A chapter catches my attention in the middle of + the volume; it is headed, Newton's Binomial Theorem. + </p> + <p> + The title allures me. What can a binomial theorem be, especially one whose + author is Newton, the great English mathematician who weighed the worlds? + What has the mechanism of the sky to do with this? Let us read and seek + for enlightenment. With my elbows on the table and my thumbs behind my + ears, I concentrate all my attention. + </p> + <p> + I am seized with astonishment, for I understand! There are a certain + number of letters, general symbols which are grouped in all manner of + ways, taking their places here, there and elsewhere by turns; there are, + as the text tells me, arrangements, permutations and combinations. Pen in + hand, I arrange, permute and combine. It is a very diverting exercise, + upon my word, a game in which the test of the written result confirms the + anticipations of logic and supplements the shortcomings of one's thinking + apparatus. + </p> + <p> + 'It will be plain sailing,' said I to myself, 'if algebra is no more + difficult than this.' + </p> + <p> + I was to recover from the illusion later, when the binomial theorem, that + light, crisp biscuit, was followed by heavier and less digestible fare. + But, for the moment, I had no foretaste of the future difficulties, of the + pitfall in which one becomes more and more entangled, the longer one + persists in struggling. What a delightful afternoon that was, before my + grate, amid my permutations and combinations! By the evening, I had nearly + mastered my subject. When the bell rang, at seven, to summon us to the + common meal at the principal's table, I went downstairs puffed up with the + joys of the newly initiated neophyte. I was escorted on my way by a, b and + c, intertwined in cunning garlands. + </p> + <p> + Next day, my pupil is there. Blackboard and chalk, everything is ready. + Not quite so ready is the master. I bravely broach my binomial theorem. My + hearer becomes interested in the combinations of letters. Not for a moment + does he suspect that I am putting the cart before the horse and beginning + where we ought to have finished. I relieve the dryness of my explanations + with a few little problems, so many halts at which the mind takes breath + awhile and gathers strength for fresh flights. + </p> + <p> + We try together. Discreetly, so as to leave him the merit of the + discovery, I shed a little light on the path. The solution is found. My + pupil triumphs; so do I, but silently, in my inner consciousness, which + says: + </p> + <p> + 'You understand, because you succeed in making another understand.' + </p> + <p> + The hour passed quickly and very pleasantly for both of us. My young man + was contented when he left me; and I no less so, for I perceived a new and + original way of learning things. + </p> + <p> + The ingenious and easy arrangement of the binomial gave me time to tackle + my algebra book from the proper commencement. In three or four days, I had + rubbed up my weapons. There was nothing to be said about addition and + subtraction: they were so simple as to force themselves upon one at first + sight. Multiplication spoilt things. There was a certain rule of signs + which declared that minus multiplied by minus made plus. How I toiled over + that wretched paradox! It would seem that the book did not explain this + subject clearly, or rather employed too abstract a method. I read, reread + and meditated in vain: the obscure text retained all its obscurity. That + is the drawback of books in general: they tell you what is printed in them + and nothing more. If you fail to understand, they never advise you, never + suggest an attempt along another road which might lead you to the light. + The merest word would sometimes be enough to put you on the right track; + and that word the books, hidebound in a regulation phraseology, never give + you. + </p> + <p> + How greatly preferable is the oral lesson! It goes forward, goes back, + starts afresh, walks around the obstacle and varies the methods of attack + until, at long last, light is shed upon the darkness. This incomparable + beacon of the master's word was what I lacked; and I went under, without + hope of succor, in that treacherous pool of the rule of signs. + </p> + <p> + My pupil was bound to suffer the effects. After an attempt at an + explanation in which I made the most of the few gleams that reached me I + asked him: + </p> + <p> + 'Do you understand?' + </p> + <p> + It was a futile question, but useful for gaining time. Myself not + understanding, I was convinced beforehand that he did not understand + either. + </p> + <p> + 'No,' he replied, accusing himself, perhaps, in his simple mind, of + possessing a brain incapable of taking in those transcendental verities. + </p> + <p> + 'Let us try another method.' + </p> + <p> + And I start again this way and that way and yet another way. My pupil's + eyes serve as my thermometer and tell me of the progress of my efforts. A + blink of satisfaction announces my success. I have struck home, I have + found the joint in the armor. The product of minus multiplied by minus + delivers its mysteries to us. + </p> + <p> + And thus we continued our studies: he, the passive receiver, taking in the + ideas acquired without effort; I, the fierce pioneer, blasting my rock, + the book, with the aid of much sitting up at night, to extract the + diamond, truth. Another and no less arduous task fell to my share: I had + to cut and polish the recondite gem, to strip it of its ruggedness and + present it to my companion's intelligence under a less forbidding aspect. + This diamond cutter's work, which admitted a little light into the + precious stone, was the favorite occupation of my leisure; and I owe a + great deal to it. + </p> + <p> + The ultimate result was that my pupil passed his examination. As for the + book borrowed by stealth, I restored it to the shelves and replaced it by + another, which, this time, belonged to me. + </p> + <p> + At my normal school, I had learnt a little elementary geometry under a + master. From the first few lessons onwards, I rather enjoyed the subject. + I divined in it a guide for one's reasoning faculties through the thickets + of the imagination; I caught a glimpse of a search after truth that did + not involve too much stumbling on the way, because each step forward rests + solidly upon the step already taken; I suspected geometry to be what it + preeminently is: a school of intellectual fencing. + </p> + <p> + The truth demonstrated and its application matter little to me; what + rouses my enthusiasm is the process that sets the truth before us. We + start from a brilliantly lighted spot and gradually get deeper and deeper + in the darkness, which, in its turn, becomes self-illuminated by kindling + new lights for a higher ascent. This progressive march of the known toward + the unknown, this conscientious lantern lighting what follows by the rays + of what comes before: that was my real business. + </p> + <p> + Geometry was to teach me the logical progression of thought; it was to + tell me how the difficulties are broken up into sections which, elucidated + consecutively, together form a lever capable of moving the block that + resists any direct efforts; lastly, it showed me how order is engendered, + order, the base of clarity. If it has ever fallen to my lot to write a + page or two which the reader has run over without excessive fatigue, I owe + it, in great part, to geometry, that wonderful teacher of the art of + directing one's thought. True, it does not bestow imagination, a delicate + flower blossoming none knows how and unable to thrive on every soil; but + it arranges what is confused, thins out the dense, calms the tumultuous, + filters the muddy and gives lucidity, a superior product to all the tropes + of rhetoric. + </p> + <p> + Yes, as a toiler with the pen, I owe much to it. Wherefore my thoughts + readily turn back to those bright hours of my novitiate, when, retiring to + a corner of the garden in recreation time, with a bit of paper on my knees + and a stump of pencil in my fingers, I used to practice deducing this or + that property correctly from an assemblage of straight lines. The others + amused themselves all around me; I found my delight in the frustum of a + pyramid. Perhaps I should have done better to strengthen the muscles of my + thighs by jumping and leaping, to increase the suppleness of my loins with + gymnastic contortions. I have known some contortionists who have prospered + beyond the thinker. + </p> + <p> + See me then entering the lists as an instructor of youth, fairly well + acquainted with the elements of geometry. In case of need, I could handle + the land surveyor's stake and chain. There my views ended. To cube the + trunk of a tree, to gauge a cask, to measure the distance of an + inaccessible point appeared to me the highest pitch to which geometrical + knowledge could hope to soar. Were there loftier flights? I did not even + suspect it, when an unexpected glimpse showed me the puny dimensions of + the little corner which I had cleared in the measureless domain. + </p> + <p> + At that time, the college in which, two years before, I had made my first + appearance as a teacher, had just halved the size of its classes and + largely increased its staff. The newcomers all lived in the building, like + myself, and we had our meals in common at the principal's table. We formed + a hive where, in our leisure time, some of us, in our respective cells, + worked up the honey of algebra and geometry, history and physics, Greek + and Latin most of all, sometimes with a view to the class above, sometimes + and oftener with a view to acquiring a degree. The university titles + lacked variety. All my colleagues were bachelors of letters, but nothing + more. They must, if possible, arm themselves a little better to make their + way in the world. We all worked hard and steadily. I was the youngest of + the industrious community and no less eager than the rest to increase my + modest equipment. + </p> + <p> + Visits between the different rooms were frequent. We would come to consult + one another about a difficulty, or simply to pass the time of day. I had + as a neighbor, in the next cell to mine, a retired quartermaster who, + weary of barrack life, had taken refuge in education. When in charge of + the books of his company he had become more or less familiar with figures; + and it became his ambition to take a mathematical degree. His cerebrum + appears to have hardened while he was with his regiment. According to my + dear colleagues, those amiable retailers of the misfortunes of others, he + had already twice been plucked. Stubbornly, he returned to his books and + exercises, refusing to be daunted by two reverses. + </p> + <p> + It was not that he was allured by the beauties of mathematics, far from + it; but the step to which he aspired favored his plans. He hoped to have + his own boarders and dispense butter and vegetables to lucrative purpose. + The lover of study for its own sake and the persistent trapper hunting a + diploma as he would something to put in his mouth were not made to + understand or to see much of each other. Chance, however, brought us + together. + </p> + <p> + I had often surprised our friend sitting in the evening, by the light of a + candle, with his elbows on the table and his head between his hands, + meditating at great length in front of a big exercise book crammed with + cabalistic signs. From time to time, when an idea came to him, he would + take his pen and hastily put down a line of writing wherein letters, large + and small, were grouped without any grammatical sense. The letters x and y + often recurred, intermingled with figures. Every row ended with the sign + of equality and a nought. Next came more reflection, with closed eyes, and + a fresh row of letters arranged in a different order and likewise followed + by a nought. Page after page was filled in this queer fashion, each line + winding up with 0. + </p> + <p> + 'What are you doing with all those rows of figures amounting to zero?' I + asked him one day. + </p> + <p> + The mathematician gave me a leery look, picked up in barracks. A sarcastic + droop in the corner of his eye showed how he pitied my ignorance. My + colleague of the many noughts did not, however, take an unfair advantage + of his superiority. He told me that he was working at analytical geometry. + </p> + <p> + The phrase had a strange effect upon me. I ruminated silently to this + purpose: there was a higher geometry, which you learnt more particularly + with combinations of letters in which x and y played a prominent part. + When my next-door neighbor reflected so long, clutching his forehead + between his hands, he was trying to discover the hidden meaning of his own + hieroglyphics; he saw the ghostly translation of his sums dancing in + space. What did he perceive? How would the alphabetical signs, arranged + first in one and then in another manner, give an image of the actual + things, an image visible to the eyes of the mind alone? It beat me. + </p> + <p> + 'I shall have to learn analytical geometry some day,' I said. 'Will you + help me?' + </p> + <p> + 'I'm quite willing,' he replied, with a smile in which I read his lack of + confidence in my determination. + </p> + <p> + No matter; we struck a bargain that same evening. We would together break + up the stubble of algebra and analytical geometry, the foundation of the + mathematical degree; we would make common stock: he would bring long hours + of calculation, I my youthful ardor. We would begin as soon as I had + finished with my arts degree, which was my main preoccupation for the + moment. + </p> + <p> + In those far off days it was the rule to make a little serious literary + study take precedence of science. You were expected to be familiar with + the great minds of antiquity, to converse with Horace and Virgil, + Theocritus and Plato, before touching the poisons of chemistry or the + levers of mechanics. The niceties of thought could only be the gainers by + these preparations. Life's exigencies, ever harsher as progress afflicts + us with its increasing needs, have changed all that. A fig for correct + language! Business before all! + </p> + <p> + This modern hurry would have suited my impatience. I confess that I fumed + against the regulation which forced Latin and Greek upon me before + allowing me to open up relations with the sine and cosine. Today, wiser, + ripened by age and experience, I am of a different opinion. I very much + regret that my modest literary studies were not more carefully conducted + and further prolonged. To fill up this enormous blank a little, I + respectfully returned, somewhat late in life, to those good old books + which are usually sold second-hand with their leaves hardly cut. Venerable + pages, annotated in pencil during the long evenings of my youth, I have + found you again and you are more than ever my friends. You have taught me + that an obligation rests upon whoever wields the pen: he must have + something to say that is capable of interesting us. When the subject comes + within the scope of natural science, the interest is nearly always + assured; the difficulty, the great difficulty, is to prune it of its + thorns and to present it under a prepossessing aspect. Truth, they say, + rises naked from a well. Agreed; but admit that she is all the better for + being decently clothed. She craves, if not the gaudy furbelows borrowed + from rhetoric's wardrobe, at least a vine leaf. The geometers alone have + the right to refuse her that modest garment; in theorems, plainness + suffices. The others, especially the naturalist, are in duty bound to + drape a gauze tunic more or less elegantly around her waist. + </p> + <p> + Suppose I say: 'Baptiste, give me my slippers.' + </p> + <p> + I am expressing myself in plain language, a little poor in variants. I + know exactly what I am saying and my speech is understood. + </p> + <p> + Others—and they are numerous—contend that this rudimentary + method is the best in all things. They talk science to their readers as + they might talk slippers to Baptiste. Kaffir syntax does not shock them. + Do not speak to them of the value of a well selected term, set down in its + right place, still less of a lilting construction, sounding rather well. + Childish nonsense they call all that; the fiddling of a short sighted + mind! + </p> + <p> + Perhaps they are right: the Baptiste idiom is a great economizer of time + and trouble. This advantage does not tempt me; it seems to me that an idea + stands out better if expressed in lucid language, with sober imagery. A + suitable phrase, placed in its correct position and saying without fuss + the things we want to say, necessitates a choice, an often laborious + choice. There are drab words, the commonplaces of colloquial speech; and + there are, so to speak, colored words, which may be compared with the + brushstrokes strewing patches of light over the gray background of a + painting. How are we to find those picturesque words, those striking + features which arrest the attention? How are we to group them into a + language heedful of syntax and not displeasing to the ear? + </p> + <p> + I was taught nothing of this art. For that matter, is it ever taught in + the schools? I greatly doubt it. If the fire that runs through our veins, + if inspiration do not come to our aid, we shall flutter the pages of the + thesaurus in vain: the word for which we seek will refuse to come. Then to + what masters shall we have recourse to quicken and develop the humble germ + that is latent within us? To books. + </p> + <p> + As a boy, I was always an ardent reader; but the niceties of a + well-balanced style hardly interested me: I did not understand them. A + good deal later, when close upon fifteen, I began vaguely to see that + words have a physiognomy of their own. Some pleased me better than others + by the distinctness of their meaning and the resonance of their rhythm; + they produced a clearer image in my mind; after their fashion, they gave + me a picture of the object described. Colored by its adjective and + vivified by its verb, the name became a living reality: what it said I + saw. And thus, gradually, was the magic of words revealed to me, when the + chances of, my undirected reading placed a few easy standard pages in my + way. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIII. MATHEMATICAL MEMORIES: MY LITTLE TABLE + </h2> + <p> + It is time to start our analytical geometry. He can come now, my partner, + the mathematician: I think I shall understand what he says. I have already + run through my book and noticed that our subject, whose beautiful + precision makes work a recreation, bristles with no very serious + difficulties. + </p> + <p> + We begin in my room, in front of a blackboard. After a few evenings, + prolonged into the peaceful watches of the night, I become aware, to my + great surprise, that my teacher, the past master in those hieroglyphics, + is really, more often than not, my pupil. He does not see the combinations + of the abscissas and ordinates very clearly. I make bold to take the chalk + in hand myself, to seize the rudder of our algebraical boat. I comment on + the book, interpret it in my own fashion, expound the text, sound the + reefs until daylight comes and leads us to the haven of the solution. + Besides, the logic is so irresistible, it is all such easy going and so + lucid that often one seems to be remembering rather than learning. + </p> + <p> + And so we proceed, with our positions reversed. I dig into the hard rock, + crumble it, loosen it until I make room for thought to penetrate. My + comrade—I can now allow myself to speak of him on equal terms—my + comrade listens, suggests objections, raises difficulties which we try to + solve in unison. The two combined levers, inserted in the fissure, end by + shaking and overturning the rocky mass. + </p> + <p> + I no longer see in the corner of the quartermaster's eye the leery droop + that greeted me at the start. Cordial frankness now reigns, the infectious + high spirits imparted by success. Little by little, dawn breaks, very + misty as yet, but laden with promises. We are both greatly amazed; and my + share in the satisfaction is a double one, for he sees twice over who + makes others see. Thus do we pass half the night, in delightful hours. We + cease when sleep begins to weigh too heavily on our eyelids. + </p> + <p> + When my comrade returns to his room, does he sleep, careless for the + moment of the shifting scene which we have conjured up? He confesses to me + that he sleeps soundly. This advantage I do not possess. It is not in my + power to pass the sponge over my poor brain even as I pass it over the + blackboard. The network of ideas remains and forms as it were a moving + cobweb in which repose wriggles and tosses, incapable of finding a stable + equilibrium. When sleep does come at last, it is often but a state of + somnolence which, far from suspending the activity of the mind, actually + maintains and quickens it more than waking would. During this torpor, in + which night has not yet closed upon the brain, I sometimes solve + mathematical difficulties with which I struggled unsuccessfully the day + before. A brilliant beacon, of which I am hardly conscious, flares in my + brain. Then I jump out of bed, light my lamp again and hasten to jot down + my solutions, the recollection of which I should have lost on awakening. + Like lightning flashes, those gleams vanish as suddenly as they appear. + </p> + <p> + Whence do they come? Probably from a habit which I acquired very early in + life: to have food always there for my mind, to pour the never failing oil + constantly into the lamp of thought. Would you succeed in the things of + the mind? The infallible method is to be always thinking of them. This + method I practiced more sedulously than my comrade; and hence, no doubt, + arose the interchange of positions, the disciple turned into the master. + It was not, however, an overwhelming infatuation, a painful obsession; it + was rather a recreation, almost a poetic feast. As our great lyric writer + put it in the preface to his volume, Les Rayons et les ombres: + 'Mathematics play their part in art as well as in science. There is + algebra in astronomy: astronomy is akin to poetry; there is algebra in + music: music is akin to poetry.' + </p> + <p> + Is this poetic exaggeration? Surely not: Victor Hugo spoke truly. Algebra, + the poem of order, has magnificent flights. I look upon its formulae, its + strophes as superb, without feeling at all astonished when others do not + agree. My colleague's satirical look came back when I was imprudent enough + to confide my extrageometrical raptures to his ears: 'Nonsense,' said he, + 'pure stuff and nonsense! Let's get on with our tangents.' + </p> + <p> + The quartermaster was right: the strict severity of our approaching + examination allowed of no such dreamer's outbursts. Was I, on my side, + very wrong? To warm chill calculation by the fire of the ideal, to lift + one's thought above mere formulae, to brighten the caverns of the abstract + with a spark of life: was this not to ease the effort of penetrating the + unknown? Where my comrade plodded on, scorning my viaticum, I performed a + journey of pleasure. If I had to lean on the rude staff of algebra, I had + for my guide that voice within me, urging me to lofty flights. Study + became a joy. + </p> + <p> + It became still more interesting when, after the angularities of a + combination of straight lines, I learnt to portray the graces of a curve. + How many properties were there of which the compass knew nothing, how many + cunning laws lay contained in embryo within an equation, the mysterious + nut which must be artistically cracked to extract the rich kernel, the + theorem! Take this or that term, place the + sign before it and forthwith + you have the ellipse, the trajectory of the planets, with its two friendly + foci, transmitting pairs of vectors whose sum is constant; substitute the—sign + and you have the hyperbola with the antagonistic foci, the desperate curve + that dives into space with infinite tentacles, approaching nearer and + nearer to straight lines, the asymptotes, but never succeeding in meeting + them. Suppress that term and you have the parabola, which vainly seeks in + infinity its lost second focus; you have the trajectory of the bombshell; + you have the path of certain comets which come one day to visit our sun + and then flee to depths whence they never return. Is it not wonderful thus + to formulate the orbit of the worlds? I thought so then and I think so + still. + </p> + <p> + After fifteen months of this exercise, we went up together for our + examination at Montpellier; and both of us received our degrees as + bachelors of mathematical science. My companion was a wreck: I, on the + other hand, had refreshed myself with analytical geometry. + </p> + <p> + Utterly worn out by his course of conic sections, my chum declares that he + has had enough. In vain I hold out the glittering prospect of a new + degree, that of licentiate of mathematical science, which would lead us to + the splendors of the higher mathematics and initiate us into the mechanics + of the heavens: I cannot prevail upon him, cannot make him share my + audacity. He calls it a mad scheme, which will exhaust us and come to + nothing. Without the advice of an experienced pilot, with no other compass + than a book, which is not always very clear, because of its laconic + adherence to set terms, our poor bark is bound to be wrecked on the first + reef. One might as well put out to sea in a nutshell and defy the billows + of the vasty deep. He does not use these actual words, but his gloomy + estimate of the extreme difficulties to be encountered is enough to + explain his refusal. I am quite free to go and break my neck in far + countries; he is more prudent and will not follow me. + </p> + <p> + I suspect another reason, which the deserter does not confess. He has + obtained the title needed for his plans. What does he care for the rest? + Is it worth while to sit up late at night and wear one's self out in toil + for the mere pleasure of learning? He must be a madman who, without the + lure of profit, lends an ear to the blandishments of knowledge. Let us + retreat into our shell, close our lid to the importunities of the light + and lead the life of a mussel. There lies the secret of happiness. This + philosophy is not mine. My curiosity sees in a stage accomplished no more + than the preparation for a new stage towards the retreating unknown. My + partner, therefore, leaves me. Henceforth, I am alone, alone and wretched. + There is no one left with whom I can sit up and thresh the subject out in + exhilarating discussion. There is no one near me to understand me, no one + who can even passively oppose his ideas to mine and take part in the + conflict whence the light will spring, even as a spark is born of the + concussion of two flints. When a difficulty arises, steep as a cliff, + there is no friendly shoulder to support me in my attempt to climb it. + Alone, I have to cling to the roughness of the jagged rock, to fall, + often, and pick myself up, covered with bruises, and renew the assault; + alone, I must give my shout of triumph, without the least echo of + encouragement, when, reaching the summit and broken in the effort, I am at + last allowed to see a little way beyond. + </p> + <p> + My mathematical campaign will cost me much stubborn thought: I am aware of + this after the first few lines of my book. I am entering upon the domain + of the abstract, rough ground that can only be cleared by the insistent + plow of reflection. The blackboard, excellent for the curves of analytical + geometry studied in my friend's company, is now neglected. I prefer the + exercise book, a quire of paper bound in a cover. With this confidant, + which allows one to remain seated and rests the muscles of the legs, I can + commune nightly under my lampshade, until a late hour, and keep going the + forge of thought wherein the intractable problem is softened and hammered + into shape. + </p> + <p> + My study table, the size of a pocket handkerchief, occupied on the right + by the ink stand—a penny bottle—and on the left by the open + exercise book, gives me just the room which I need to wield the pen. I + love that little piece of furniture, one of the first acquisitions of my + early married life. It is easily moved where you wish: in front of the + window, when the sky is cloudy; into the discreet light of a corner, when + the sun is troublesome. In winter, it allows you to come close to the + hearth, where a log is blazing. + </p> + <p> + Poor little walnut board, I have been faithful to you for half a century + and more. Ink-stained, cut and scarred with the penknife, you lend your + support today to my prose as you once did to my equations. This variation + in employment leaves you indifferent; your patient back extends the same + welcome to the formulae of algebra and the formula of thought. I cannot + boast this placidity; I find that the change has not increased my peace of + mind; hunting for ideas troubles the brain even more than hunting for the + roots of an equation. + </p> + <p> + You would never recognize me, little friend, if you could give a glance at + my gray mane. Where is the cheerful face of former days, bright with + enthusiasm and hope? I have aged, I have aged. And you, what a falling + off, since you came to me from the dealer's, gleaming and polished and + smelling so good with your beeswax! Like your master, you have wrinkles, + often my work, I admit; for how many times, in my impatience, have I not + dug my pen into you, when, after its dip in the muddy inkpot, the nib + refused to write decently! + </p> + <p> + One of your corners is broken off; the boards are beginning to come loose. + Inside you, I hear, from time to time, the plane of the death-watch, who + despoils old furniture. From year to year, new galleries are excavated, + endangering your solidity. The old ones show on the outside in the shape + of tiny round holes. A stranger has seized upon the latter, excellent + quarters, obtained without trouble. I see the impudent intruder run nimbly + under my elbow and penetrate forthwith into the tunnel abandoned by the + death-watch. She is after game, this slender huntress, clad in black, busy + collecting wood lice for her grubs. A whole nation is devouring you, you + old table; I am writing on a swarm of insects! No support could be more + appropriate to my entomological notes. + </p> + <p> + What will become of you when your master is gone? Will you be knocked down + for a franc, when the family come to apportion my poor spoils? Will you be + turned into a stand for the pitcher beside the kitchen sink? Will you be + the plank on which the cabbages are shredded? Or will my children, on the + contrary, agree and say: + </p> + <p> + 'Let us preserve the relic. It was where he toiled so hard to teach + himself and make himself capable of teaching others; it was where he so + long consumed his strength to find food for us when we were little. Let us + keep the sacred plank.' + </p> + <p> + I dare not believe in such a future for you. You will pass into strange + hands, O my old friend; you will become a bedside table, laden with bowl + after bowl of linseed tea, until, decrepit, rickety and broken down, you + are chopped up to feed the flames for a brief moment under the simmering + saucepan. You will vanish in smoke to join my labors in that other smoke, + oblivion, the ultimate resting place of our vain agitations. + </p> + <p> + But let us return, little table, to our young days; those of your shining + varnish and of my fond illusions. It is Sunday, the day of rest, that is + to say, of continuous work, uninterrupted by my duties in the school. I + greatly prefer Thursday, which is not a general holiday and more + propitious to studious calm. Such as it is, for all its distractions, the + Lord's day gives me a certain leisure. Let us make the most of it. There + are fifty-two Sundays in the year, making a total that is almost + equivalent to the long vacation. + </p> + <p> + It so happens that I have a glorious question to wrestle with today; that + of Kepler's three laws, which, when explored by the calculus, are to show + me the fundamental mechanism of the heavenly bodies. One of them says: + 'The area swept out in a given time by the radius vector of the path of a + planet is proportional to the time taken.' + </p> + <p> + From this I have to deduce that the force which confines the planet to its + orbit is directed towards the sun. Gently entreated by the differential + and integral calculus, already the formula is beginning to voice itself. + My concentration redoubles, my mind is set upon seizing the radiant dawn + of truth. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly, in the distance, br-r-r-rum! Br-r-r-rum! Br-r-r-rum! The noise + comes nearer, grows louder. Woe upon me! And plague take the Pagoda! + </p> + <p> + Let me explain. I live in a suburb, at the beginning of the Pernes Road, + far from the tumult of the town [of Carpentras where Fabre was a master at + the college]. Twenty yards in front of my house, some pleasure gardens + have been opened, bearing a signboard inscribed, 'The Pagoda.' Here, on + Sunday afternoons, the lads and lasses from the neighboring farms come to + disport themselves in country dances. To attract custom and push the sale + of refreshments, the proprietor of the ball ends the Sunday hop with a + tombola. Two hours beforehand, he has the prizes carried along the public + roads, preceded by fifes and drums. From a beribboned pole, borne by a + stalwart fellow in a red sash, dangle a plated goblet, a handkerchief of + Lyons silk, a pair of candlesticks and some packets of cigars. Who would + not enter the pleasure gardens, with such a bait? + </p> + <p> + 'Br-r-r-rum! Br-r-r-rum! Br-r-r-rum!' goes the procession. + </p> + <p> + It comes just under my window, wheels to the right and marches into the + establishment, a huge wooden booth, hung with evergreens. And now, if you + dislike noise, flee, flee as far as you can. Until nightfall, the + ophicleides will bellow, the fifes tootle and the cornets bray. How would + you deduce the steps of Kepler's laws to the accompaniment of that noisy + orchestra! It is enough to drive one mad. Let us be off with all speed. + </p> + <p> + A mile away, I know a flinty waste beloved of the wheatear and the locust. + Here reigns perfect calm; moreover, there are some clumps of evergreen oak + which will lend me their scanty shade. I take my book, a few sheets of + paper and a pencil and fly to this solitude. What beauteous silence, what + exquisite quiet! But the sun is overwhelming, under the meager cover of + the bushes. Cheerily, my lad! Have at your Kepler's laws in the company of + the blue-winged locusts. You will return home with your problems solved, + but with a blistered skin. An overdose of sun in the neck shall be the + outcome of grasping the law of the areas. One thing makes up for another. + </p> + <p> + During the rest of the week, I have my Thursdays and the evenings, which I + employ in study until I drop with sleep. All told I have no lack of time, + despite the drudgery of my college ties. The great thing is not to be + discouraged by the unavoidable difficulties encountered at the outset. I + lose my way easily in that dense forest overgrown with creepers that have + to be cut away with the axe to obtain a clearing. A fortunate turn or two; + and I once more know where I am. I lose my way again. The stubborn axe + makes its opening without always letting in sufficient light. + </p> + <p> + The book is just a book, that is to say, a set text, saying not a word + more than it is obliged to, exceedingly learned, I admit, but, alas, often + obscure! The author, it seems, wrote it for himself. He understood; + therefore others must. Poor beginners, left to yourselves, you manage as + best you can! For you, there shall be no retracing of steps in order to + tackle the difficulty in another way; no circuit easing the arduous road + and preparing the passage; no supplementary aperture to admit a glimmer of + daylight. Incomparably inferior to the spoken word, which begins again + with fresh methods of attack and is ready to vary the paths that lead to + the open, the book says what it says and nothing more. Having finished its + demonstration, whether you understand or no, the oracle is inexorably + dumb. You reread the text and ponder it obstinately; you pass and repass + your shuttle through the woof of figures. Useless efforts all: the + darkness continues. What would be needed to supply the illuminating ray? + Often enough, a trifle, a mere word; and that word the book will not + speak. + </p> + <p> + Happy is he who is guided by a master's teaching! His progress does not + know the misery of those wearisome breakdowns. What was I to do before the + disheartening wall that every now and then rose up and barred my road? I + followed d'Alembert's precept in his advice to young mathematical + students: 'Have faith and go ahead,' said the great geometrician. + </p> + <p> + Faith I had; and I went on pluckily. And it was well for me that I did, + for I often found behind the wall the enlightenment which I was seeking in + front of it. Giving up the bad patch as hopeless, I would go on and, after + I had left it behind, discover the dynamite capable of blasting it. 'Twas + a tiny grain at first, an insignificant ball rolling and increasing as it + went. From one slope to the other of the theorems, it grew to a heavy + mass; and the mass became a mighty projectile which, flung backwards and + retracing its course, split the darkness and spread it into one vast sheet + of light. + </p> + <p> + D'Alembert's precept is good and very good, provided you do not abuse it. + Too much precipitation in turning over the intractable page might expose + you to many a disappointment. You must have fought the difficulty tooth + and nail before abandoning it. This rough skirmishing leads to + intellectual vigor. + </p> + <p> + Twelve months of meditation in the company of my little table at last won + me my degree as a licentiate of mathematical science; and I was now + qualified to perform, half a century later, the eminently lucrative + functions of an inspector of Spiders' webs! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIV. THE BLUEBOTTLE: THE LAYING + </h2> + <p> + To purge the earth of death's impurities and cause deceased animal matter + to be once more numbered among the treasures of life there are hosts of + sausage queens, including, in our part of the world, the bluebottle + (Calliphora vomitaria, LIN.) and the checkered flesh fly (Sarcophaga + carnaria, LIN.). Every one knows the first, the big, dark-blue fly who, + after effecting her designs in the ill-watched meat safe, settles on our + window panes and keeps up a solemn buzzing, anxious to be off in the sun + and ripen a fresh emission of germs. How does she lay her eggs, the origin + of the loathsome maggot that battens poisonously on our provisions, + whether of game or butcher's meat? What are her stratagems and how can we + foil them? This is what I propose to investigate. + </p> + <p> + The bluebottle frequents our homes during autumn and a part of winter, + until the cold becomes severe; but her appearance in the fields dates back + much earlier. On the first fine day in February, we shall see her warming + herself, chillily, against the sunny walls. In April, I notice her in + considerable numbers on the laurestinus. It is here that she seems to + pair, while sipping the sugary exudations of the small white flowers. The + whole of the summer season is spent out of doors, in brief flights from + one refreshment bar to the next. When autumn comes, with its game, she + makes her way into our houses and remains until the hard frosts. + </p> + <p> + This suits my stay-at-home habits and especially my legs, which are + bending under the weight of years. I need not run after the subjects of my + present study; they call on me. Besides, I have vigilant assistants. The + household knows of my plans. Every one brings me, in a little screw of + paper, the noisy visitor just captured against the panes. + </p> + <p> + Thus do I fill my vivarium, which consists of a large, bell-shaped cage of + wire gauze, standing in an earthenware pan full of sand. A mug containing + honey is the dining room of the establishment. Here the captives come to + recruit themselves in their hours of leisure. To occupy their maternal + cares, I employ small birds—chaffinches, linnets, sparrows—brought + down, in the enclosure, by my son's gun. + </p> + <p> + I have just served up a Linnet shot two days ago. I next place in the cage + a bluebottle, one only, to avoid confusion. Her fat belly proclaims the + advent of a laying time. An hour later, when the excitement of being put + in prison is allayed, my captive is in labor. With eager, jerky steps, she + explores the morsel of game, goes from the head to the tail, returns from + the tail to the head, repeats the action several times and at last settles + near an eye, a dimmed eye sunk into its socket. + </p> + <p> + The ovipositor bends at a right angle and dives into the junction of the + beak, straight down to the root. Then the eggs are emitted for nearly half + an hour. The layer, utterly absorbed in her serious business, remains + stationary and impassive and is easily observed through my lens. A + movement on my part would doubtless scare her; but my restful presence + gives her no anxiety. I am nothing to her. + </p> + <p> + The discharge does not go on continuously until the ovaries are exhausted; + it is intermittent and performed in so many packets. Several times over, + the fly leaves the bird's beak and comes to take a rest upon the wire + gauze, where she brushes her hind legs one against the other. In + particular, before using it again, she cleans, smoothes and polishes her + laying tool, the probe that places the eggs. Then, feeling her womb still + teeming, she returns to the same spot at the joint of the beak. The + delivery is resumed, to cease presently and then begin anew. A couple of + hours are thus spent in alternate standing near the eye and resting on the + wire gauze. + </p> + <p> + At last, it is over. The fly does not go back to the bird, a proof that + her ovaries are exhausted. The next day, she is dead. The eggs are dabbed + in a continuous layer, at the entrance to the throat, at the root of the + tongue, on the membrane of the palate. Their number appears considerable; + the whole inside of the gullet is white with them. I fix a little wooden + prop between the two mandibles of the beak, to keep them open and enable + me to see what happens. + </p> + <p> + I learn in this way that the hatching takes place in a couple of days. As + soon as they are born, the young vermin, a swarming mass, leave the place + where they are and disappear down the throat. To inquire further into the + work is useless for the moment. We shall learn more about it later, under + conditions that make examination easier. + </p> + <p> + The beak of the bird invaded was closed at the start, as far as the + natural contact of the mandibles allowed. There remained a narrow slit at + the base, sufficient at most to admit the passage of a horsehair. It was + through this that the laying was performed. Lengthening her ovipositor + like a telescope, the mother inserted the point of her implement, a point + slightly hardened with a horny armor. The fineness of the probe equals the + fineness of the aperture. But, if the beak were entirely closed, where + would the eggs be laid then? + </p> + <p> + With a tied thread, I keep the two mandibles in absolute contact; and I + place a second bluebottle in the presence of the linnet, which the + colonists have already entered by the beak. This time, the laying takes + place on one of the eyes, between the lid and the eyeball. At the + hatching, which again occurs a couple of days later, the grubs make their + way into the fleshy depths of the socket. The eyes and the beak, + therefore, form the two chief entrances into feathered game. + </p> + <p> + There are others; and these are the wounds. I cover the linnet's head with + a paper hood which will prevent invasion through the beak and eyes. I + serve it, under the wire gauze bell, to a third egg layer. The bird has + been struck by a shot in the breast, but the sore is not bleeding: no + outer stain marks the injured spot. Moreover, I am careful to arrange the + feathers, to smooth them with a hair pencil, so that the bird looks quite + smart and has every appearance of being untouched. + </p> + <p> + The fly is soon there. She inspects the linnet from end to end; with her + front tarsi she fumbles at the breast and belly. It is a sort of + auscultation by sense of touch. The insect becomes aware of what is under + the feathers by the manner in which these react. If scent comes to her + assistance, it can only be very slightly, for the game is not yet high. + The wound is soon found. No drop of blood is near it, for it is closed by + a plug of down rammed into it by the shot. The fly takes up her position + without separating the feathers or uncovering the wound. She remains here + for two hours without stirring, motionless, with her abdomen concealed + beneath the plumage. My eager curiosity does not distract her from her + business for a moment. + </p> + <p> + When she has finished, I take her place. There is nothing either on the + skin or at the mouth of the wound. I have to withdraw the downy plug and + dig to some depth before discovering the eggs. The ovipositor has + therefore lengthened its extensible tube and pushed beyond the feather + stopper driven in by the lead. The eggs are in one packet; they number + about three hundred. + </p> + <p> + When the beak and eyes are rendered inaccessible, when the body, moreover, + has no wounds, the laying still takes place, but, this time, in a + hesitating and niggardly fashion. I pluck the bird completely, the better + to watch what happens; also, I cover the head with a paper hood to close + the usual means of access. For a long time, with jerky steps, the mother + explores the body in every direction; she takes her stand by preference on + the head, which she sounds by tapping on it with her front tarsi. She + knows that the openings which she needs are there, under the paper; but + she also knows how frail are her grubs, how powerless to pierce their way + through the strange obstacle which stops her as well and interferes with + the work of her ovipositor. The cowl inspires her with profound distrust. + Despite the tempting bait of the veiled head, not an egg is laid on the + wrapper, slight though it may be. + </p> + <p> + Weary of vain attempts to compass this obstacle, the Fly at last decides + in favor of other points, but not on the breast, belly or back, where the + hide would seem too tough and the light too intrusive. She needs dark + hiding places, corners where the skin is very delicate. The spots chosen + are the cavity of the axilla, corresponding with our armpit, and the + crease where the thigh joins the belly. Eggs are laid in both places, but + not many, showing that the groin and the axilla are adopted only + reluctantly and for lack of a better spot. + </p> + <p> + With an unplucked bird, also hooded, the same experiment failed: the + feathers prevent the fly from slipping into those deep places. Let us add, + in conclusion, that, on a skinned bird, or simply on a piece of butcher's + meat, the laying is effected on any part whatever, provided that it be + dark. The gloomiest corners are the favorite ones. + </p> + <p> + It follows from all this that, to lay the eggs, the Bluebottle picks out + either naked wounds or else the mucous membranes of the mouth or eyes, + which are not protected by a skin of any thickness. She also needs + darkness. We shall see the reasons for her preference later on. + </p> + <p> + The perfect efficiency of the paper bag, which prevents the inroads of the + worms through the eye sockets or the beak, suggests a similar experiment + with the whole bird. It is a matter of wrapping the body in a sort of + artificial skin which will be as discouraging to the fly as the natural + skin. Linnets, some with deep wounds, others almost intact, are placed one + by one in paper envelopes similar to those in which the nursery gardener + keeps his seeds, envelopes just folded, without being stuck. The paper is + quite ordinary and of average thickness. Torn pieces of newspaper serve + the purpose. + </p> + <p> + These sheaths with the corpses inside them are freely exposed to the air, + on the table in my study, where they are visited, according to the time of + day, in dense shade and in bright sunlight. Attracted by the effluvia from + the dead meat, the bluebottles haunt my laboratory, the windows of which + are always open. I see them daily alighting on the envelopes and very + busily exploring them, apprised of the contents by the gamy smell. Their + incessant coming and going is a sign of intense cupidity; and yet none of + them decides to lay on the bags. They do not even attempt to slide their + ovipositor through the slits of the folds. The favorable season passes and + not an egg is laid on the tempting wrappers. All the mothers abstain, + judging the slender obstacle of the paper to be more than the vermin will + be able to overcome. + </p> + <p> + This caution on the fly's part does not at all surprise me: motherhood + everywhere has gleams of great perspicacity. What does astonish me is the + following result. The parcels containing the linnets are left for a whole + year uncovered on the table; they remain there for a second year and a + third. I inspect the contents from time to time. The little birds are + intact, with unrumpled feathers, free from smell, dry and light, like + mummies. They have become not decomposed, but mummified. + </p> + <p> + I expected to see them putrefying, running into sanies, like corpses left + to rot in the open air. On the contrary, the birds have dried and + hardened, without undergoing any change. What did they want for their + putrefaction? Simply the intervention of the fly. The maggot, therefore, + is the primary cause of dissolution after death; it is, above all, the + putrefactive chemist. + </p> + <p> + A conclusion not devoid of value may be drawn from my paper game bags. In + our markets, especially in those of the South, the game is hung + unprotected from the hooks on the stalls. Larks strung up by the dozen + with a wire through their nostrils, thrushes, plovers, teal, partridges, + snipe, in short, all the glories of the spit which the autumn migration + brings us, remain for days and weeks at the mercy of the flies. The buyer + allows himself to be tempted by a goodly exterior; he makes his purchase + and, back at home, just when the bird is being prepared for roasting, he + discovers that the promised dainty is alive with worms. O horror! There is + nothing for it but to throw the loathsome, verminous thing away. + </p> + <p> + The bluebottle is the culprit here. Everybody knows it; and nobody thinks + of seriously shaking off her tyranny: not the retailer, nor the wholesale + dealer, nor the killer of the game. What is wanted to keep the maggots + out? Hardly anything: to slip each bird into a paper sheath. If this + precaution were taken at the start, before the flies arrive, any game + would be safe and could be left indefinitely to attain the degree of + ripeness required by the epicure's palate. + </p> + <p> + Stuffed with olives and myrtle berries, the Corsican blackbirds are + exquisite eating. We sometimes receive them at Orange, layers of them, + packed in baskets through which the air circulates freely and each + contained in a paper wrapper. They are in a state of perfect preservation, + complying with the most exacting demands of the kitchen. I congratulate + the nameless shipper who conceived the bright idea of clothing his + blackbirds in paper. Will his example find imitators? I doubt it. + </p> + <p> + There is, of course, a serious objection to this method of preservation. + In its paper shroud, the article is invisible; it is not enticing; it does + not inform the passer by of its nature and qualities. There is one + resource left which would leave the bird uncovered: simply to case the + head in a paper cap. The head being the part most threatened, because of + the mucus membrane of the throat and eyes, it would be sufficient, as a + rule, to protect the head, in order to keep off the Flies and to thwart + their attempts. + </p> + <p> + Let us continue to study the bluebottle, while varying our means of + information. A tin, about four inches deep, contains a piece of butcher's + meat. The lid is not put in quite straight and leaves a narrow slit at one + point of its circumference, allowing, at most, of the passage of a fine + needle. When the bait begins to give off a gamy scent, the mothers come. + Singly or in numbers. They are attracted by the odor which, transmitted + through a thin crevice, hardly reaches my nostrils. + </p> + <p> + They explore the metal receptacle for some time, seeking an entrance. + Finding naught that enables them to reach the coveted morsel, they decide + to lay their eggs on the tin, just beside the aperture. Sometimes, when + the width of the passage allows of it, they insert the ovipositor into the + tin and lay the eggs inside, on the very edges of the slit. Whether + outside or in, the eggs are dabbed down in a fairly regular and absolutely + white layer. I as it were shovel them up with a little paper scoop. I thus + obtain all the germs that I require for my experiments, eggs bearing no + trace of the stains which would be inevitable if I had to collect them on + tainted meat. + </p> + <p> + We have seen the bluebottle refusing to lay her eggs on the paper bag, + notwithstanding the carrion fumes of the Linnet enclosed; yet now, without + hesitation, she lays them on a sheet of metal. Can the nature of the floor + make any difference to her? I replace the tin lid by a paper cover + stretched and pasted over the orifice. With the point of my knife, I make + a narrow slit in this new lid. That is quite enough: the parent accepts + the paper. + </p> + <p> + What determined her, therefore, is not simply the smell, which can easily + be perceived even through the uncut paper, but, above all, the crevice, + which will provide an entrance for the vermin, hatched outside, near the + narrow passage. The maggots' mother has her own logic, her prudent + foresight. She knows how feeble her wee grubs will be, how powerless to + cut their way through an obstacle of any resistance; and so, despite the + temptation of the smell, she refrains from laying so long as she finds no + entrance through which the newborn worms can slip unaided. + </p> + <p> + I wanted to know whether the color, the shininess, the degree of hardness + and other qualities of the obstacle would influence the decision of a + mother obliged to lay her eggs under exceptional conditions. With this + object in view, I employed small jars, each baited with a bit of butcher's + meat. The respective lids were made of different colored paper, of + oilskin, or of some of that tinfoil, with its gold or coppery sheen, which + is used for sealing liqueur bottles. On not one of these covers did the + mothers stop, with any desire to deposit their eggs; but, from the moment + that the knife had made the narrow slit, all the lids were, sooner or + later, visited and all of them, sooner or later, received the white shower + somewhere near the gash. The look of the obstacle, therefore, does not + count; dull or brilliant, drab or colored: these are details of no + importance; the thing that matters is that there should be a passage to + allow the grubs to enter. + </p> + <p> + Though hatched outside, at a distance from the coveted morsel, the newborn + worms are well able to find their refectory. As they release themselves + from the egg, without hesitation, so accurate is their scent, they slip + beneath the edge of the ill-joined lid, or through the passage cut by the + knife. Behold them entering upon their promised land, their reeking + paradise. + </p> + <p> + Eager to arrive, do they drop from the top of the wall? Not they! Slowly + creeping, they make their way down the side of the jar; they use their + fore part, ever in quest of information, as a crutch and grapnel in one. + They reach the meat and at once install themselves upon it. + </p> + <p> + Let us continue our investigation, varying the conditions. A large + test-tube, measuring nine inches high, is baited at the bottom with a lump + of butcher's meat. It is closed with wire gauze, whose meshes, two + millimeters wide, do not permit of the fly's passage. The bluebottle comes + to my apparatus, guided by scent rather than sight. She hastens to the + test tube whose contents are veiled under an opaque cover with the same + alacrity as to the open tube. The invisible attracts her quite as much as + the visible. + </p> + <p> + She stays a while on the lattice of the mouth, inspects it attentively; + but, whether because circumstances have failed to serve me, or because the + wire network inspires her with distrust, I never saw her dab her eggs upon + it for certain. As her evidence was doubtful, I had recourse to the flesh + fly (Sarcophaga carnaria). + </p> + <p> + This fly is less finicky in her preparations, she has more faith in the + strength of her worms, which are born ready-formed and vigorous, and + easily shows me what I wish to see. She explores the trellis-work, chooses + a mesh through which she inserts the tip of her abdomen and, undisturbed + by my presence, emits, one after the other, a certain number of grubs, + about ten or so. True, her visits will be repeated, increasing the family + at a rate of which I am ignorant. + </p> + <p> + The newborn worms, thanks to a slight viscidity, cling for a moment to the + wire gauze; they swarm, wriggle, release themselves and leap into the + chasm. It is a nine inch drop at least. When this is done, the mother + makes off, knowing for a certainty that her offspring will shift for + themselves. If they fall on the meat, well and good; if they fall + elsewhere, they can reach the morsel by crawling. + </p> + <p> + This confidence in the unknown factor of the precipice, with no indication + but that of smell, deserves fuller, investigation. From what height will + the flesh fly dare to let her children drop? I top the test-tube with + another tube, the width of the neck of a claret bottle. The mouth is + closed either with wire gauze, or with a paper cover with a slight cut in + it. Altogether, the apparatus measures twenty-five inches in height. No + matter: the fall is not serious for the lithe backs of the young grubs; + and, in a few days, the test-tube is filled with larvae, in which it is + easy to recognize the flesh fly's family by the fringed coronet that opens + and shuts at the maggot's stern like the petals of a little flower. I did + not see the mother operating: I was not there at the time; but there is no + doubt possible of her coming nor of the great dive taken by the family: + the contents of the test-tube furnish me with a duly authenticated + certificate. + </p> + <p> + I admire the leap and, to obtain one better still, I replace the tube by + another, so that the apparatus now stands forty-six inches high. The + column is erected at a spot frequented by flies, in a dim light. Its + mouth, closed with a wire gauze cover, reaches the level of various other + appliances, test-tubes and jars, which are already stocked or awaiting + their colony of vermin. When the position is well known to the flies, I + remove the other tubes and leave the column, lest the visitors should turn + aside to easier ground. + </p> + <p> + From time to time, the bluebottle and the flesh fly perch on the + trellis-work, make a short investigation and then decamp. Throughout the + summer season, for three whole months, the apparatus remains where it is, + without the least result: never a worm. What is the reason? Does the + stench of the meat not spread, coming from that depth? Certainly it + spreads: it is unmistakable to my dulled nostrils and still more so to the + nostrils of my children, whom I call to bear witness. Then why does the + flesh fly, who but now was dropping her grubs from a goodly height, refuse + to let them fall from the top of a column twice as high? Does she fear + lest her worms should be bruised by an excessive drop? There is nothing + about her to point to anxiety aroused by the length of the shaft. I never + see her explore the tube or take its size. She stands on the trellised + orifice; and there the matter ends. Can she be apprised of the depth of + the chasm by the comparative faintness of the offensive odors that arise + from it? Can the sense of smell measure the distance and judge whether it + be acceptable or not? Perhaps. + </p> + <p> + The fact remains that, despite the attraction of the scent, the flesh fly + does not expose her worms to disproportionate falls. Can she know + beforehand that, when the chrysalides break, her winged family, knocking + with a sudden flight against the sides of a tall chimney, will be unable + to get out? This foresight would be in agreement with the rules which + order maternal instinct according to future needs. + </p> + <p> + But when the fall does not exceed a certain depth, the budding worms of + the flesh fly are dropped without a qualm, as all our experiments show. + This principle has a practical application which is not without its value + in matters of domestic economy. It is as well that the wonders of + entomology should sometimes give us a hint of commonplace utility. + </p> + <p> + The usual meat safe is a sort of large cage with a top and bottom of wood + and four wire gauze sides. Hooks fixed into the top are used whereby to + hang pieces which we wish to protect from the flies. Often, so as to + employ the space to the best advantage, these pieces are simply laid on + the floor on the cage. With these arrangements, are we sure of warding off + the fly and her vermin? + </p> + <p> + Not at all. We may protect ourselves against the Bluebottle, who is not + much inclined to lay her eggs at a distance from the meat; but there is + still the flesh fly, who is more venturesome and goes more briskly to work + and who will slip the grubs through a hole in the meshes and drop them + inside the safe. Agile as they are and well able to crawl, the worms will + easily reach anything on the floor; the only things secure from their + attacks will be the pieces hanging from the ceiling. It is not in the + nature of maggots to explore the heights, especially if this implies + climbing down a string in addition. + </p> + <p> + People also use wire gauze dish covers. The trellised dome protects the + contents even less than does the meat safe. The flesh fly takes no heed of + it. She can drop her worms through the meshes on the covered joint. + </p> + <p> + Then what are we to do? Nothing could be simpler. We need only wrap the + birds which we wish to preserve—thrushes, partridges, snipe and so + on—in separate paper envelopes; and the same with our beef and + mutton. This defensive armor alone, while leaving ample room for the air + to circulate, makes any invasion by the worms impossible, even without a + cover or a meat safe: not that paper possesses any special preservative + virtues, but solely because it forms an impenetrable barrier. The + Bluebottle carefully refrains from laying her eggs upon it and the flesh + fly from bringing forth her offspring, both of them knowing that their + newborn young are incapable of piercing the obstacle. + </p> + <p> + Paper is equally successful in our strife against the Moths, those plagues + of our furs and clothes. To keep away these wholesale ravages, people + generally use camphor, naphthalene, tobacco, bunches of lavender and other + strong-scented remedies. Without wishing to malign those preservatives, we + are bound to admit that the means employed are none too effective. The + smell does very little to prevent the havoc of the moths. + </p> + <p> + I would therefore counsel our housewives, instead of all this chemist's + stuff, to use newspapers of a suitable shape and size. Take whatever you + wish to protect—your furs, your flannel or your clothes—and + pack each article carefully in a newspaper, joining the edges with a + double fold, well pinned. If this joining is properly done, the Moth will + never get inside. Since my advice has been taken and this method employed + in my household, the old damage has never been repeated. + </p> + <p> + To return to the fly. A piece of meat is hidden in a jar under a layer of + fine, dry sand, a finger's-breadth thick. The jar has a wide mouth and is + left quite open. Let whoever come that will, attracted by the smell. The + Bluebottles are not long in inspecting what I have prepared for them: they + enter the jar, go out and come back again, inquiring into the invisible + thing revealed by its fragrance. A diligent watch enables me to see them + fussing about, exploring the sandy expanse, tapping it with their feet, + sounding it with their proboscis. I leave the visitors undisturbed for a + fortnight or three weeks. None of them lays any eggs. + </p> + <p> + This is a repetition of what the paper bag, with its dead bird, showed me. + The flies refuse to lay on the sand, apparently for the same reasons. The + paper was considered an obstacle which the frail vermin would not be able + to overcome. With sand, the case is worse. Its grittiness would hurt the + newborn weaklings, its dryness would absorb the moisture indispensable to + their movements. Later, when preparing for the metamorphosis, when their + strength has come to them, the grubs will dig the earth quite well and be + able to descend; but, at the start, that would be very dangerous for them. + Knowing these difficulties, the mothers, however greatly tempted by the + smell, abstain from breeding. As a matter of fact, after long waiting, + fearing lest some packets of eggs may have escaped my attention, I inspect + the contents of the jar from top to bottom. Meat and sand contain neither + larvae nor pupae: the whole is absolutely deserted. + </p> + <p> + The layer of sand being only a finger's-breadth thick, this experiment + requires certain precautions. The meat may expand a little, in going bad, + and protrude in one or two places. However small the fleshy eyots that + show above the surface, the flies come to them and breed. Sometimes also + the juices oozing from the putrid meat soak a small extent of the sandy + floor. That is enough for the maggot's first establishment. These causes + of failure are avoided with a layer of sand about an inch thick. Then the + bluebottle, the flesh fly and other flies whose grubs batten on dead + bodies are kept at a proper distance. + </p> + <p> + In the hope of awakening us to a proper sense of our insignificance, + pulpit orators sometimes make an unfair use of the grave and its worms. + Let us put no faith in their doleful rhetoric. The chemistry of man's + final dissolution is eloquent enough of our emptiness: there is no need to + add imaginary horrors. The worm of the sepulchre is an invention of + cantankerous minds, incapable of seeing things as they are. Covered by but + a few inches of earth, the dead can sleep their quiet sleep: no fly will + ever come to take advantage of them. + </p> + <p> + At the surface of the soil, exposed to the air, the hideous invasion is + possible; ay, it is the invariable rule. For the melting down and + remolding of matter, man is no better, corpse for corpse, than the lowest + of the brutes. Then the fly exercises her rights and deals with us as she + does with any ordinary animal refuse. Nature treats us with magnificent + indifference in her great regenerating factory: placed in her crucibles, + animals and men, beggars and kings are one and all alike. There you have + true equality, the only equality in this world of ours: equality in the + presence of the maggot. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XV. THE BLUEBOTTLE: THE GRUB + </h2> + <p> + The larvae of the bluebottle hatch within two days in the warm weather. + Whether inside my apparatus, in direct contact with the piece of meat, or + outside, on the edge of a slit that enables them to enter, they set to + work at once. They do not eat, in the strict sense of the word, that is to + say, they do not tear their food, do not chew it by means of implements of + mastication. Their mouth parts do not lend themselves to this sort of + work. These mouth parts are two horny spikes, sliding one upon the other, + with curved ends that do not face, thus excluding the possibility of any + function such as seizing and grinding. + </p> + <p> + The two guttural grapnels serve for walking much rather than for feeding. + The worm plants them alternately in the road traversed and, by contracting + its crupper, advances just that distance. It carries in its tubular throat + the equivalent of our iron tipped sticks which give support and assist + progress. + </p> + <p> + Thanks to this machinery of the mouth, the maggot not only moves over the + surface, but also easily penetrates the meat: I see it disappear as though + it were dipping into butter. It cuts its way, levying, as it goes, a + preliminary toll, but only of liquid mouthfuls. Not the smallest solid + particle is detached and swallowed. That is not the maggot's diet. It + wants a broth, a soup, a sort of fluid extract of beef which it prepares + itself. As digestion, after all, merely means liquefaction, we may say, + without being guilty of paradox, that the grub of the bluebottle digests + its food before swallowing it. + </p> + <p> + With the object of relieving gastric troubles, our manufacturing chemists + scrape the stomachs of the pig and sheep and thus obtain pepsin, a + digestive agent which possesses the property of liquefying albuminous + matters and lean meat in particular. Why cannot they rasp the stomach of + the maggot! They would obtain a product of the highest quality, for the + carnivorous worm also owns its pepsin, pepsin of a singularly active kind, + as the following experiments will show us. + </p> + <p> + I divide the white of a hard-boiled egg into tiny cubes and place them in + a little test-tube. On the top of the contents, I sprinkle the eggs of the + bluebottle, eggs free from the least stain, taken from those laid on the + outside of tins baited with meat and not absolutely shut. A similar + test-tube is filled with white of egg, but receives no germs. Both are + closed with a plug of cotton-wool and left in a dark corner. + </p> + <p> + In a few days, the tube swarming with newborn vermin contains a liquid as + fluid and transparent as water. Not a drop would remain in the tube if I + turned it upside down. All the white of egg has disappeared, liquefied. As + for the worms, which are already a fair size, they seem very ill at ease. + Deprived of a support whence to attain the outer air, most of them dive + into the broth of their own making, where they perish by drowning. Others, + endowed with greater vigor, crawl up the glass to the plug and manage to + make their way through the wadding. Their pointed front, armed with + grappling irons, is the nail that penetrates the fibrous mass. + </p> + <p> + In the other test-tube, standing beside the first and subjected to the + same atmospheric influences, nothing striking has occurred. The + hard-boiled white of egg has retained its dead white color and its + firmness. I find it as I left it. The utmost that I observe is a few + traces of must. The result of this first experiment is patent: the + Bluebottle's grub is the medium that converts coagulated albumen into a + liquid. + </p> + <p> + The value of chemist's pepsin is estimated by the quantity of hard-boiled + white of egg which a gram of that agent can liquefy. The mixture has to be + exposed in an oven to a temperature of 1400 F. and also to be frequently + shaken. My preparation, in which the bluebottle's eggs are hatched, is + neither shaken nor subjected to the heat of an oven; everything happens in + quietness and under the thermometric conditions of the surrounding air; + nevertheless, in a few days, the coagulated albumen, treated by the + vermin, runs like water. + </p> + <p> + The reagent that causes this liquefaction escapes my endeavors to detect + it. The worms must disgorge it in infinitesimal doses, while the spikes in + their throats, which are in continual movement, emerge a little way from + the mouth, reenter and reappear. Those piston thrusts, those quasi-kisses, + are accompanied by the emission of the solvent: at least, that is how I + picture it. The maggot spits on its food, places on it the wherewithal to + make it into broth. To appraise the quantity of the matter expectorated is + beyond my powers: I observe the result, but do not perceive the leavening + agent. + </p> + <p> + Well, this result is really astounding, when we consider the scantiness of + the means. No pig's or sheep's pepsin can rival that of the worm. I have a + bottle of pepsin that comes from the School of Chemistry at Montpellier. I + lavishly powder some pieces of hard-boiled white of egg with the potent + drug, just as I did with the eggs of the Bluebottle. The oven is not + brought into play, neither is distilled water added, nor hydrochloric + acid: two auxiliaries which are recommended. The experiment is conducted + in exactly the same way as that of the tubes with the vermin. The result + is entirely different from what I expected. The white of egg does not + liquefy. It simply becomes moist on the surface; and even this moisture + may come from the pepsin, which is highly absorbent. Yes, I was right: if + the thing were feasible, it would be an advantage for the chemists to + collect their digestive drug from the stomach of the maggot. The worm, in + this case, beats the pig and the sheep. + </p> + <p> + The same method is followed for the remaining experiments. I put the + bluebottle's eggs to hatch on a piece of meat and leave the worms to do + their work as they please. The lean tissues, whether of mutton, beef or + pork, no matter which, are not turned into liquid; they become a pea soup + of a clarety brown. The liver, the lung, the spleen are attacked to better + purpose, without, however, getting beyond the state of a semi-fluid jam, + which easily mixes with water and even appears to dissolve in it. The + brains do not liquefy either: they simply melt into a thin gruel. + </p> + <p> + On the other hand, fatty substances, such as beef suet, lard and butter, + do not undergo any appreciable change. Moreover, the worms soon dwindle + away, incapable of growing. This sort of food does not suit them. Why? + Apparently because it cannot be liquefied by the reagent disgorged by the + worms. In the same way, ordinary pepsin does not attack fatty substances; + it takes pancreatin to reduce them to an emulsion. This curious analogy of + properties, positive for albuminous, negative for fatty matter, proclaims + the similarity and perhaps the identity of the dissolvent discharged by + the grubs and the pepsin of the higher animals. + </p> + <p> + Here is another proof: the usual pepsin does not dissolve the epidermis, + which is a material of a horny nature. That of the maggots does not + dissolve it either. I can easily rear bluebottle grubs on dead crickets + whose bellies I have first opened; but I do not succeed if the morsel be + left intact: the worms are unable to perforate the succulent paunch; they + are stopped by the cuticle, on which their reagent refuses to act. Or else + I give them frogs' hind legs, stripped of their skin. The flesh turns to + broth and disappears to the bone. If I do not peel the legs, they remain + intact in the midst of the vermin. Their thin skin is sufficient to + protect them. + </p> + <p> + This failure to act upon the epidermis explains why the bluebottle at work + on the animal declines to lay her eggs on the first part that comes handy. + She needs the delicate membrane of the nostrils, eyes or throat, or else + some wound in which the flesh is laid bare. No other place suits her, + however excellent for flavor and darkness. At most, finding nothing better + when my stratagems interfere, she persuades herself to dab a few eggs + under the axilla of a plucked bird or in the groin, two points at which + the skin is thinner than elsewhere. + </p> + <p> + With her maternal foresight, the bluebottle knows to perfection the choice + surfaces, the only ones liable to soften and run under the influence of + the reagent dribbled by the newborn grubs. The chemistry of the future is + familiar to her, though she does not use it for her own feeding; + motherhood, that great inspirer of instinct, teaches her all about it. + </p> + <p> + Scrupulous though she be in choosing exactly where to lay her eggs, the + bluebottle does not trouble about the quality of the provisions intended + for her family's consumption. Any dead body suits her purpose. Redi, the + Italian scientist who first exploded the old, foolish notion of worms + begotten of corruption, fed the vermin in his laboratory with meat of very + different kinds. In order to make his tests the more conclusive, he + exaggerated the largess of the dining hall. The diet was varied with tiger + and lion flesh, bear and leopard, fox and wolf, mutton and beef, + horseflesh, donkey flesh and many others, supplied by the rich menagerie + of Florence. This wastefulness was unnecessary: wolf and mutton are all + the same to an unprejudiced stomach. + </p> + <p> + A distant disciple of the maggot's biographer, I look at the problem in a + light which Redi never dreamt of. Any flesh of one of the higher animals + suits the fly's family. Will it be the same if the food supplied be of a + lower organism and consist of fish, for instance, of frog, mollusk, + insect, centipede? Will the worms accept these viands and, above all, can + they manage to liquefy them, which is the first and foremost condition? + </p> + <p> + I serve a piece of raw whiting. The flesh is white, delicate, partly + translucent, easy for our stomachs to digest and no less suited to the + grub's dissolvent. It turns into an opalescent fluid, which runs like + water. In fact, it liquefies in much the same way as hard-boiled white of + egg. The worms at first wax fat, as long as the conditions allow of some + solid eyots remaining; then, when foothold fails, threatened with drowning + in the too fluid broth, they creep up the side of the glass, anxious and + restless to be off. They climb to the cotton-wool stopper of the test-tube + and try to bolt through the wadding. Endowed with stubborn perseverance, + nearly all of them decamp in spite of the obstacle. The test-tube with the + white of egg showed me a similar exodus. Although the fare suits them, as + their growth witnesses, the worms cease feeding and make a point of + escaping when death by drowning is imminent. + </p> + <p> + With other fish, such as skate and sardines, with the flesh of frogs and + tree frogs, the meat simply dissolves into a porridge. Hashes of slug, + Scolopendra or praying mantis furnish the same result. + </p> + <p> + In all these preparations, the dissolving agent of the worms is as much in + evidence as when butcher's meat is employed. Moreover, the grubs seem + satisfied with the queer dish which my curiosity prescribes for them; they + thrive amidst the victuals and undergo their transformation into pupae. + </p> + <p> + The conclusion, therefore, is much more general than Redi imagined. Any + meat, no matter whether of a higher or lower order, suits the bluebottle + for the settlement of her family. The carcasses of furred and feathered + animals are the favorite victuals, probably because of their richness, + which allows of plentiful layings; but, should the occasion demand it, the + others are also accepted, without inconvenience. Any carrion that has + lived the life of an animal comes within the domain of these scavengers. + </p> + <p> + What is their number to one mother? I have already spoken of a deposit of + three hundred, counted egg by egg. A quite fortuitous circumstance enabled + me to go much farther. In the first week of January 1905, we experienced a + sudden short cold snap of a severity very exceptional in my part of the + country. The thermometer fell to twelve degrees below zero. While a fierce + north wind was raging and beginning to redden the leaves of the olive + trees, came one and brought me a barn or screech owl, which he had found + on the ground, exposed to the air, not far from my house. My reputation as + a lover of animals made the donor believe that I should be pleased with + his gift. + </p> + <p> + I was, as a matter of fact, but for reasons whereof the finder certainly + never dreamt. The owl was untouched, with trim feathers and not the least + wound that showed. Perhaps he had died of cold. What made me gratefully + accept the present was exactly that which would have inclined anyone but + myself to refuse it. The owl's eyes, glazed in death, were hidden under a + thick mass of eggs, which I recognized as a bluebottle's. Similar masses + occupied the vicinity of the nostrils. If I wanted maggots, here, of a + certainty, was a richer crop than I had ever beheld. + </p> + <p> + I place the corpse on the sand of a pan, with a wire gauze cover, and + leave events to take their course. The laboratory in which I install my + bird is none other than my study. It is as cold in there, or nearly, as + outside, so much so that the water in the aquarium in which I used to rear + caddis worms has frozen into a solid block of ice. Under these conditions + of temperature, the owl's eyes keep their white veil of germs unchanged. + Nothing stirs, nothing swarms. Weary of waiting, I pay no more attention + to the carcass; I leave the future to decide whether the cold has + exterminated the fly's family or not. + </p> + <p> + Before the end of March, the packets of eggs have disappeared, I know not + how long. The bird, for that matter, seems to be intact. On the ventral + surface, which is turned to the air, the feathers keep their smooth + arrangement and their fresh coloring. I lift the thing. It is light, very + dry and gives a hard sound, like an old shoe tanned by the summer sun in + the fields. There is no smell. The dryness has vanquished the stench, + which, in any case, was never offensive during that time of frost. On the + other hand, the back, which touched the sand, is a loathsome wreck, partly + deprived of its feathers. The quills of the tail are bare barreled; a few + whitened bones show, deprived of their muscles. The skin has turned into a + dark leather, pierced with round holes like those of a sieve. It is all + hideously ugly, but most instructive. + </p> + <p> + The wretched owl, with his shattered backbone, teaches us, first of all, + that a temperature twelve degrees of frost does not endanger the existence + of the bluebottle's germs. The worms were born without accident, despite + the rude blast; they feasted copiously on extract of meat; then, growing + big and fat, they descended into the earth by piercing round holes in the + bird's skin. Their pupae must now be in the sand of the pan. + </p> + <p> + They are, in point of fact, and in such numbers that I have to resort to + sifting in order to collect them. If I used the forceps, I should never + have done sorting so great a quantity. The sand passes through the meshes + of the sieve, the pupae remain above. To count them would wear out my + patience. I measure them by the bushel, that is to say, with a thimble of + which I know the holding capacity in pupae. The result of my calculation + is not far short of nine hundred. + </p> + <p> + Does this family proceed from one mother? I am quite ready to admit it, so + unlikely is it that the bluebottle, who is so rare inside our houses + during the severe cold of winter, should be frequent enough outside to + form into groups and to do business in common while an icy blast is + raging. A belated specimen, the plaything of the north wind, and one alone + must have deposited the burden of her ovaries on the owl's eyes. This + laying of nine hundred eggs, an incomplete laying perhaps, bears witness + to the mighty part played by the fly as a liquidator of corpses. + </p> + <p> + Before throwing away the screech owl treated by the worms, let us overcome + our repugnance and give a glance inside the bird. We see a tortuous + cavity, fenced in by nameless ruins. Muscles and bowels have disappeared, + converted into broth and gradually consumed by the teeming throng. In + every part, what was wet has become dry, what was solid muddy. In vain my + forceps ransacks every nook and corner: it does not hit upon a single + pupa. All the worms have emigrated, all, without exception. From first to + last, they have forsaken the refuge of the corpse, so soft to their + delicate skins; they have left the velvet for the hard ground. Is dryness + necessary to them at this stage? They had it in the carcass, which was + thoroughly drained. Would they protect themselves against the cold and + rain? No shelter could suit them better than the thick quilt of the + feathers, which has remained wholly undamaged on the belly, the breast and + every part that was not in touch with the ground. It looks as though they + had fled from comfort to seek a less kindly dwelling place. When the hour + of transformation came, all left the owl, that most excellent lodging; all + dived into the sand. + </p> + <p> + The exodus from the mortuary tabernacle was made through the round holes + wherewith the skin is pierced. Those holes are the worms' work: of that + there is no doubt; and yet we have lately seen the mothers refuse as a bed + for their eggs any part whereat the flesh is protected by a skin of some + thickness. The reason is the failure of the pepsin to act on epidermic + substances. In the absence of liquefaction at such points, the nourishing + gruel is unprocurable. On the other hand, the tiny worms are not able—or + at least do not know how—to dig through the integument with their + pair of guttural harpoons, to rend it and reach the liquefiable flesh. The + newborn lack strength and, above all, purpose. But, as the time comes for + descending into the earth, the worms, now powerful and suddenly versed in + the necessary art, well know how to eat away patiently and clear + themselves a passage. With the hooks of their spikes they dig, scratch and + tear. Instinct has flashes of inspiration. What the animal did not know + how to do at the start it learns without apprenticeship when the time + comes to practice this or that industry. The maggot ripe for burial + perforates a membranous obstacle which the grub intent upon its broth + would not even have attempted to attack with either its pepsin or its + grapnels. + </p> + <p> + Why does the worm quit the carcass, that capital shelter? Why does it go + and take up its abode in the ground? As the leading disinfector of dead + things, it works at the most important matter, the suppression of the + infection; but it leaves a plentiful residuum, which does not yield to the + reagents of its analytical chemistry. These remains have to disappear in + their turn. After the fly, anatomists come hastening, who take up the dry + relic, nibble skin, tendons and ligaments and scrape the bones clean. + </p> + <p> + The greatest expert in this work is the Dermestes beetle, an enthusiastic + gnawer of animal remains. Sooner or later, he will come to the joint + already exploited by the fly. Now what would happen if the pupae were + there? The answer is obvious. The Dermestes, who loves hard food, would + dig his teeth into the horny little kegs and demolish them at a bite. Even + though he did not touch the contents, a live thing which he probably + dislikes, he would at least test the flavor of that lifeless substance, + the container. The future Fly would be lost, because her casing would be + pierced. Even so, in the storerooms of our silk mills, a certain Dermestes + (Dermestes vulpinus, FABR.) digs into the cocoons to attack the horny + covering of the chrysalis. + </p> + <p> + The maggot foresees the danger and makes itself scarce before the other + arrives. In what sort of memory does it house so much wisdom, indigent, + headless creature that it is, for it is only by extension that we can give + the name of head to the animal's pointed fore part? How did it learn that, + to safeguard the pupa, it must desert the carcass and that, to safeguard + the fly, it must not bury itself too far down? + </p> + <p> + To emerge from underground after the perfect insect is hatched, the + bluebottle's device consists in disjointing her head into two movable + halves, which, each distended with its great red eye, by turns separate + and reunite. In the intervening space, a large, glassy hernia rises and + disappears, disappears and rises. When the two move asunder, with one eye + forced back to the right, the other to the left, it is as though the + insect were splitting its brain pan in order to expel the contents. Then + the hernia rises, blunt at the end and swollen into a great knob. Next, + the forehead closes and the hernia retreats, leaving visible only a kind + of shapeless muzzle. In short, a frontal pouch, with deep pulsations + momentarily renewed, becomes the instrument of deliverance, the pestle + wherewith the newly hatched bluebottle bruises the sand and causes it to + crumble. Gradually the legs push the rubbish back and the insect advances + so much toward the surface. + </p> + <p> + A hard task, this exhumation by dint of the blows of a cleft and + palpitating head. Moreover, the exhausting effort has to be made at the + moment of greatest weakness, when the insect leaves that protecting + casket, its pupa. It emerges from it pale, flabby and unsightly, sorrily + clad in the wings which, folded lengthwise and made shorter by their + scalloped edge, only just cover the top of the back. Wildly bristling with + hairs and colored ashen-gray, it is a piteous sight. The large set of + wings, suitable for flight, will spread later. For the moment, it would + only be in the way amid the obstacles to be passed through. Later also + will come the faultless dress wherein the iridescent indigo-blue stands + out against the severity of the black. + </p> + <p> + The frontal hernia that crumbles the sand with its impact has a tendency + to make play for some time after the emergence from the ground. Take hold + with the forceps of one of the hind legs of a newly released fly. + Forthwith, the implement of the head begins to work, swelling and + subsiding as energetically as a moment ago, when it had to make a hole in + the sand. The insect, hampered in its movements as when it was + underground, struggles as best it can against the only obstacle that it + knows. With its heaving knob, it pounds the air even as but now it pounded + the earthy barrier. In all unpleasant circumstances, its one resource is + to cleave its head and produce its cranial hernia, which moves out and in, + in and out. For nearly two hours, interspersed with halts due to fatigue, + the little machine keeps throbbing in my forceps. + </p> + <p> + In the meantime, however, the desperate one is hardening her skin; she + spreads wide the sail of her wings and dons her deep mourning of black and + darkest blue. Then her eyes, warped sideways, come together and resume + their normal position. The cleft forehead closes; the delivering blister + goes in, never to show itself again. But there is one precaution to be + taken first. With its front tarsi, the insect carefully brushes the bump + about to disappear from view, lest grit should lodge in the cranium when + the two halves of the head are joined for good. + </p> + <p> + The maggot is aware of the trials that await it when, as a fly, it will + have to come up from under ground; it knows beforehand how difficult the + ascent will be with the feeble instrument at its disposal, so difficult, + in fact, as to become fatal should the journey be at all prolonged. It + foresees the dangers ahead of it and averts them as well as it can. Gifted + with two iron shod sticks in its throat, it can easily descend to such + depths as it pleases. The need for greater quiet and a less trying + temperature calls for the deepest possible home: the lower down it is, the + better for the welfare of the worm and the pupa, on condition that descent + be practicable. It is, perfectly; and yet, though free to obey its + inspiration, the grub refrains. I rear it in a deep pan, full of fine, dry + sand, easy to excavate. The interment never goes very far. About a hand's + breadth is all that the most progressive digger ventures upon. Most of the + interred remain nearer still to the surface. Here, under a thin layer of + sand, the grub's skin hardens and becomes a coffin, a casket, wherein the + transformation sleep is slept. A few weeks later, the buried one awakes, + transfigured but weak, having naught wherewith to unearth herself but the + throbbing hernia of her open forehead. + </p> + <p> + What the maggot denies itself it is open to me to realize, should I care + to know the depth whence the fly is able to mount. I place fifteen + bluebottle pupae, obtained in winter, at the bottom of a wide tube closed + at one end. Above the pupae is a perpendicular column of fine, dry sand, + the height of which varies in different tubes. April comes and the + hatching begins. + </p> + <p> + A tube with six centimeters of sand, the shallowest of the columns under + experiment, yields the best result. Of the fifteen subjects interred in + the pupa stage, fourteen easily reach the surface when they become flies. + Only one of them perishes, one who has not even attempted the ascent. With + twelve centimeters of sand, four emerge. With twenty centimeters, two, no + more. The other flies, jaded with their exertions, have died at a higher + or lower stage of the road. Lastly, with yet another tube wherein the + column of sand measured sixty centimeters, I obtained the liberation of + only a single fly. The plucky creature must have had a hard struggle to + mount from so great a depth, for the other fourteen did not even manage to + burst the lid of their caskets. + </p> + <p> + I presume that the looseness of the sand and the consequent pressure in + every direction, similar to that exercised by fluids, have a certain + bearing on the difficulties of the exhumation. Two more tubes are + prepared, but this time supplied with fresh mould, lightly heaped up, + which has not the incoherence of sand, with the attendant drawback of + pressure. Six centimeters of mould give me eight flies for fifteen pupae + buried; twenty centimeters give me only one. There is less success than + with the sandy column. My device has diminished the pressure, but, at the + same time, increased the passive resistance. The sand falls of itself + under the impact of the frontal rammer; the unyielding mould demands the + cutting of a gallery. In fact, I perceive, on the road followed, a shaft + which continues indefinitely such as it is. The fly has bored it with the + temporary blister that throbs between her eyes. + </p> + <p> + In every medium, therefore, whether sand, mould or any earthy combination, + great are the sufferings that attend the exhumation of the fly. And so the + maggot shuns the depths which a desire for additional security might seem + to recommend. The worm has its own prudence: foreseeing the dangers ahead, + it refrains from making great descents that might promote the welfare of + the moment. It neglects the present for the sake of the future. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0016" id="link2HCH0016"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVI. A PARASITE OF THE MAGGOT + </h2> + <p> + The dangers of the exhumation are not the only ones; the Bluebottle must + be acquainted with others. Life, when all is said, is a knacker's yard + wherein the devourer of today becomes the devoured of tomorrow; and the + robber of the dead cannot fail to be robbed of her own life when the time + comes. I know that she has one exterminator in the person of the tiny + Saprinus beetle, a fisher of fat sausages on the edge of the pools formed + by liquescent corpses. Here swarm in common the grubs of the greenbottle, + the flesh fly and the bluebottle. The Saprinus draws them to him from the + bank and gobbles them indiscriminately. They represent to him morsels of + equal value. + </p> + <p> + This banquet can be observed only in the open country, under the rays of a + hot sun. Saprini and greenbottles never enter our houses; the flesh fly + visits us but discreetly, does not feel at home with us; the only one who + comes fussing along is the bluebottle, who thus escapes the tribute due to + the consumer of plump sausages. But, in the fields, where she readily lays + her eggs upon any carcass that she finds, she, as well as the others, sees + her vermin swept away by the gluttonous Saprinus. + </p> + <p> + In addition, graver disasters decimate her family, if, as I do not doubt, + we can apply to the bluebottle what I have seen happen in the case of her + rival, the flesh fly. So far, I have had no opportunity of actually + perceiving with the first what I have to tell of the second; still, I do + not hesitate to repeat about the one what observation has taught me about + the other, for the larval analogies between the two flies are very close. + </p> + <p> + Here are the facts. I have gathered a number of pupae of the flesh fly in + one of my vermin jars. Wishing to examine the pupa's hinder end, which is + hollowed into a cup and scalloped into a coronet, I stave in one of the + little barrels and force open the last segments with the point of my + pocketknife. The horny keg does not contain what I expected to find: it is + full of tiny grubs packed one atop the other with the same economy of + space as anchovies in a bottle. Save for the skin, which has hardened into + a brown shell, the substance of the maggot has disappeared, changed into a + restless swarm. + </p> + <p> + There are thirty-five occupants. I replace them in their casket. The rest + of my harvest, wherein, no doubt, are other pupae similarly stocked, is + arranged in tubes that will easily show me what happens. The thing to + discover is what genus of parasites the grubs enclosed belong to. But it + is not difficult, without waiting for the hatching of the adults, to + recognize their nature merely by their mode of life. They form part of the + family of Chalcididae, who are microscopic ravagers of living entrails. + </p> + <p> + Not long ago, in winter, I took from the chrysalis of a great peacock moth + four hundred and forty-nine parasites belonging to the same group. The + whole substance of the future moth had disappeared, all but the nymphal + wrapper, which was intact and formed a handsome Russia-leather wallet. The + worm grubs were here heaped up and squeezed together to the point of + sticking to one another. The hair pencil extracts them in bundles and + cannot separate them without some difficulty. The holding capacity is + strained to the utmost; the substance of the vanished Moth would not fill + it better. That which died has been replaced by a living mass of equal + dimensions, but subdivided. The price of this colony's existence is the + conversion of the chrysalis into a sort of milk food of doubtful + constitution. The enormous udder has been drained outright. + </p> + <p> + You shudder when you think of that budding flesh nibbled bit by bit by + four or five hundred gormandizers; the horrified imagination refuses to + picture the anguish suffered by the tortured wretch. But is there really + any pain? We have leave to doubt it. Pain is a patent of nobility; it is + more pronounced in proportion as the sufferer belongs to a higher order. + In the lower ranks of animal life, it must be greatly reduced, perhaps + even nil, especially when life, in the throes of evolution, has not yet + acquired a stable equilibrium. The white of an egg is living matter, but + endures the prick of a needle without a quiver. Would it not be the same + with the chrysalis of the great peacock, dissected cell by cell by + hundreds of infinitesimal anatomists? Would it not be the same with the + pupa of the flesh fly? These are organisms put back into the crucible, + reverting to the egg state for a second birth. There is reason to believe, + therefore, that their destruction crumb by crumb is merciful. + </p> + <p> + Towards the end of August, the parasite of the flesh fly's grubs makes her + appearance out of doors in the adult form. She is a Chalcidid, as I + expected. She issues from the barrel through one or two little round holes + which the prisoners have pierced with a patient tooth. I count some thirty + to each pupa. There would not be enough room in the abode if the family + were larger. + </p> + <p> + The imp is a slim and elegant creature, but oh, how small! She measures + hardly two millimeters. Her garb is bronzed black, with pale legs and a + heart shaped, pointed, slightly pedunculate abdomen, with never a trace of + a probe for inoculating the eggs. The head is transversal, the width + exceeding the length. + </p> + <p> + The male is only half the size of the female; he is also very much less + numerous. Perhaps pairing is here, as we see elsewhere, a secondary matter + from which it is possible to abstain, in part, without injuring the + prospects of the race. Nevertheless, in the tube wherein I have housed the + swarm, the few males lost among the crowd ardently woo the passing fair. + There is much to be done outside, as long as the flesh fly's season lasts; + things are urgent; and each pigmy hurries as fast as she can to take up + her part as an exterminator. + </p> + <p> + How is the parasite's inroad into the flesh fly's pupae effected? Truth is + always veiled in a certain mystery. The good fortune that secured me the + ravaged pupa taught me nothing concerning the tactics of the ravager. I + have never seen the Chalcidid explore the contents of my appliances; my + attention was engaged elsewhere and nothing is so difficult to see as a + thing not yet suspected. But, though direct observation be lacking, logic + will tell us approximately what we want to know. + </p> + <p> + It is evident, to begin with, that the invasion cannot have been made + through the sturdy amour of the pupae. This is too hard to be penetrated + by the means at the pigmy's disposal. Naught but the delicate skin of the + maggots lends itself to the introduction of the germs. An egg laying + mother, therefore, appears, inspects the surface of the pool of sanies + swarming with grubs, selects the one that suits her and perches on it; + then, with the tip of her pointed abdomen, whence emerges, for an instant, + a short probe kept hidden until then, she operates on the patient, + perforating his paunch with a dexterous wound into which the germs are + inserted. Probably, a number of pricks are administered, as the presence + of thirty parasites seems to demand. + </p> + <p> + Anyway, the maggot's skin is pierced at either one point or many; and this + happens while the grub is swimming in the pools formed by the putrid + flesh. Having said this, we are faced with a question of serious interest. + To set it forth necessitates a digression which seems to have nothing to + do with the subject in hand and is nevertheless connected with it in the + closest fashion. Without certain preliminaries, the remainder would be + unintelligible. So now for the preliminaries. + </p> + <p> + I was in those days busy with the poison of the Languedocian scorpion and + its action upon insects. To direct the sting toward this or the other part + of the victim and moreover to regulate its emission would be absolutely + impossible and also very dangerous, as long as the scorpions were allowed + to act as they pleased. I wished to be able myself to choose the part to + be wounded; I likewise wished to vary the dose of poison at will. How to + set about it? The scorpion has no jarlike receptacle in which the venom is + accumulated and stored, like that possessed, for instance, by the wasp and + the bee. The last segment of the tail, gourd shaped and surmounted by the + sting, contains only a powerful mass of muscles along which lie the + delicate vessels that secrete the poison. + </p> + <p> + In default of a poison jar which I would have placed on one side and drawn + upon at my convenience, I detach the last segment, forming the base of the + sting. I obtain it from a dead and already withered scorpion. A watch + glass serves as a basin. Here, I tear and crush the piece in a few drops + of water and leave it to steep for four-and-twenty hours. The result is + the liquid which I propose to use for the inoculation. If any poison + remained in my animal's caudal gourd, there must be at least some traces + of it in the infusion in the watch glass. + </p> + <p> + My hypodermic syringe is of the simplest. It consists of a little glass + tube, tapering sharply at one end. By drawing in my breath, I fill it with + the liquid to be tested; I expel the contents by blowing. Its point is + almost as fine as a hair and enables me to regulate the dose to the degree + which I want. A cubic millimeter is the usual charge. The injection has to + be made at parts that are generally covered with horn. So as not to break + the point of my fragile instrument, I prepare the way with a needle, with + which I prick the victim at the spot required. I insert the tip of the + loaded injector in the hole thus made and I blow. The thing is done in a + moment, very neatly and in an orthodox fashion, favorable to delicate + experiments. I am delighted with my modest apparatus. + </p> + <p> + I am equally delighted with the results. The scorpion himself, when + wounding with his sting, in which the poison is not diluted as mine is in + the watch glass, would not produce effects like those of my pricks. Here + is something more brutal, producing more convulsion in the sufferer. The + virus of my contriving excels the scorpion's. + </p> + <p> + The test is several times repeated, always with the same mixture, which, + drying up by spontaneous evaporation, then made to serve again by the + addition of a few drops of water, once more drained and once more + moistened, does duty for an indefinite length of time. Instead of abating, + the virulence increases. Moreover, the corpses of the insects operated + upon undergo a curious change, unknown in my earlier observations. Then + the suspicion comes to me that the actual poison of the scorpion does not + enter into the matter at all. What I obtain with the end joint of the + tail, with the gland at the base of the sting, I ought to obtain with any + other part of the animal. + </p> + <p> + I crush in a few drops of water a joint of the tail taken from the front + portion, far from the poison glands. After soaking it for twenty-four + hours, I obtain a liquid whose effects are absolutely the same as those + before, when I used the joint that bears the sting. I try again with the + scorpion's claws, the contents of which consist solely of muscle. The + results are just the same. The whole of the animal's body, therefore, no + matter which fragment be submitted to the steeping process, yields the + virus that so greatly pricks my curiosity. + </p> + <p> + Every part of the Spanish fly [Cantharis or blistering beetle], inside and + out, is saturated with the blistering element; but there is nothing like + this in the scorpion, who localizes his venom in his caudal gland and has + none of it elsewhere. The cause of the effects which I observe is + therefore connected with general properties which I ought to find in any + insect, even the most harmless. + </p> + <p> + I consult Oryctes nasicornis, the peaceable rhinoceros beetle, on this + subject. To get at the exact nature of the materials, instead of + pulverizing the whole insect in a mortar, I use merely the muscular tissue + obtained by scraping the inside of the dried Oryctes' corselet. Or else I + extract the dry contents of the hind legs. I do the same with the + desiccated corpses of the cockchafer, the Capricorn, or Cerambyx beetle, + and the Cetonia, or rosechafer. Each of my gleanings, with a little water + added, is left to soften for a couple of days in a watch glass and yields + to the liquid whatever can be extracted from it by crushing and + dissolving. + </p> + <p> + This time, we take a great step forward. All my preparations, without + distinction, are horribly virulent. Let the reader judge. I select as my + first patient the sacred beetle, Scarabaeus sacer, who thanks to his size + and sturdiness, lends himself admirably to an experiment of this kind. I + operate upon a dozen, in the corselet, on the breast, on the belly and, by + preference, on one of the hind legs, far removed from the impressionable + nervous centers. No matter what part my injector attacks, the effect + produced is the same, or nearly. The insect falls as though struck by + lightning. It lies on its back and wriggles its legs, especially the hind + legs. If I set it on its feet again, I behold a sort of St. Vitus' dance. + Scarabaeus lowers his head, arches his back, draws himself up on his + twitching legs. He marks time with his feet on the ground, moves forward a + little, moves as much backward, leans to the right, leans to the left, in + wild disorder, incapable of keeping his balance or making progress. And + this happens with sudden jerks and jolts, with a vigor no whit inferior to + that of the animal in perfect health. It is a displacement of all the + works, a storm that uproots the mutual relations of the muscles. + </p> + <p> + Seldom have I witnessed such sufferings, in my career as a cross-examiner + of animals and, therefore, as a torturer. I should feel a scruple, did I + not foresee that the grain of sand shifted today may one day help us by + taking its place in the edifice of knowledge. Life is everywhere the same, + in the Dung beetle's body as in man's. To consult it in the insect means + consulting it in ourselves, means moving towards vistas which we cannot + afford to neglect. That hope justifies my cruel studies, which, though + apparently so puerile, are in reality worthy of serious consideration. + </p> + <p> + Of my dozen sufferers, some rapidly succumb, others linger for a few + hours. They are all dead by tomorrow. I leave the corpses on the table, + exposed to the air. Instead of drying and stiffening, like the asphyxiated + insects intended for our collections, my patients, on the contrary, turn + soft and slacken in the joints, notwithstanding the dryness of the + surrounding air; they become disjointed and separate into loose pieces, + which are easily removed. + </p> + <p> + The results are the same with the Capricorn, the cockchafer, the + Procrustes [a large ground beetle], the Carabus [the true ground beetle, + including the gold beetle]. In all of them there is a sudden break-up, + followed by speedy death, a slackening of the joints and swift + putrefaction. In a non-horny victim, the quick chemical changes of the + tissues are even more striking. A Cetonia grub, which resists the + scorpion's sting, even though repeatedly administered, dies in a very + short time if I inject a tiny drop of my terrible fluid into any part of + its body. Moreover, it turns very brown and, in a couple of days, becomes + a mass of black putrescence. + </p> + <p> + The great peacock, that large moth who recks little of the scorpion's + poison, is no more able to resist my inoculations than the sacred beetle + and the others. I prick two in the belly, a male and a female. At first, + they seem to bear the operation without distress. They grip the trellis + work of the cage and hang without moving, as though indifferent. But soon + the disease has them in its grip. What we see is not the tumultuous ending + of the sacred beetle; it is the calm advent of death. With wings slackly + quivering, softly they die and drop from the wires. Next day, both corpses + are remarkably lax; the segments of the abdomen separate and gape at the + least touch. Remove the hairs and you shall see that the skin, which was + white, has turned brown and is changing to black. Corruption is quickly + doing its work. + </p> + <p> + This would be a good opportunity to speak of bacteria and cultures. I + shall do nothing of the sort. On the hazy borderland of the visible and + the invisible, the microscope inspires me with suspicion. It so easily + replaces the eye of reality by the eye of imagination; it is so ready to + oblige the theorists with just what they want to see. Besides, supposing + the microbe to be found, if that were possible, the question would be + changed, not solved. For the problem of the collapse of the structure + through the fact of a prick there would be substituted another no less + obscure: how does the said microbe bring about that collapse? In what way + does it go to work? Where lies its power? + </p> + <p> + Then what explanation shall I give of the facts which I have just set + forth? Why, none, absolutely none, seeing that I do not know of any. As I + am unable to do better, I will confine myself to a pair of comparisons or + images, which may serve as a brief resting place for the mind on the dark + billows of the unknown. + </p> + <p> + All of us, as children, have amused ourselves with the game of "card + friars." A number of cards, as many as possible, are bent lengthwise into + a semi-cylinder. They are placed on a table, one behind the other, in a + winding row, the spaces in which are suitably disposed. The performance + pleases the eye by its curved lines and its regular arrangement. It + possesses order, which is a condition of all animated matter. You give a + little tap to the first card. It falls and overturns the second, which, in + the same way, topsy-turvies the third; and so on, right to the end of the + row. In less than no time, the capsizing wave spreads and the handsome + edifice is shattered. Order is succeeded by disorder, I might almost say, + by death. What was needed thus to upset the procession of friars? A very, + very slight first push, out of all proportion to the toppled mass. + </p> + <p> + Again, take a glass balloon containing a solution of alum supersaturated + by heat. It is closed, during the process of boiling, with a cork and is + then allowed to cool. The contents remain fluid and limpid for an + indefinite period. Mobility is here represented by a faint semblance of + life. Remove the cork and drop in a solid particle of alum, however + infinitesimal. Suddenly, the liquid thickens into a solid lump and gives + off heat. What has happened? This: crystallization has set in at the first + contact of the particle of alum, the center of attraction; next, it has + spread bit by bit, each solidified particle producing the solidification + of those around. The impulse comes from an atom; the mass impelled is + boundless. The very small has revolutionized the immense. + </p> + <p> + Of course, in the comparison between these two instances and the effects + of my injections, the reader must see no more than a figure of speech, + which, without explaining anything, tries to throw a glimmer of light upon + it. The long procession of card friars is knocked down by the mere touch + of the little finger to the first; the voluminous solution of alum + suddenly turns solid under the influence of an invisible particle. In the + same way, the victims of my operations succumb, thrown into convulsions by + a tiny drop of insignificant size and harmless appearance. + </p> + <p> + Then what is there in that terrible liquid? First of all, there is water, + inactive in itself and simply a vehicle of the active agent. If a proof + were needed of its innocuousness, here is one: I inject into the thigh of + any one of the sacred beetle's six legs a drop of pure water larger than + that of the fatal inoculations. As soon as he is released, he makes off + and trots about as nimbly as usual. He is quite firm on his legs. When put + back to his pellet, he rolls it with the same zeal as before the + experiment. My injection of water makes no difference to him. + </p> + <p> + What else is there in the mixture in my watch glasses? There is the + disintegrated matter of the corpse, especially shreds of dried muscles. Do + these substances yield certain soluble elements to water? Or are they + simply reduced to a fine dust in the crushing? I will not decide this + question, nor is it really of importance. The fact remains that the poison + proceeds from those substances and from them alone. Animal matter, + therefore, which has ceased to live is an agent of destruction within the + organism. The dead cell kills the living cell; in the delicate statics of + life, it is the grain of sand which, refusing its support, entails the + collapse of the whole edifice. + </p> + <p> + In this connection, we may recall those dreadful dissecting room + accidents. Through awkwardness, a student of anatomy pricks himself with + his scalpel in the course of his work; or else, by inadvertence, he has an + insignificant scratch on his hand. A cut which one would hardly notice, + produced by the point of a pocket knife, a scratch of no account, from a + thorn or otherwise, now becomes a mortal wound, if powerful antiseptics do + not speedily remedy the ill. The scalpel is soiled by its contact with the + flesh of the corpse; so are the hands. That is quite enough. The virus of + corruption is introduced; and, if not treated in time, the wound proves + fatal. The dead has killed the living. This also reminds us of the + so-called carbuncle flies, the lancet of whose mouth parts, contaminated + with the sanies of corpses, produces such terrible accidents. + </p> + <p> + My dealings as against insects are, when all is said, nothing but + dissecting room wounds and carbuncle flies' stings. In addition to the + gangrene that soon impairs and blackens the tissues, I obtain convulsions + similar to those produced by the scorpion's sting. In its convulsive + effects, the venomous fluid emitted by the sting bears a close resemblance + to the muscular infusions with which I fill my injector. We are entitled, + therefore, to ask ourselves if poisons, generally speaking, are not + themselves a produce of demolition, a casting of the organism perpetually + renewed, waste matter, in short, which, instead of being gradually + expelled, is stored for purposes of attack and defense. The animal, in + that case, would arm itself with its own refuse in the same way as it + sometimes builds itself a home with its intestinal recrement. Nothing is + wasted; life's detritus is used for self defense. + </p> + <p> + All things considered, my preparations are meat extracts. If I replace the + flesh of the insect by that of another animal, the ox, for instance, shall + I obtain the same results? Logic says yes; and logic is right. I dilute + with a few drops of water a little Liebig's extract, that precious standby + of the kitchen. I operate with this fluid on six Cetoniae or rosechafers, + four in the grub stage, two in the adult stage. At first, the patients + move about as usual. Next day, the two Cetoniae are dead. The larvae + resist longer and do not die until the second day. All show the same + relaxed muscles, the same blackened flesh, signs of putrefaction. It is + probable, therefore, that, if injected into our own veins, the same fluid + would likewise prove fatal. What is excellent in the digestive tubes would + be appalling in the arteries. What is food in one case is poison in the + other. + </p> + <p> + A Liebig's extract of a different kind, the broth in which the liquefier + puddles, is of a virulence equal, if not superior, to that of my products. + All those operated upon, Capricorns, sacred beetles, ground beetles, die + in convulsions. This brings us back, after a long way round, to our + starting point, the maggot of the flesh fly. Can the worm, constantly + floundering in the sanies of a carcass, be itself in danger of inoculation + by that whereon it grows fat? I dare not rely upon experiments conducted + by myself: my clumsy implements and my shaky hand make me fear that, with + subjects so small and delicate, I might inflict deep wounds which of + themselves would bring about death. + </p> + <p> + Fortunately, I have a collaborator of incomparable skill in the parasitic + Chalcidid. Let us apply to her. To introduce her germs, she has perforated + the maggot's paunch, has even done so several times over. The holes are + extremely small, but the poison all around is excessively subtle and has + thus been able, in certain cases, to penetrate. Now what has happened? The + pupae, all from the same apparatus, are numerous. They can be divided into + three not very unequal classes, according to the results supplied. Some + give me the adult flesh fly, others the parasite. The rest, nearly a + third, give me nothing, neither this year nor next. + </p> + <p> + In the first two cases, things have taken their normal course: the grub + has developed into a fly, or else the parasite has devoured the grub. In + the third case, an accident has occurred. I open the barren pupae. They + are coated inside with a dark glaze, the remains of the dead maggot + converted into black rottenness. The grub, therefore, has undergone + inoculation by the virus through the fine openings effected by the + Chalcidid. The skin has had time to harden into a shell; but it was too + late, the tissues being already infected. + </p> + <p> + There you see it: in its broth of putrefaction, the worm is exposed to + grave dangers. Now there is a need for maggots in this world, for maggots + many and voracious, to purge the soil as quickly as possible of death's + impurities. Linnaeus tells us that 'Tres muscae consumunt cadaver equi + aeque cito ac leo.' [Three flies consume the carcass of a horse as quickly + as a lion could do it.] There is no exaggeration about the statement. Yes, + of a certainty, the offspring of the flesh fly and the bluebottle are + expeditious workers. They swarm in a heap, always seeking, always + snuffling with their pointed mouths. In those tumultuous crowds, mutual + scratches would be inevitable if the worms, like the other flesh eaters, + possessed mandibles, jaws, clippers adapted for cutting, tearing and + chopping; and those scratches, poisoned by the dreadful gruel lapping + them, would all be fatal. + </p> + <p> + How are the worms protected in their horrible work yard? They do not eat: + they drink their fill; by means of a pepsin which they disgorge, they + first turn their foodstuffs into soup; they practice a strange and + exceptional art of feeding, wherein those dangerous carving implements, + the scalpels with their dissecting room perils, are superfluous. Here + ends, for the present, the little that I know or suspect of the maggot, + the sanitary inspector in the service of the public health. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0017" id="link2HCH0017"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVII. RECOLLECTIONS OF CHILDHOOD + </h2> + <p> + Almost as much as insects and birds—the former so dear to the child, + who loves to rear his cockchafers and rose beetles on a bed of hawthorn in + a box pierced with holes; the latter an irresistible temptation, with + their nests and their eggs and their little ones opening tiny yellow beaks—the + mushroom early won my heart with its varied shapes and colors. I can still + see myself as an innocent small boy sporting my first braces and beginning + to know my way through the cabalistic mazes of my reading book, I see + myself in ecstasy before the first bird's nest found and the first + mushroom gathered. Let us relate these grave events. Old age loves to + meditate the past. + </p> + <p> + O happy days when curiosity awakens and frees us from the limbo of + unconsciousness, your distant memory makes me live my best years over + again. Disturbed at its siesta by some wayfarer, the partridge's young + brood hastily disperses. Each pretty little ball of down scurries off and + disappears in the brushwood; but, when quiet is restored, at the first + summoning note they all return under the mother's wing. Even so, recalled + by memory, do my recollections of childhood return, those other fledglings + which have lost so many of their feathers on the brambles of life. Some, + which have hardly come out of the bushes, have aching heads and tottering + steps; some are missing, stifled in some dark corner of the thicket; some + remain in their full freshness. Now of those which have escaped the + clutches of time the liveliest are the first-born. For them the soft wax + of childish memory has been converted into enduring bronze. + </p> + <p> + On that day, wealthy and leisured, with an apple for my lunch and all my + time to myself, I decided to visit the brow of the neighboring hill, + hitherto looked upon as the boundary of the world. Right at the top is a + row of trees which, turning their backs to the wind, bend and toss about + as though to uproot themselves and take to flight. How often, from the + little window in my home, have I not seen them bowing their heads in + stormy weather; how often have I not watched them writhing like madmen + amid the snow dust which the north wind's broom raises and smoothes along + the hillside! 'What are they doing up there, those desolate trees? I am + interested in their supple backs, today still and upright against the blue + of the sky, tomorrow shaken when the clouds pass overhead. I am gladdened + by their calmness; I am distressed by their terrified gestures. They are + my friends. I have them before my eyes at every hour of the day. In the + morning, the sun rises behind their transparent screen and ascends in its + glory. Where does it come from? I am going to climb up there and perhaps I + shall find out. + </p> + <p> + I mount the slope. It is a lean grass sward close-cropped by the sheep. It + has no bushes, fertile in rents and tears, for which I should have to + answer on returning home, nor any rocks, the scaling of which involves + like dangers; nothing but large, flat stones, scattered here and there. I. + have only to go straight on, over smooth ground. But the sward is as steep + as a sloping roof. It is long, ever so long; and my legs are very short. + From time to time, I look up. My friends, the trees on the hilltop, seem + to be no nearer. Cheerily, sonny! Scramble away! + </p> + <p> + What is this at my feet? A lovely bird has flown from its hiding place + under the eaves of a big stone. Bless us, here's a nest made of hair and + fine straw! It's the first I have ever found, the first of the joys which + the birds are to bring me. And in this nest are six eggs, laid prettily + side by side; and those eggs are a magnificent blue, as though steeped in + a dye of celestial azure. Overpowered with happiness, I lie down on the + grass and stare. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, the mother, with a little clap of her gullet—'Tack! + Tack!'—flies anxiously from stone to stone, not far from the + intruder. My age knows no pity, is still too barbarous to understand + maternal anguish. A plan is running in my head, a plan worthy of a little + beast of prey. I will come back in a fortnight and collect the nestlings + before they can fly away. In the meantime, I will just take one of those + pretty blue eggs, only one, as a trophy. Lest it should be crushed, I + place the fragile thing on a little moss in the scoop of my hand. Let him + cast a stone at me that has not, in his childhood, known the rapture of + finding his first nest. + </p> + <p> + My delicate burden, which would be ruined by a false step, makes me give + up the remainder of the climb. Some other day I shall see the trees on the + hilltop over which the sun rises. I go down the slope again. At the + bottom, I meet the parish priest's curate reading his breviary as he takes + his walk. He sees me coming solemnly along, like a relic bearer; he + catches sight of my hand hiding something behind my back: 'What have you + there, my boy?' he asks. + </p> + <p> + All abashed, I open my hand and show my blue egg on its bed of moss. + </p> + <p> + 'Ah!' says his reverence. 'A Saxicola's egg! Where did you get it?' + </p> + <p> + 'Up there, father, under a stone.' + </p> + <p> + Question follows question; and my peccadillo stands confessed. By chance I + found a nest which I was not looking for. There were six eggs in it. I + took one of them—here it is—and I am waiting for the rest to + hatch. I shall go back for the others when the young birds have their + quill feathers. + </p> + <p> + 'You mustn't do that, my little friend,' replies the priest. 'You mustn't + rob the mother of her brood; you must respect the innocent little ones; + you must let God's birds grow up and fly from the nest. They are the joy + of the fields and they clear the earth of its vermin. Be a good boy, now, + and don't touch the nest.' + </p> + <p> + I promise and the curate continues his walk. I come home with two good + seeds cast on the fallows of my childish brain. An authoritative word has + taught me that spoiling birds' nests is a bad action. I did not quite + understand how the bird comes to our aid by destroying vermin, the scourge + of the crops; but I felt, at the bottom of my heart, that it is wrong to + afflict the mothers. + </p> + <p> + 'Saxicola,' the priest had said, on seeing my find. + </p> + <p> + 'Hullo!' said I to myself. 'Animals have names, just like ourselves. Who + named them? What are all my different acquaintances in the woods and + meadows called? What does Saxicola mean?' + </p> + <p> + Years passed and Latin taught me that Saxicola means an inhabitant of the + rocks. My bird, in fact, was flying from one rocky point to the other + while I lay in ecstasy before its eggs; its house, its nest, had the rim + of a large stone for a roof. Further knowledge gleaned from books taught + me that the lover of stony hillsides is also called the Motteux, or + clodhopper, because, in the plowing season, she flies from clod to clod, + inspecting the furrows rich in unearthed grubworms. Lastly, I came upon + the Provencal expression Cul-blanc, which is also a picturesque term, + suggesting the patch on the bird's rump which spreads out like a white + butterfly flitting over the fields. + </p> + <p> + Thus did the vocabulary come into being that would one day allow me to + greet by their real names the thousand actors on the stage of the fields, + the thousand little flowers that smile at us from the wayside. The word + which the curate had spoken without attaching the least importance to it + revealed a world to me, the world of plants and animals designated by + their real names. To the future must belong the task of deciphering some + pages of the immense lexicon; for today I will content myself with + remembering the Saxicola, or stonechat. + </p> + <p> + On the west, my village crumbles into an avalanche of garden patches, in + which plums and apples ripen. Low bulging walls, blackened with the stains + of lichens and mosses, support the terraces. The brook runs at the foot of + the slope. It can be cleared almost everywhere at a bound. In the wider + parts, flat stones standing out of the water serve as a foot bridge. There + is no such thing as a whirlpool, the terror of mothers when the children + are away; it is nowhere more than knee deep. Dear little brook, so + tranquil, cool and clear, I have seen majestic rivers since, I have seen + the boundless sea; but nothing in my memories equals your modest falls. + About you clings all the hallowed pleasure of my first impressions. + </p> + <p> + A miller has bethought him of putting the brook, which used to flow so + gaily through the fields, to work. Halfway up the slope, a watercourse, + economizing the gradient, diverts part of the water and conducts it into a + large reservoir, which supplies the mill wheels with motor power. This + basin stands beside a frequented path and is walled off at the end. + </p> + <p> + One day, hoisting myself on a playfellow's shoulders, I looked over the + melancholy wall, all bearded with ferns. I saw bottomless stagnant waters, + covered with slimy green. In the gaps in the sticky carpet, a sort of + dumpy, black-and-yellow reptile was lazily swimming. Today, I should call + it a salamander; at that time, it appeared to me the offspring of the + serpent and the dragon, of whom we were told such bloodcurdling tales when + we sat up at night. Hoo! I've seen enough: let's get down again, quick! + </p> + <p> + The brook runs below. Alders and ash, bending forward on either bank, + mingle their branches and form a verdant arch. At their feet, behind a + porch of great twisted roots, are watery caverns prolonged by gloomy + corridors. On the threshold of these fastnesses shimmers a glint of + sunshine, cut into ovals by the leafy sieve above. + </p> + <p> + This is the haunt of the red-necktied minnows. Come along very gently, lie + flat on the ground and look. What pretty little fish they are, with their + scarlet throats! Clustering side by side, with their heads turned against + the stream, they puff their cheeks out and in, rinsing their mouths + incessantly. To keep their stationary position in the running water, they + need naught but a slight quiver of their tail and of the fin on their + back. A leaf falls from the tree. Whoosh! The whole troop has disappeared. + </p> + <p> + On the other side of the brook is a spinney of beeches, with smooth, + straight trunks, like pillars. In their majestic, shady branches sit + chattering crows, drawing from their wings old feathers replaced by new. + The ground is padded with moss. At one's first step on the downy carpet, + the eye is caught by a mushroom, not yet full-spread and looking like an + egg dropped there by some vagrant hen. It is the first that I have picked, + the first that have I turned round and round in my fingers, inquiring into + its structure with that vague curiosity which is the first awakening of + observation. + </p> + <p> + Soon, I find others, differing in size, shape and color. It is a real + treat for my prentice eyes. Some are fashioned like bells, like + extinguishers, like cups; some are drawn out into spindles, hollowed into + funnels, rounded into hemispheres. I come upon some that are broken and + are weeping milky tears; I step on some that, instantly, become tinged + with blue; I see some big ones that are crumbling into rot and swarming + with worms. Others, shaped like pears, are dry and open at the top with a + round hole, a sort of chimney whence a whiff of smoke escapes when I prod + their under side with my finger. These are the most curious. I fill my + pockets with them to make them smoke at my leisure, until I exhaust the + contents, which are at last reduced to a kind of tinder. + </p> + <p> + What fun I had in that delightful spinney! I returned to it many a time + after my first find; and here, in the company of the crows, I received my + first lessons in mushroom lore. My harvests, I need hardly say, were not + admitted to the house. The mushroom, or the bouturel, as we called it, had + a bad reputation for poisoning people. That was enough to make mother + banish it from the family table. I could scarcely understand how the + bouturel, so attractive in appearance, came to be so wicked; however, I + accepted the experience of my elders; and no disaster ever ensued from my + rash friendship with the poisoner. + </p> + <p> + As my visits to the beech clump were repeated, I managed to divide my + finds into three categories. In the first, which was the most numerous, + the mushroom was furnished underneath with little radiating leaves. In the + second, the lower surface was lined with a thick pad pricked with hardly + visible holes. In the third, it bristled with tiny spots similar to the + papillae on a cat's tongue. The need of some order to assist the memory + made me invent a classification for myself. + </p> + <p> + Very much later there fell into my hands certain small books from which I + learnt that my three categories were well known; they even had Latin + names, which fact was far from displeasing to me. Ennobled by Latin which + provided me with my first exercises and translations, glorified by the + ancient language which the rector used in saying his mass, the mushroom + rose in my esteem. To deserve so learned an appellation, it must possess a + genuine importance. + </p> + <p> + The same books told me the name of the one that had amused me so much with + its smoking chimney. It is called the puffball in English, but its French + name is the vesse-de-loup. I disliked the expression, which to my mind + smacked of bad company. Next to it was a more decent denomination: + Lycoperdon; but this was only so in appearance, for Greek roots sooner or + later taught me that Lycoperdon means vesse-de-loup and nothing else. The + history of plants abounds in terms which it is not always desirable to + translate. Bequeathed to us by earlier ages less reticent than ours, + botany has often retained the brutal frankness of words that set propriety + at defiance. + </p> + <p> + How far off are those blessed times when my childish curiosity sought + solitary exercise in making itself acquainted with the mushroom! 'Eheu! + Fugaces labuntur anni!' said Horace. Ah, yes, the years glide fleeting by, + especially when they are nearing their end! They were the merry brook that + dallies among the willows on imperceptible slopes; today, they are the + torrent swirling a thousand straws along, as it rushes towards the abyss. + Fleeting though they be, let us make the most of them. At nightfall, the + woodcutter hastens to bind his last fagots. Even so, in my declining days, + I, a humble woodcutter in the forest of science, make haste to put my + bundle of sticks in order. 'What will remain of my researches on the + subject of instinct? Not much, apparently; at most, one or two windows + opened on a world that has not yet been explored with all the attention + which it deserves. + </p> + <p> + A worse destiny awaits the mushrooms, which were my botanical joys from my + earliest youth. I have never ceased to keep up my acquaintance with them. + To this day, for the mere pleasure of renewing it, I go, with a halting + step, to visit them on fine autumn afternoons. I still love to see the fat + heads of the boletes, the tops of the agarics and the coral-red tufts of + the clavaria emerge above the carpet pink with heather. + </p> + <p> + At Serignan, my last stage, they have lavished their seductions upon me, + so plentiful are they on the neighboring hills, wooded with holm oak, + arbutus and rosemary. During these latter years, their wealth inspired me + with an insane plan: that of collecting in effigy what I was unable to + keep in its natural state in an herbarium. I began to paint life size + pictures of all the species in my neighborhood, from the largest to the + smallest. I know nothing of the art of painting in watercolors. No matter: + what I have never seen practiced I will invent, managing badly at first, + then a little better, at last well. The paintbrush will make a change from + the strain of my daily output of prose. + </p> + <p> + I end by possessing some hundreds of sheets representing the mushrooms of + the neighborhood in their natural size and colors. My collection has a + certain value. If it lacks artistic finish, at least it boasts the merit + of accuracy. It brings me visitors on Sundays, country people, who stare + at it in all simplicity, astounded that such fine pictures should be done + by hand, without a copy and without compasses. They at once recognize the + mushroom represented; they tell me its popular name, thus proving the + fidelity of my brush. + </p> + <p> + Well, what will become of this great pile of drawings, the object of so + much work? No doubt, my family will keep the relic for a time; but, sooner + or later, taking up too much space, shifted from cupboard to cupboard, + from attic to attic, gnawed by the rats, foxed, dirtied and stained, it + will fall into the hands of some little grandnephews who will cut it into + squares to make paper caps. It is the universal rule. What our illusions + have most fondly cherished comes to a pitiful end under the claws of + ruthless reality. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0018" id="link2HCH0018"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVIII. INSECTS AND MUSHROOMS + </h2> + <p> + It were out of place to recall my long relations with the bolete and the + agaric if the insect did not here enter into a question of grave interest. + Several mushrooms are edible, some even enjoy a great reputation; others + are formidable poisons. Short of botanical studies that are not within + everybody's reach, how are we to distinguish the harmless from the + venomous? There is a widespread belief which says that any mushroom which + insects, or, more frequently, their larvae, their grubs, accept can be + accepted without fear; any mushroom which they refuse must be refused. + What is wholesome food for them cannot fail to be the same for us; what is + poisonous to them is bound to be equally baneful to ourselves. This is how + people argue, with apparent logic, but without reflecting upon the very + different capabilities of stomachs in the matter of diet. After all, may + there not be some justification for the belief? That is what I purpose + examining. + </p> + <p> + The insect, especially in the larval stage, is the principal devourer of + the mushroom. We must distinguish between two groups of consumers. The + first really eat, that is to say, they break their food into little bits, + chew it and reduce it to a mouthful which is swallowed just as it is; the + second drink, after first turning their food into a broth, like the + bluebottles. The first are the less numerous. Confining myself to the + results of my observations in the neighborhood, I count, all told, in the + group of chewers, four beetles and a moth caterpillar. To these may be + added the mollusk, as represented by a slug, or, more specifically, an + arion, of medium size, brown and adorned with a red edge to his mantle. A + modest corporation, when all is said, but active and enterprising, + especially the moth. + </p> + <p> + At the head of the mushroom loving beetles, I will place a Staphylinid + (Oxyporus rufus, LIN.), prettily garbed in red, blue and black. Together + with his larva, which walks with the aid of a crutch at its back, he + haunts the fungus of the poplar (Pholiota aegerita, FRIES). He specializes + in an exclusive diet. I often come across him, both in spring and autumn, + and never any elsewhere than on this mushroom. For that matter, he had + made a wise choice, the epicure! This popular fungus is one of our best + mushrooms, despite its color of a doubtful white, its skin which is often + wrinkled and its gills soiled with rusty brown at the spores. We must not + judge people by appearances, nor mushrooms either. This one, magnificent + in shape and color, is poisonous; that other, so poor to look at, is + excellent. + </p> + <p> + Here are two more specialist beetles, both of small size. One is the + Triplax (Triplax russica, LIN.), who has an orange head and corselet and + black wing-cases. His grub tackles the hispid polyporus (Polyporus + hispidus, BULL.), a coarse and substantial dish, bristling at its top with + stiff hairs and clinging by its side to the old trunks of mulberry trees, + sometimes also of walnut and elm trees. The other is the cinnamon-colored + Anisotoma (Anisotoma cinnamomea, PANZ.). His larva lives exclusively in + truffles. + </p> + <p> + The most interesting of the mushroom-eating beetles is the Bolboceras + (Bolboceras gallicus, MUL.). I have described elsewhere his manner of + living, his little song that sounds like the chirping of a bird, his + perpendicular wells sunk in search of an underground mushroom (Hydnocystis + orenaria, TUL.), which constitutes his regular nourishment. He is also an + ardent lover of truffles. I have taken from between his legs, at the + bottom of his manor house, a real truffle the size of a hazelnut (Tuber + Requienii, TUL.). I tried to rear him in order to make the acquaintance of + his grub; I housed him in a large earthen pan filled with fresh sand and + enclosed in a bell cover. Possessing neither hydnocistes nor truffles, I + served him up sundry mushrooms of a rather firm consistency, like those of + his choice. He refused them all, helvellae and clavariae, chanterelles and + pezizae alike. + </p> + <p> + With a rhizopogon, a sort of little fungoid potato, which is frequent in + pine woods at a moderate depth and sometimes even on the surface, I + achieved complete success. I had strewn a handful of them on the sand of + my breeding pan. At nightfall, I often surprised the Bolboceras issuing + from his well, exploring the stretch of sand, choosing a piece not too big + for his strength and gently rolling it towards his abode. He would go in + again, leaving the rhizopogon, which was too large to take inside, on the + threshold, where it served the purpose of a door. Next day, I found the + piece gnawed, but only on the under side. + </p> + <p> + The Bolboceras does not like eating in public, in the open air; he needs + the discreet retirement of his crypt. When he fails to find his food by + burrowing under ground, he comes up to look for it on the surface. Meeting + with a morsel to his taste, he takes it home when its size permits; if + not, he leaves it on the threshold of his burrow and gnaws at it from + below, without reappearing outside. Up to the present, hydnocistes, + truffles and rhizopoga are the only food that I have known him to eat. + These three instances tell us at any rate that the Bolboceras is not a + specialist like the Oxyporus and the Triplax; he is able to vary his diet; + perhaps he feeds on all the underground mushrooms indiscriminately. + </p> + <p> + The moth enlarges her domain yet further. Her caterpillar is a grub five + or six millimeters long, white, with a black shiny head. Colonies of it + abound in most mushrooms. It attacks by preference the top of the stem, + for epicurean reasons that escape me; thence it spreads throughout the + cap. It is the habitual boarder of the boletes, agarics, lactarii and + russulie. Apart from certain species and certain groups, everything suits + it. This puny grub, which will spin itself an infinitesimal cocoon of + white silk under the piece attacked and will later become an insignificant + moth, is the primordial ravager. + </p> + <p> + Let us next mention the arion, that voracious mollusk who also tackles + most mushrooms of some size. He digs himself spacious niches inside them + and there sits blissfully eating. Few in numbers, compared with the other + devourers, he usually sets up house alone. He has, by way of a set of + jaws, a powerful plane which creates great breaches in the object of his + depredations. It is he whose havoc is most apparent. + </p> + <p> + Now all these gnawers can be recognized by their leavings, such as crumbs + and worm holes. They dig clean passages, they slash and crumble without a + slimy trail, they are the pinkers. The others, the liquefiers, are the + chemists; they dissolve their food by means of reagents. All are the grubs + of flies and belong to the commonalty of the Muscidae. Many are their + species. To distinguish them from one another by rearing them in order to + obtain the perfect stage would involve a great expenditure of time to + little profit. We will describe them by the general name of maggots. + </p> + <p> + To see them at work, I select, as the field of exploitation, the satanic + bolete (Boletus Satanas, LENZ.), one of the largest mushrooms that I can + gather in my neighborhood. It has a dirty-white cap; the mouths of the + tubes are a bright orange-red; the stem swells into a bulb with a delicate + network of carmine veins. I divide a perfectly sound specimen into equal + parts and place these in two deep plates, put side by side. One of the + halves is left as it is: it will act as a control, a term of comparison. + The other half receives on the pores of its undersurface a couple of dozen + maggots taken from a second bolete in full process of decomposition. + </p> + <p> + The dissolving action of the grub asserts itself on the very day whereon + these preparations are made. The undersurface, originally a bright red, + turns brown and runs in every direction into a mass of dark stalactites. + Soon, the flesh of the cap is attacked and, in a few days, becomes a gruel + similar to liquid asphalt. It is almost as fluid as water. In this broth + the maggots wallow, wriggling their bodies and, from time to time, + sticking the breathing holes in their sterns above the water. It is an + exact repetition of what the liquefiers of meat, the grubs of the grey + flesh fly and the bluebottle, have lately shown us. As for the second half + of the bolete, the half which I did not colonize with vermin, it remains + compact, the same as it was at the start, except that its appearance is a + little withered by evaporation. The fluidity, therefore, is really and + truly the work of the grubs and of them alone. + </p> + <p> + Does this liquefaction imply an easy change? One would think so at first, + on seeing how quickly it is performed by the action of the grubs. + Moreover, certain mushrooms, the coprini, liquefy spontaneously and turn + into a black fluid. One of them bears the expressive name of the inky + mushroom (Coprinus atramentarius, BULL.) and dissolves into ink of its own + accord. The conversion, in certain cases, is singularly rapid. One day, I + was drawing one of our prettiest coprini (Coprinus sterquilinus, FRIES), + which comes out of a little purse or volva. My work was barely done, a + couple of hours after gathering the fresh mushroom, when the model had + disappeared, leaving nothing but a pool of ink upon the table. Had I + procrastinated ever so little, I should not have had time to finish and I + should have lost a rare and interesting find. + </p> + <p> + This does not mean that the other mushrooms, especially the boletes, are + of ephemeral duration and lacking in consistency. I made the attempt with + the edible bolete (Boletus edulis, BULL.), the famous cepe of our + kitchens, so highly esteemed for its flavor. I was wondering whether it + would not be possible to obtain from it a sort of Liebig's extract of + fungus, which would be useful in cooking. With this purpose, I had some of + these mushrooms cut into small pieces and boiled, on the one hand, in + plain water and, on the other, in water with bicarbonate of soda added. + The treatment lasted two whole days. The flesh of the bolete was + indomitable. To attack it, I should have had to employ violent drugs, + which were inadmissible in view of the result to be attained. + </p> + <p> + What prolonged boiling and the aid of bicarbonate of soda leave almost + intact the fly's grubs quickly turn into fluid, even as the flesh worms + fluidify hard-boiled white of egg. This is done in each instance without + violence, probably by means of a special pepsin, which is not the same in + both cases. The liquefier of meat has its own brand; the liquefier of the + bolete has another sort. The plate, then, is filled with a dark, running + gruel, not unlike tar in appearance. If we allow evaporation free course, + the broth sets, into a hard, easily crumbled slab, something like toffee. + Caught in this matrix, grubs and pupa perish, incapable of freeing + themselves. Analytical chemistry has proved fatal to them. The conditions + are quite different when the attack is delivered on the surface of the + ground. Gradually absorbed by the soil, the excess of liquid disappears, + leaving the colonists free. In my dishes, it collects indefinitely, + killing the inhabitants when it dries up into a solid layer. + </p> + <p> + The purple bolete (Boletus purpureus, FRIES), when subjected to the action + of the maggots, gives the same result as the Satanic bolete, namely, a + black gruel. Note that both mushrooms turn blue if broken and especially + if crushed. With the edible bolete, whose flesh invariably remains white + when cut, the product of its liquefaction by the vermin is a very pale + brown. With the oronge, or imperial mushroom, the result is a broth which + the eye would take for a thin apricot jam. Tests made with sundry other + mushrooms confirm the rule: all, when attacked by the maggot, turn into a + more or less fluid mess, which varies in color. + </p> + <p> + Why do the two boletes with the red tubes, the purple bolete and the + satanic bolete, change into a dark gruel? I have an inkling of the reason. + Both of them turn blue, with an admixture of green. A third species, the + bluish bolete (Boletus cyanescens, BULL., var. lacteus, LEVEILLE), possess + remarkable color sensitiveness. Bruise it ever so lightly, no matter + where, on the cap, the stem, the tubes of the undersurface: forthwith, the + wounded part, originally a pure white, is tinted a beautiful blue. Place + this bolete in an atmosphere of carbonic acid gas. We can now knock it, + crush it, reduce it to pulp; and the blue no longer shows. But extract a + fragment from the crushed mass: immediately, at the first contact with the + air, the matter turns a most glorious blue. It reminds us of a process + employed in dyeing. The indigo of commerce, steeped in water containing + lime and sulfate of iron, or copperas, is deprived of a part of its + oxygen; it loses its color and becomes soluble in water, as it was in the + original indigo plant, before the treatment which the plant underwent. A + colorless liquid results. Expose a drop of this liquid to the air. + Straightway, oxidization works upon the product: the indigo is reformed, + insoluble and blue. + </p> + <p> + This is exactly what we see in the boletes that turn blue so readily. + Could they, in fact, contain soluble, colorless indigo? One would say so, + if certain properties did not give grounds for doubt. When subjected to + prolonged exposure to the air, the boletes that are apt to turn blue, + particularly the most remarkable, Boletus cyanescens, lose their color, + instead of retaining the deep blue which would be a sign of real indigo. + Be this as it may, these mushrooms contain a coloring principle which is + very liable to change under the influence of the air. Why should we not + regard it as the cause of the black tint when the maggots have liquefied + the boletes which turn blue? The others, those with the white flesh, the + edible bolete, for instance, do not assume this asphalty appearance once + they are liquefied by the grubs. + </p> + <p> + All the boletes that change to blue when broken have a bad reputation; the + books treat them as dangerous, or at least open to suspicion. The name of + Satanic awarded to one of them is an ample proof of our fears. The + caterpillar and the maggot are of another opinion: they greedily devour + what we hold in dread. Now here is a strange thing: those passionate + devotees of Boletus Satanas absolutely refuse certain mushrooms which we + find delightful eating, including the most celebrated of all, the oronge, + the imperial mushroom, which the Romans of the empire, past masters in + gluttony, called the food of the gods, cibus deorum, the agaric of the + Caesars, Agaricus caesareus. It is the most elegant of all our mushrooms. + When it prepares to make its appearance by lifting the fissured earth, it + is a handsome ovoid formed by the outer wrapper, the volva. Then this + purse gently tears and the jagged opening partly reveals a globular object + of a magnificent orange. Take a hen's egg, boil it, remove the shell: what + remains will be the imperial mushroom in its purse. Remove a part of the + white at the top, uncovering a little of the yolk. Then you have the + nascent imperial. The likeness is perfect. And so the people of my part, + struck by the resemblance, call this mushroom lou rousset d'iou, or, in + other words, yolk of egg. Soon, the cap emerges entirely and spreads into + a disk softer than satin to the touch and richer to the eye than all the + fruit of the Hesperides. Appearing amid the pink heather, it is an + entrancing object. + </p> + <p> + Well, this gorgeous agaric (Amanita caesarea, SCOP.), this food of the + gods the maggot absolutely refuses. My frequent examinations have never + shown me an imperial attacked by the grubs in the field. It needs + imprisonment in a jar and the absence of other victuals to provoke the + attempt; and even then the treacle hardly seems to suit them. After the + liquefaction, the grubs try to make off, showing that the fare is not to + their liking. The Mollusk also, the Arion, is anything but an ardent + consumer. Passing close to an imperial mushroom and finding nothing + better, he stops and takes a bite, without lingering. If, therefore, we + required the evidence of the insect, or even of the Slug, to know which + mushrooms are good to eat, we should refuse the best of them all. Though + respected by the vermin, the glorious imperial is nevertheless ruined not + by larvae, but by a parasitic fungus, the Mycogone rosea, which spreads in + a purply stain and turns it into a putrid mass. This is the only despoiler + that I know it to possess. + </p> + <p> + A second amanita, the sheathed amanita (Amanita vaginata, BULL.), prettily + streaked on the edges of the cap, is of an exquisite flavor, almost equal + to the imperial. It is called lou pichot gris, the grayling, in these + parts, because of its coloring, which is usually an ashen gray. Neither + the maggot nor the even more enterprising Moth ever touches it. They + likewise refuse the mottled amanita (Amanita pantherina, D. C.), the + vernal amanita (Amanita verna, FRIES) and the lemon-yellow amanita + (Amanita citrina, SCHAEFF.), all three of which are poisonous. In short, + whether it be to us a delicious dish or a deadly poison, no amanita is + accepted by the grubs. The arion alone sometimes bites at it. The cause of + the refusal escapes us. It were vain, speaking of the mottled amanita, for + instance, to allege as a reason the presence of an alkaloid fatal to the + grubs, for we should have to ask ourselves why the imperial, the amanita + of the Caesars, which is wholly free from poison, is rejected no less + uncompromisingly than the venomous species. Could it perhaps be lack of + relish, a deficiency of seasoning for stimulating the appetite? In point + of fact, when eaten raw, the amanitas have no particular flavor. + </p> + <p> + What shall we learn from the sharper-flavored mushrooms? Here, in the + pinewoods, is the woolly milk mushroom (Lactarius torminosus, SCHAEFF.), + turned in at the edges and wrapped in a curly fleece. Its taste is biting, + worse than Cayenne pepper. Torminosus means colic producing. The name is + very suitable. Unless he possessed a stomach built for the purpose, the + man who touched such food as this would have a singularly bad time before + him. Well, that stomach the vermin possess: they revel in the pungency of + the woolly milk mushroom even as the spurge caterpillar browses with + delight on the loathsome leaves of the euphorbiae. As for us, we might as + well, in either case, eat live coals. + </p> + <p> + Is a condiment of this kind necessary to the grubs? Not at all. Here, in + the same pinewoods, is the "delicious" milk mushroom (Lactarius + deliciosus, LIN.), a glorious orange-red crater, adorned with concentric + zones. If bruised, it assumes a verdigris hue, possibly a variant of the + indigo tint peculiar to the blue-turning boletes. From its flesh laid bare + by being broken or cut ooze blood-red drops, a well-defined characteristic + peculiar to this milk mushroom. Here the violent spices of the woolly milk + mushroom disappear; the flesh has a pleasant taste when eaten raw. No + matter: the vermin devour the mild milk mushroom with the same zest with + which they devour the horribly peppered one. To them the delicate and the + strong, the insipid and the peppery are all alike. + </p> + <p> + The epithet 'delicious' applied to the mushroom whose wound weeps tears of + blood is highly exaggerated. It is edible, no doubt, but it is coarse + eating and difficult to digest. My household refuses it for cooking + purposes. We prefer to put it to soak in vinegar and afterwards to use it + as we might use pickled gherkins. The real value of this mushroom is + largely overrated thanks to a too laudatory epithet. + </p> + <p> + Is a certain degree of consistency required, to suit the grubs: something + midway between the softness of the amanitas and the firmness of the milk + mushrooms? Let us begin by questioning the olive tree agaric or luminous + mushroom (Pleurotus phosphoreus, BATT.), a magnificent mushroom colored + jujube red. Its popular name is not particularly appropriate. True, it + frequently grows at the base of old olive trees, but I also pick it at the + foot of the box, the holm oak, the plum tree, the cypress, the almond + tree, the Guelder rose and other trees and shrubs. It seems fairly + indifferent to the nature of the support. A more remarkable feature + distinguishes it from all the other European mushrooms: it is + phosphorescent. On the lower surface and there only, it sheds a soft, + white gleam, similar to that of the glowworm. It lights up to celebrate + its nuptials and the emission of its spores. There is no question of + chemist's phosphorus here. This is a slow combustion, a sort of more + active respiration than usual. The luminous emission is extinguished in + the unbreathable gases, nitrogen and carbonic acid; it continues in + aerated water; it ceases in water deprived of its air by boiling. It is + exceedingly faint, however, so much so that it is not perceptible except + in the deepest darkness. At night and even by day, if the eyes have been + prepared for it by a preliminary wait in the darkness of a cellar, this + agaric is a wonderful sight, looking indeed like a piece of the full moon. + </p> + <p> + Now what do the vermin do? Are they drawn by this beacon? In no wise: + maggots, caterpillars and slugs never touch the resplendent mushroom. Let + us not be too quick to explain this refusal by the noxious properties of + the olive tree agaric, which is said to be extremely poisonous. Here, in + fact, on the pebbly ground of the wastelands, is the eryngo agaric + (Pleurotus eryngii, D. C.), which has the same consistency as the other. + It is the berigoulo of the Provencaux, one of the most highly esteemed + mushrooms. Well, the vermin will have none of it: what is a treat to us is + detestable to them. + </p> + <p> + It is superfluous to continue this method of investigation: the reply + would be everywhere the same. The insect, which feeds on one sort of + mushroom and refuses others, cannot tell us anything about the kinds that + are good or bad for us. Its stomach is not ours. It pronounces excellent + what we find poisonous; it pronounces poisonous what we think excellent. + That being so, when we are lacking in the botanical knowledge which most + of us have neither time nor inclination to acquire, what course are we to + take? The course is extremely simple. + </p> + <p> + During the thirty years and more that I have lived at Serignan, I have + never heard of one case of mushroom poisoning, even the mildest, in the + village; and yet there are plenty of mushrooms eaten here, especially in + autumn. Not a family but, when on a walk in the mountains, gathers a + precious addition to its modest alimentary resources. What do these people + gather? A little of everything. Often, when rambling in the neighboring + woods, I inspect the baskets of the mushroom pickers, who are delighted + for me to look. I see things fit to make mycological experts stand aghast. + I often find the purple bolete, which is classed among the dangerous + varieties. I made the remark one day. The man carrying the basket stared + at me in astonishment: 'That a poison! The wolf's bread!' he said, patting + the plump bolete with his hand. 'What an idea! It's beef marrow, sir, + regular beef marrow!' [Author's note: People use them indiscriminately for + cooking purposes, after removing the tubes on the under side, which are + easily separated from the rest of the mushroom.] + </p> + <p> + He smiled at my apprehensions and went away with a poor opinion of my + knowledge in the matter of mushrooms. + </p> + <p> + In the baskets aforesaid, I find the ringed agaric (Armillaria mellea, + FRIES), which is stigmatized as valde venenatus by Persoon, an expert on + the subject. It is even the mushroom most frequently made use of, because + of its being so plentiful, especially at the foot of the mulberry trees. I + find the Satanic bolete, that dangerous tempter; the belted milk mushroom + (Lactarius zonarius, BULL.), whose burning flavor rivals the pepper of its + woolly kinsman; the smooth-headed amanita (Amanita leiocophala, D. C.), a + magnificent white dome rising out of an ample volva and fringed at the + edges with floury relics resembling flakes of casein. Its poisonous smell + and soapy aftertaste should lead to suspicion of this ivory dome; but + nobody seems to mind them. + </p> + <p> + How, with such careless picking, are accidents avoided? In my village and + for a long way around, the rule is to blanch the mushrooms, that is to + say, to bring them to the boil in water with a little salt in it. A few + rinsings in cold water conclude the treatment. They are then prepared in + whatever manner one pleases. In this way, what might at first be dangerous + becomes harmless, because the preliminary boiling and rinsing have removed + the noxious elements. + </p> + <p> + My personal experience confirms the efficacy of this rustic method. At + home, we very often make use of the ringed agaric, which is reputed + extremely dangerous. When rendered wholesome by the ordeal of boiling + water, it becomes a dish of which I have naught but good to say. Then + again the smooth-headed amanita frequently appears upon my table, after + being duly boiled: if it were not first treated in this fashion, it would + be hardly safe. I have tried the blue-turning boletes, especially the + purple bolete and the Satanic. They answered very well to the eulogistic + term of beef marrow applied to them by the mushroom picker who scouted my + prudent counsels. I have sometimes employed the mottled amanita, so ill + famed in the books, without disastrous result. One of my friends, a + doctor, to whom I communicated my ideas about the boiling water treatment, + thought that he would make the experiment on his own account. He chose the + lemon-yellow amanita, which has as bad a reputation as the mottled + variety, and ate it at supper. Everything went off without the slightest + inconvenience. Another, a blind friend, in whose company I was one day to + taste the Cossus of the Roman epicures, treated himself to the olive tree + agaric, said to be so formidable. The dish was, if not excellent, at least + harmless. + </p> + <p> + It results from these facts that a good preliminary boiling is the best + safeguard against accidents arising from mushrooms. If the insect, + devouring one species and refusing another, cannot guide us in any way, at + least rustic wisdom, the fruit of long experience, prescribes a rule of + conduct which is both simple and efficacious. You are tempted by a + basketful of mushrooms, but you do not feel very sure as to their good or + evil properties. Then have them blanched, well and thoroughly blanched. + When it leaves the purgatory of the stewpan, the doubtful mushroom can be + eaten without fear. + </p> + <p> + But this, you will tell me, is a system of cookery fit for savages: the + treatment with boiling water will reduce the mushrooms to a mash; it will + take away all their flavor and all their succulence. That is a complete + mistake. The mushroom stands the ordeal exceedingly well. I have described + my failure to subdue the cepes when I was trying to obtain an extract from + them. Prolonged boiling, with the aid of bicarbonate of soda, so far from + reducing them to a mess, left them very nearly intact. The other mushrooms + whose size entitles them to culinary consideration offer the same degree + of resistance. In the second place, there is no loss of succulence and + hardly any of flavor. Moreover, they become much more digestible, which is + a most important condition in a dish generally so heavy for the stomach. + For this reason, it is the custom, in my family, to treat them one and all + with boiling water, including even the glorious imperial. + </p> + <p> + I am a Philistine, it is true, a barbarian caring little for the + refinements of cookery. I am not thinking of the epicure, but of the + frugal man, the husbandman especially. I should consider myself amply + repaid for my persistent observations if I succeeded in popularizing, + however little, the wise Provencal recipe for mushrooms, an excellent food + that makes a pleasant change from the dish of beans or potatoes, when we + can overcome the difficulty of distinguishing between the harmless and the + dangerous. + </p> + <p> + [Recorder's note: Modern mycologists warn against Fabre's claim that + boiling neutralizes all mushroom poisons.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0019" id="link2HCH0019"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIX. A MEMORABLE LESSON + </h2> + <p> + I take leave of the mushrooms with regret: there would be so many other + questions to solve concerning them! Why do the maggots eat the Satanic + bolete and scorn the imperial mushroom? How is it that they find delicious + what we find poisonous and why is it that what seems exquisite to our + taste is loathsome to theirs? Can there be special compounds in mushrooms, + alkaloids, apparently, which vary according to the botanical genus? Would + it be possible to isolate them and study their properties fully? Who knows + whether medical science could not employ them in relieving our ailments, + even as it employs quinine, morphia and other alkaloids? One might inquire + into the cause of the liquefaction of the coprini, which is spontaneous, + and that of the boletes, which is brought about by the maggots. Do both + cases come within the same category? Does the coprinus digest itself by + virtue of a pepsin similar to the maggots'? One would like to discover the + oxidizable substance that gives the luminous mushroom its soft, white + light, which is like the beams of the full moon. It would be interesting + to know whether certain boletes turn blue owing to the presence of an + indigo which is more liable to change than dyers' indigo and whether the + green of the so-called delicious milk mushroom when bruised is due to a + like cause. + </p> + <p> + All these patient chemical investigations would tempt me, if the + rudimentary equipment of my laboratory and especially the irrevocable + flight of age-worn hopes permitted it. The day has passed for it now; + there is no time left to me. No matter: let us talk chemistry once more, + for a little while; and, for want of something better, let us revive old + memories. If the historian, now and again, takes a small place in the + story of his animals, the reader will kindly excuse him: old age is prone + to these reminiscences, the bloom of later days. + </p> + <p> + I have received, in all, two lessons of a scientific character in the + course of my life: one in anatomy and one in chemistry. I owe the first to + the learned naturalist Moquin-Tandon, who, on our return from a botanizing + expedition to Monte Renoso, in Corsica, showed me the structure of a Snail + in a plate filled with water. It was short and fruitful. From that moment, + I was initiated. Henceforth, I was to wield the scalpel and decently to + explore an animal's interior without any other guidance from a master. The + second lesson, that of chemistry, was less fortunate. I will tell you what + happened. + </p> + <p> + In my normal school, the scientific teaching was on an exceedingly modest + scale, consisting mainly of arithmetic and odds and ends of geometry. + Physics was hardly touched. We were taught a little meteorology, in a + summary fashion: a word or two about a red moon, a white frost, dew, snow + and wind; and, with this smattering of rustic physics, we were considered + to know enough of the subject to discuss the weather with the farmer and + the plowman. + </p> + <p> + Of natural history, absolutely nothing. No one thought of telling us + anything about flowers and trees, which give such zest to one's aimless + rambles, nor about insects, with their curious habits, nor about stones, + so instructive with their fossil records. That entrancing glance through + the windows of the world was refused us. Grammar was allowed to strangle + life. + </p> + <p> + Chemistry was never mentioned either: that goes without saying. I knew the + word, however. My casual reading, only half-understood for want of + practical demonstration, had taught me that chemistry is concerned with + the shuffle of matter, uniting or separating the various elements. But + what a strange idea I formed of this branch of study! To me it smacked of + sorcery, of alchemy and its search for the philosopher's stone. To my + mind, every chemist, when at work, should have had a magic wand in his + hand and the wizard's pointed, star studded cap on his head. + </p> + <p> + An important personage who sometimes visited the school, in his capacity + as an honorary lecturer, was not the man to rid me of those foolish + notions. He taught physics and chemistry at the grammar school. Twice a + week, from eight to nine o'clock in the evening, he held a free public + class in an enormous building adjacent to our schoolhouse. This was the + former Church of Saint-Martial, which has today become a Protestant + meeting house. + </p> + <p> + It was a wizard's cave certainly, just as I had pictured it. At the top of + the steeple, a rusty weathercock creaked mournfully; in the dusk, great + Bats flew all around the edifice or dived down the throats of the + gargoyles; at night, Owls hooted upon the copings of the leads. It was + inside, under the immensities of the vault, that my chemist used to + perform. What infernal mixtures did he compound? Should I ever know? + </p> + <p> + It is the day for his visit. He comes to see us with no pointed cap: in + ordinary garb, in fact, with nothing very queer about him. He bursts into + our schoolroom like a hurricane. His red face is half-buried in the + enormous stiff collar that digs into his ears. A few wisps of red hair + adorn his temples; the top of his head shines like an old ivory ball. In a + dictatorial voice and with wooden gestures, he questions two or three of + the boys; after a moment's bullying, he turns on his heel and goes off in + a whirlwind as he came. No, this is not the man, a capital fellow at + heart, to inspire me with a pleasant idea of the things which he teaches. + </p> + <p> + Two windows of his laboratory look out upon the garden of the school. One + can just lean on them; and I often come and peep in, trying to make out, + in my poor brain, what chemistry can really be. Unfortunately, the room + into which my eyes penetrate is not the sanctuary but a mere outhouse + where the learned implements and crockery are washed. Leaden pipes with + taps run down the walls; wooden vats occupy the corners. Sometimes, those + vats bubble, heated by a spray of steam. A reddish powder, which looks + like brick dust, is boiling in them. I learn that the simmering stuff is a + dyer's root, known as madder, which will be converted into a purer and + more concentrated product. This is the master's pet study. + </p> + <p> + What I saw from the two windows was not enough for me. I wanted to see + farther, into the very classroom. My wish was satisfied. It was the end of + the scholastic year. A stage ahead in the regular work, I had just + obtained my certificate. I was free. A few weeks remain before the + holidays. Shall I go and spend them out of doors, in all the gaiety of my + eighteen summers? No, I will spend them at the school which, for two years + past, has provided me with an untroubled roof and my daily crust. I will + wait until a post is found for me. Employ my willing service as you think + fit, do with me what you will: as long as I can study, I am indifferent to + the rest. + </p> + <p> + The principal of the school, the soul of kindness, has grasped my passion + for knowledge. He encourages me in my determination; he proposes to make + me renew my acquaintance with Horace and Virgil, so long since forgotten. + He knows Latin, he does; he will rekindle the dead spark by making me + translate a few passages. He does more: he lends me an Imitation with + parallel texts in Latin and Greek. With the first text, which I am almost + able to read, I will puzzle out the second and thus increase the small + vocabulary which I acquired in the days when I was translating Aesop's + Fables. It will be all the better for my future studies. What luck! Board + and lodging, ancient poetry, the classical languages, all the good things + at once! + </p> + <p> + I did better still. Our science master—the real, not the honorary + one—who came twice a week to discourse of the rule of three and the + properties of the triangle, had the brilliant idea of letting us celebrate + the end of the school year with a feast of learning. He promised to show + us oxygen. As a colleague of the chemist in the grammar school, he + obtained leave to take us to the famous laboratory and there to handle the + object of his lesson under our very eyes. Oxygen, yes, oxygen, the + all-consuming gas; that was what we were to see on the morrow. I could not + sleep all night for thinking of it. + </p> + <p> + Thursday afternoon came at last. As soon as the chemistry lesson is over, + we were to go for a walk to Les Angles, the pretty village over yonder, + perched on a steep rock. We were therefore in our Sunday best, our + out-of-doors clothes: black frock coats and tall hats. The whole school + was there, some thirty of us, in the charge of an usher, who knew as + little as we did of the things which we were about to see. We crossed the + threshold of the laboratory, not without excitement. I entered a great + nave with a Gothic roof, an old, bare church through which one's voice + echoed, into which the light penetrated discreetly through stained glass + windows set in ribs and rosettes of stone. At the back were huge raised + benches, with room for an audience of many hundreds; at the other end, + where the choir once was, stood an enormous chimney mantel; in the middle + was a large, massive table, corroded by the chemicals. At one end of this + table was a tarred tub, lined inside with lead and filled with water. + This, I at once learned, was the pneumatic trough, the vessel in which the + gases were collected. + </p> + <p> + The professor begins the experiment. He takes a sort of large, long glass + bulb, bent abruptly in the region of the neck. This, he informs us, is a + retort. He pours into it, from a screw of paper, some black stuff that + looks like powdered charcoal. This is manganese dioxide, the master tells + us. It contains in abundance, in a condensed state and retained by + combination with the metal, the gas which we propose to obtain. An oily + looking liquid, sulfuric acid, an excessively powerful agent, will set it + at liberty. Thus filled, the retort is placed on a lighted stove. A glass + tube brings it into communication with a bell jar full of water on the + shelf of the pneumatic trough. Those are all the preparations. What will + be the result? We must wait for the action of heat. + </p> + <p> + My fellow pupils gather eagerly round the apparatus, cannot come close + enough to it. Some of them play the part of the fly on the wheel and glory + in contributing to the success of the experiment. They straighten the + retort, which is leaning to one side; they blow with their mouths on the + coals in the stove. I do not care for these familiarities with the + unknown. The good natured master raises no objection; but I have never + been able to endure the thronging of a crowd of gapers, who are very busy + with their elbows and force their way to the front row to see whatever is + happening, even though it be merely a couple of mongrels fighting. Let us + withdraw and leave these officious ones to themselves. There is so much to + see here, while the oxygen is being prepared. Let us make the most of the + occasion and take a look round the chemist's arsenal. + </p> + <p> + Under the spacious chimney mantel is a collection of queer stoves, bound + round with bands of sheet iron. There are long and short ones, high and + low ones, all pierced with little windows that are closed with a + terracotta shutter. This one, a sort of little tower, is formed of several + parts placed one above the other and each supplied with big round handles + to hold them by when you take the monument to pieces. A dome, with an iron + chimney, tops the whole edifice, which must be capable of producing a very + hell fire to roast a stone of no significance. Another, a squat one, + stretches out like a curved spine. It has a round hole at either end; and + a thick porcelain tube sticks out from each. It is impossible to conceive + the purpose which such instruments as these can serve. The seekers of the + philosopher's stone must have had many like them. They are torturers' + engines, tearing the metals' secrets from them. + </p> + <p> + The glass things are arranged on shelves. I see retorts of different + sizes, all with necks bent at a sudden angle. In addition to their long + beak, some of them have a narrow little tube coming out of their bulb. + Look, youngster, and do not try to guess the object of these curious + vessels. I see glasses with feet to them, funnel-shaped and deep; I stand + amazed at strange looking bottles with two or three mouths to each, at + phials swelling into a balloon with a long, narrow tube. What an odd array + of implements! And here are glass cupboards with a host of bottles and + jars, filled with all manner of chemicals. The labels apprise me of their + contents: molybdenite of ammonia, chloride of antimony, permanganate of + potash and ever so many other strange terms. Never, in all my reading, + have I met with such repellent language. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly, bang! And there is running and stamping and shouting and cries + of pain! What has happened? I rush up from the back of the room. The + retort has burst, squirting its boiling vitriol in every direction. The + wall opposite is all stained with it. Most of my fellow pupils have been + more or less struck. One poor youth has had the splashes full in his face, + right into his eyes. He is yelling like a madman. With the help of a + friend who has come off better than the others, I drag him outside by main + force, take him to the sink, which fortunately is close at hand, and hold + his face under the tap. This swift ablution serves its purpose. The + horrible pain begins to be allayed, so much so that the sufferer recovers + his senses and is able to continue the washing process for himself. + </p> + <p> + My prompt aid certainly saved his sight. A week later, with the help of + the doctor's lotions, all danger was over. How lucky it was that I took it + into my head to keep some way off! My isolation, as I stood looking into + the glass case of chemicals, left me all my presence of mind, all my + readiness of resource. What are the others doing, those who got splashed + through standing too near the chemical bomb? I return to the lecture hall. + It is not a cheerful spectacle. The master has come off badly: his + shirtfront, waistcoat and trousers are covered with smears, which are all + smoldering and burning into holes. He hurriedly divests himself of a + portion of his dangerous raiment. Those of us who possess the smartest + clothes lend him something to put on so that he can go home decently. + </p> + <p> + One of the tall, funnel-shaped glasses which I was admiring just now is + standing, full of ammonia, on the table. All, coughing and sniveling, dip + their handkerchiefs into it and rub the moist rag over their hats and + coats. In this way, the red stains left by the horrible compound are made + to disappear. A drop of ink will presently restore the color completely. + </p> + <p> + And the oxygen? There was no more question, I need hardly say, of that. + The feast of learning was over. Never mind: the disastrous lesson was a + mighty event for me. I had been inside the chemist's laboratory; I had had + a glimpse of those wonderful jars and tubes. In teaching, what matters + most is not the thing taught, whether well or badly grasped: it is the + stimulus given to the pupil's latent aptitudes; it is the fulminate + awakening the slumbering explosives. One day, I shall obtain on my own + account that oxygen which ill luck has denied me; one day, without a + master, I shall yet learn chemistry. + </p> + <p> + Yes, I shall learn this chemistry, which started so disastrously. And how? + By teaching it. I do not recommend that method to anybody. Happy the man + who is guided by a master's word and example! He has a smooth and easy + road before him, lying straight ahead. The other follows a rugged path, in + which his feet often stumble; he goes groping into the unknown and loses + his way. To recover the right road, if want of success have not + discouraged him, he can rely only on perseverance, the sole compass of the + poor. Such was my fate. I taught myself by teaching others, by passing on + to them the modicum of seed that had ripened on the barren moor cleared, + from day to day, by my patient plowshare. + </p> + <p> + A few months after the incident of the vitriol bomb, I was sent to + Carpentras to take charge of junior classes at the college there. The + first year was a difficult one, swamped as I was by the excessive number + of pupils, a set of duffers kept out of the more advanced classes and all + at different stages in spelling and grammar. Next year, my school is + divided into two; I have an assistant. A weeding-out takes place in my + crowd of scatterbrains. I keep the older, the more intelligent ones; the + others are to have a term in the preparatory division. From that day + forward, things are different. Curriculum there is none. In those happy + times, the master's personality counted for something; there was no such + thing as the scholastic piston working with the regularity of a machine. + It was left for me to act as I thought fit. Well, what should I do to make + the school earn its title of 'upper primary'? + </p> + <p> + Why, of course! Among other things, I shall do some chemistry! My reading + has taught me that it does no harm to know a little chemistry, if you + would make your furrows yield a good return. Many of my pupils come from + the country; they will go back to it to improve their land. Let us show + them what the soil is made of and what the plant feeds on. Others will + follow industrial careers; they will become tanners, metal founders, + distillers; they will sell cakes of soap and kegs of anchovies. Let us + show them pickling, soap making, stills, tannin and metals. Of course, I + know nothing about these things, but I shall learn, all the more so as I + shall have to teach them to the boys; and your schoolboy is a little demon + for jeering at the master's hesitation. + </p> + <p> + As it happens, the college boasts a small laboratory, containing just what + is strictly indispensable: a receiver, a dozen glass balloons, a few tubes + and a niggardly assortment of chemicals. That will do, if I can have the + run of it. But the laboratory is a sanctum reserved for the use of the + sixth form. No one sets foot in it except the professor and his pupils + preparing for their degree. For me, the outsider, to enter that tabernacle + with my band of young imps would be most unseemly; the rightful occupant + would never think of allowing it. I feel it myself: elementary teaching + dare not aspire to such familiarity with the higher culture. Very well, we + will not go there, so long as they will lend me the things. + </p> + <p> + I confide my plan to the principal, the supreme dispenser of those riches. + He is a classics man, knows hardly anything of science, at that time held + in no great esteem, and he does not quite understand the object of my + request. I humbly insist and exert my powers of persuasion. I discreetly + emphasize the real point of the matter. My group of pupils is a numerous + one. It takes more meals at the schoolhouse—the real concern of a + principal—than any other section of the college. This group must be + encouraged, lured on, increased if possible. The prospect of disposing of + a few more platefuls of soup wins the battle for me; my request is + granted. Poor science! All that diplomacy to gain your entrance among the + despised ones, who have not been nourished on Cicero and Demosthenes! + </p> + <p> + I am authorized to move, once a week, the material required for my + ambitious plans. From the first floor, the sacred dwelling of the + scientific things, I shall take them down to a sort of cellar where I give + my lessons. The troublesome part is the pneumatic trough. It has to be + emptied before it is carried downstairs and to be filled again afterwards. + A day scholar, a zealous acolyte, hurries over his dinner and comes to + lend me a hand an hour or two before the class begins. We effect the move + between us. + </p> + <p> + What I am after is oxygen, the gas which I once saw fail so lamentably. I + thought it all out at my leisure, with the help of a book. I will do this, + I will do that, I will go to work in this or the other fashion. Above all, + we will run no risks, perhaps of blinding ourselves; for it is once more a + question of heating manganese dioxide with sulfuric acid. I am filled with + misgivings at the recollection of my old school fellow yelling like mad. + Who cares? Let us try for all that: fortune favors the brave! Besides, we + will make one prudent condition, from which I shall never depart: no one + but myself shall come near the table. If an accident happen, I shall be + the only one to suffer; and, in my opinion, it is worth a burn or two to + make acquaintance with oxygen. + </p> + <p> + Two o'clock strikes; and my pupils enter the classroom. I purposely + exaggerate the likelihood of danger. They are all to stay on their benches + and not stir. This is agreed. I have plenty of elbow room. There is no one + by me, except my acolyte, standing by my side, ready to help me when the + time comes. The others look on in profound silence, reverent towards the + unknown. + </p> + <p> + Soon the gaseous bubbles come "gloo-glooing" through the water in the bell + jar. Can it be my gas? My heart beats with excitement. Can I have + succeeded without any trouble at the first attempt? We will see. A candle + blown out that moment and still retaining a red tip to its wick is lowered + by a wire into a small test jar filled with my product. Capital! The + candle lights with a little explosion and burns with extraordinary + brilliancy. It is oxygen right enough. + </p> + <p> + The moment is a solemn one. My audience is astounded and so am I, but more + at my own success than at the relighted candle. A puff of vainglory rises + to my brow; I feel the fire of enthusiasm run through my veins. But I say + nothing of these inner sensations. Before the boys' eyes, the master must + appear an old hand at the things he teaches. What would the young rascals + think of me if I allowed them to suspect my surprise, if they knew that I + myself am beholding the marvelous subject of my demonstration for the + first time in my life? I should lose their confidence, I should sink to + the level of a mere pupil. + </p> + <p> + Sursum corda! Let us go on as if chemistry were a familiar thing to me. It + is the turn of the steel ribbon, an old watch spring rolled corkscrew + fashion and furnished with a bit of tinder. With this simple lighted bait, + the steel should take fire in a jar filled with my gas. And it does burn; + it becomes a splendid firework, with cracklings and a blaze of sparks and + a cloud of rust that tarnishes the jar. From the end of the fiery coil a + red drop breaks off at intervals, shoots quivering through the layer of + water left at the bottom of the vessel and embeds itself in the glass + which has suddenly grown soft. This metallic tear, with its indomitable + heat, makes every one of us shudder. All stamp and cheer and applaud. The + timid ones place their hands before their faces and dare not look except + through their fingers. My audience exults; and I myself triumph. Ha, my + friends, isn't it grand, this chemistry! + </p> + <p> + All of us have red letter days in our lives. Some, the practical men, have + been successful in business; they have made money and hold their heads + high in consequence. Others, the thinkers, have gained ideas; they have + opened a new account in the ledger of nature and they silently taste the + hallowed joys of truth. One of my great days was that of my first + acquaintance with oxygen. On that day, when my class was over and all the + materials put back in their place, I felt myself grow several inches + taller. An untrained workman, I had shown, with complete success, that + which was unknown to me a couple of hours before. No accident whatever, + not even the least stain of acid. + </p> + <p> + It is, therefore, not so difficult nor so dangerous as the pitiful finish + of the Saint Martial lesson might have led me to believe. With a vigilant + eye and a little prudence, I shall be able to continue. The prospect is + enchanting. + </p> + <p> + And so, in due season, comes hydrogen, carefully contemplated in my + reading, seen and reseen with the eye of the mind before being seen with + the eyes of the body. I delight my little rascals by making the hydrogen + flame sing in a glass tube, which trickles with the drops of water + resulting from the combustion; I make them jump with the explosions of the + thunderous mixture. Later, I show them, with the same invariable success, + the splendors of phosphorus, the violent powers of chlorine, the loathsome + smells of sulfur, the metamorphoses of carbon and so on. In short, in a + series of lessons, the principal nonmetallic elements and their compounds + are passed in review during the course of the year. + </p> + <p> + The thing was bruited abroad. Fresh pupils came to me, attracted by the + marvels of the school. Additional places were laid in the dining hall; and + the principal, who was more interested in the profits on his beans and + bacon than in chemistry, congratulated me on this accession of boarders. I + was fairly started. Time and an indomitable will would do the rest. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0020" id="link2HCH0020"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XX. INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY + </h2> + <p> + Everything happens sooner or later. When, through the low windows + overlooking the garden of the school, my eye glanced at the laboratory, + where the madder vats were steaming; when, in the sanctuary itself, I was + present, by way of a first and last chemistry lesson, at the explosion of + the retort of sulfuric acid that nearly disfigured every one of us, I was + far indeed from suspecting the part which I was destined to play under + that same vaulted roof. Had a prophet foretold that I should one day + succeed the master, never would I have believed him. Time works these + surprises for us. + </p> + <p> + Stones would have theirs too, if anything were able to astonish them. The + Saint Martial building was originally a church; it is a protestant place + of worship now. Men used to pray there in Latin; today they pray in + French. In the intervening period, it was for some years in the service of + science, the noble orison that dispels the darkness. What has the future + in store for it? Like many another in the ringing city, to use Rabelais' + epithet, will it become a home for the fuller's teasels, a warehouse for + scrap iron, a carrier's stable? Who knows? Stones have their destinies no + less unexpected than ours. + </p> + <p> + When I took possession of it as a laboratory for the municipal course of + lectures, the nave remained as it was at the time of my former short and + disastrous visit. To the right, on the wall, a number of black stains + struck the eye. It was as though a madman's hand, armed with the inkpot, + had smashed its fragile projectile at that spot. I recognized the stains + at once. They were the marks of the corrosive which the retort had + splashed at our heads. Since those days of long ago, no one had thought + fit to hide them under a coat of whitewash. So much the better: they will + serve me as excellent counselors. Always before my eyes, at every lesson, + they will speak to me incessantly of prudence. + </p> + <p> + For all its attractions, however, chemistry did not make me forget a long + cherished plan well suited to my tastes, that of teaching natural history + at a university. Now, one day, at the grammar school, I had a visit from a + chief inspector which was not of an encouraging nature. My colleagues used + to call him the Crocodile. Perhaps he had given them a rough time in the + course of his inspections. For all his boorish ways, he was an excellent + man at heart. I owe him for a piece of advice which greatly influenced my + future studies. + </p> + <p> + That day, he suddenly appeared, alone, in the schoolroom, where I was + taking a class in geometrical drawing. I must explain that, at this time, + to eke out my ridiculous salary and, at all costs, to provide a living for + myself and my large family, I was a mighty pluralist, both inside the + college and out. At the college in particular, after two hours of physics, + chemistry or natural history, came, without respite, another two hours' + lesson, in which I taught the boys how to make a projection in descriptive + geometry, how to draw a geodetic plane, a curve of any kind whose law of + generation is known to us. This was called graphics. + </p> + <p> + The sudden irruption of the dread personage causes me no great flurry. + Twelve o'clock strikes, the pupils go out and we are left alone. I know + him to be a geometrician. The transcendental curve, perfectly drawn, may + work upon his gentler mood. I happen to have in my portfolio the very + thing to please him. Fortune serves me well in this special circumstance. + Among my boys, there is one who, though a regular dunce at everything + else, is a first rate hand with the square, the compass and the drawing + pen: a deft-fingered numskull, in short. + </p> + <p> + With the aid of a system of tangents of which I first showed him the rule + and the method of construction, my artist has obtained the ordinary + cycloid, followed by the interior and the exterior epicycloid and, lastly, + the same curves both lengthened and shortened. His drawings are admirable + Spider's webs, encircling the cunning curve in their net. The + draftsmanship is so accurate that it is easy to deduce from it beautiful + theorems, which would be very laborious to work out by the calculus. + </p> + <p> + I submit the geometrical masterpieces to my chief inspector, who is + himself said to be smitten with geometry. I modestly describe the method + of construction, I call his attention to the fine deductions which the + drawing enables one to make. It is labor lost: he gives but a heedless + glance at my sheets and flings each on the table as I hand it to him. + </p> + <p> + 'Alas!' said I to myself. 'There is a storm brewing; the cycloid won't + save you; it's your turn for a bite from the Crocodile!' + </p> + <p> + Not a bit of it. Behold the bugbear growing genial. He sits down on a + bench, with one leg here, another there, invites me to take a seat by his + side and, in a moment, we are discussing graphics. Then, bluntly: 'Have + you any money?' he asks. + </p> + <p> + Astounded at this strange question, I answer with a smile. + </p> + <p> + 'Don't be afraid,' he says. 'Confide in me. I'm asking you in your own + interest. Have you any capital?' + </p> + <p> + 'I have no reason to be ashamed of my poverty, monsieur l'inspecteur + general. I frankly admit, I possess nothing; my means are limited to my + modest salary.' + </p> + <p> + A frown greets my answer; and I hear, spoken in an undertone, as though my + confessor were talking to himself: 'That's sad, that's really very sad.' + </p> + <p> + Astonished to find my penury treated as sad, I ask for an explanation: I + was not accustomed to this solicitude on the part of my superiors. + </p> + <p> + 'Why, yes, it's a great pity,' continues the man reputed so terrible. 'I + have read your articles in the Annales des sciences naturelles. You have + an observant mind, a taste for research, a lively style and a ready pen. + You would have made a capital university professor.' + </p> + <p> + 'But that's just what I'm aiming at!' + </p> + <p> + 'Give up the idea.' + </p> + <p> + 'Haven't I the necessary attainment?' + </p> + <p> + 'Yes, you have; but you have no capital.' The great obstacle stands + revealed to me: woe to the poor in pocket! University teaching demands a + private income. Be as ordinary, as commonplace as you please, but, above + all, possess the coin that lets you cut a dash. That is the main thing; + the rest is a secondary condition. + </p> + <p> + And the worthy man tells me what poverty in a frock coat means. Though + less of a pauper than I, he has known the mortification of it; he + describes it to me, excitedly, in all its bitterness. I listen to him with + an aching heart; I see the refuge which was to shelter my future crumbling + before my eyes: 'You have done me a great service, sir,' I answered. 'You + put an end to my hesitation. For the moment, I give up my plan. I will + first see if it is possible to earn the small fortune which I shall need + if I am to teach in a decent manner.' + </p> + <p> + Thereupon we exchanged a friendly grip of the hand and parted. I never saw + him again. His fatherly arguments had soon convinced me: I was prepared to + hear the blunt truth. A few months earlier, I had received my nomination + as an assistant lecturer in zoology at the university of Poitiers. They + offered me a ridiculous salary. After paying the costs of moving, I should + have had hardly three francs a day left; and, on this income, I had to + keep my family, numbering seven in all. I hastened to decline the very + great honor. + </p> + <p> + No, science ought not to practice these jests. If we humble persons are of + use to her, she should at least enable us to live. If she can't do that, + then let her leave us to break stones on the highway. Oh, yes, I was + prepared for the truth when that honest fellow talked to me of frock + coated poverty! I am telling the story of a not very distant past. Since + then, things have improved considerably; but, when the pear was properly + ripened, I was no longer of an age to pick it. + </p> + <p> + And what was I to do now, to overcome the difficulty mentioned by my + inspector and confirmed by my personal experience? I would take up + industrial chemistry. The municipal lectures at Saint Martial placed a + spacious and fairly well-equipped laboratory at my disposal. Why not make + the most of it? + </p> + <p> + The chief manufacture of Avignon was madder. The farmer supplied the raw + material to the factories, where it was turned into purer and more + concentrated products. My predecessor had gone in for it and done well by + it, so people said. I would follow in his footsteps and use the vats and + furnaces, the expensive plant which I had inherited. So to work. + </p> + <p> + What should I set myself to produce? I proposed to extract the coloring + substance, alizarin, to separate it from the other matters found with it + in the root, to obtain it in the pure state and in a form that allowed of + the direct printing of the stuffs, a much quicker and more artistic method + than the old dyeing process. + </p> + <p> + Nothing could be simpler than this problem, once the solution was known; + but how tremendously obscure while it had still to be solved! I dare not + call to mind all the imagination and patience spent upon endless endeavors + which nothing, not even the madness of them, discouraged. What mighty + meditations in the somber church! What glowing dreams, soon to be followed + by sore disappointment, when experiment spoke the last word and upset the + scaffolding of my plans. Stubborn as the slave of old amassing a peculium + for his enfranchisement, I used to reply to the check of yesterday by the + fresh attempt of tomorrow, often as faulty as the others, sometimes the + richer by an improvement, and I went on indefatigably, for I too cherished + the indomitable ambition to set myself free. + </p> + <p> + Should I succeed? Perhaps so. I at last had a satisfactory answer. I + obtained, in a cheap and practical fashion, the pure coloring matter, + concentrated in a small volume and excellent for both printing and dyeing. + One of my friends took up my process on a large scale in his works; a few + calico factories adopted the produce and expressed themselves delighted + with it. The future smiled at last; a pink rift opened in my gray sky. I + should possess the modest fortune without which I must deny myself the + pleasure of teaching in a university. Freed of the torturing anxiety about + my daily bread, I should be able to live at ease among my insects. + </p> + <p> + In the midst of the joys of seeing these problems solved by chemistry, yet + another ray of sunshine was reserved for me, adding its gladness to that + of my success. Let us go back a couple of years. The chief inspectors + visited our grammar school. These personages travel in pairs: one attends + to literature, the other to science. When the inspection was over and the + books checked, the staff was summoned to the principal's drawing room, to + receive the parting admonitions of the two luminaries. The man of science + began. I should be sadly put to it to remember what he said. It was cold + professional prose, made up of soulless words which the hearer forgot once + the speaker's back was turned, words merely boring to both. I had heard + enough of these chilly sermons in my time; one more of them could not hope + to make an impression on me. + </p> + <p> + The inspector in literature spoke next. At the first words which he + uttered, I said to myself: 'Oho! This is a very different business!' + </p> + <p> + The speech was alive and vigorous and full of images; indifferent to + scholastic commonplaces, the ideas soared, hovering gently in the serene + heights of a kindly philosophy. This time, I listened with pleasure; I + even felt stirred. Here was no official homily: it was full of impassioned + zeal, of words that carried you with them, uttered by an honest man + accomplished in the art of speaking, an orator in the true sense of the + word. In all my school experience, I had never had such a treat. + </p> + <p> + When the meeting broke up, my heart beat faster than usual: 'What a pity,' + I thought, 'that my side, the science side, cannot bring me into contact, + some day, with that inspector! It seems to me that we should become great + friends.' + </p> + <p> + I inquired his name of my colleagues, who were always better informed than + I. They told me it was Victor Duruy. + </p> + <p> + Well, one day, two years later, as I was looking after my Saint Martial + laboratory in the midst of the steam from my vats, with my hands the color + of boiled lobster claws from constant dipping in the indelible red of my + dyes, there walked in, unexpectedly, a person whose features straightway + seemed familiar. I was right, it was the very man, the chief inspector + whose speech had once stirred me. M. Duruy was now minister of public + instruction. He was styled, 'Your excellency;' and this style, usually an + empty formula, was well deserved in the present case, for our new minister + excelled in his exalted functions. We all held him in high esteem. He was + the workers' minister, the man for the humble toiler. + </p> + <p> + 'I want to spend my last half-hour at Avignon with you,' said my visitor, + with a smile. 'That will be a relief from the official bowing and + scraping.' + </p> + <p> + Overcome by the honor paid me, I apologized for my costume—I was in + my shirt sleeves—and especially for my lobster claws, which I had + tried, for a moment, to hide behind my back. + </p> + <p> + 'You have nothing to apologize for. I came to see the worker. The working + man never looks better than in his overall, with the marks of his trade on + him. Let us have a talk. What are you doing just now?' + </p> + <p> + I explained, in a few words, the object of my researches; I showed my + product; I executed under the minister's eyes a little attempt at printing + in madder red. The success of the experiment and the simplicity of my + apparatus, in which an evaporating dish, maintained at boiling point under + a glass funnel, took the place of a steam chamber, caused him some + surprise. + </p> + <p> + 'I will help you,' he said. 'What do you want for your laboratory?' + </p> + <p> + 'Why, nothing, monsieur le ministre, nothing! With a little application, + the plant I have is ample.' + </p> + <p> + 'What, nothing! You are unique there! The others overwhelm me with + requests; their laboratories are never well enough supplied. And you, poor + as you are, refuse my offers!' + </p> + <p> + 'No, there is one thing which I will accept.' + </p> + <p> + 'What is that?' + </p> + <p> + 'The signal honor of shaking you by the hand.' + </p> + <p> + 'There you are, my friend, with all my heart. But that's not enough. What + else do you want?' + </p> + <p> + 'The Paris Jardin des Plantes is under your control. Should a crocodile + die, let them keep the hide for me. I will stuff it with straw and hang it + from the ceiling. Thus adorned, my workshop will rival the wizard's cave.' + </p> + <p> + The minister cast his eyes round the nave and glanced up at the Gothic + vault: 'Yes, it would look very well.' And he gave a laugh at my sally. 'I + now know you as a chemist,' he continued. 'I knew you already as a + naturalist and a writer. I have heard about your little animals. I am + sorry that I shall have to leave without seeing them. They must wait for + another occasion. My train will be starting presently. Walk with me to the + station, will you? We shall be alone and we can chat a bit more on the + way.' + </p> + <p> + We strolled along, discussing entomology and madder. My shyness had + disappeared. The self sufficiency of a fool would have left me dumb; the + fine frankness of a lofty mind put me at my ease. I told him of my + experiments in natural history, of my plans for a professorship, of my + fight with harsh fate, my hopes and fears. He encouraged me, spoke to me + of a better future. We reached the station and walked up and down outside, + talking away delightfully. + </p> + <p> + A poor old woman passed, all in rags, her back bent by age and years of + work in the fields. She furtively put out her hand for alms. Duruy felt in + his waistcoat, found a two franc piece and placed it in the outstretched + hand; I wanted to add a couple of sous as my contribution, but my pockets + were empty, as usual. I went to the beggar woman and whispered in her ear: + 'Do you know who gave you that? It's the emperor's minister. + </p> + <p> + The poor woman started; and her astounded eyes wandered from the + open-handed swell to the piece of silver and from the piece of silver to + the open-handed swell. What a surprise! What a windfall! + </p> + <p> + 'Que lou bon Dieu ie done longo vido e santa, pecaire!' she said, in her + cracked voice. + </p> + <p> + And, curtseying and nodding, she withdrew, still staring at the coin in + the palm of her hand. + </p> + <p> + 'What did she say?' asked Duruy. + </p> + <p> + 'She wished you long life and health.' 'And pecaire?' + </p> + <p> + 'Pecaire is a poem in itself: it sums up all the gentler passions.' + </p> + <p> + And I myself mentally repeated the artless vow. The man who stops so + kindly when a beggar puts out her hand has something better in his soul + than the mere qualities that go to make a minister. + </p> + <p> + We entered the station, still alone, as promised, and I quite without + misgivings. Had I but foreseen what was going to happen, how I should have + hastened to take my leave! Little by little, a group formed in front of + us. It was too late to fly; I had to screw up my courage. Came the general + of division and his officers, came the prefect and his secretary, the + mayor and his deputy, the school inspector and the pick of the staff. The + minister faced the ceremonial semicircle. I stood next to him. A crowd on + one side, we two on the other. Followed the regulation spinal contortions, + the empty obeisances which my dear Duruy had come to my laboratory to + forget. When bowing to St. Roch, in his corner niche, the worshipper at + the same time salutes the saint's humble companion. I was something like + St. Roch's dog in the presence of those honors which did not concern me. I + stood and looked on, with my awful red hands concealed behind my back, + under the broad brim of my felt hat. + </p> + <p> + After the official compliments had been exchanged, the conversation began + to languish; and the minister seized my right hand and gently drew it from + the mysterious recesses of my wide awake. + </p> + <p> + 'Why don't you show those gentlemen your hands?' he said. 'Most people + would be proud of them.' + </p> + <p> + 'Workman's hands,' said the prefect's secretary. 'Regular workman's + hands.' + </p> + <p> + The general, almost scandalized at seeing me in such distinguished + company, added: 'Hands of a dyer and cleaner.' + </p> + <p> + 'Yes, workman's hands,' retorted the minister, 'and I wish you many like + them. Believe me, they will do much to help the chief industry of your + city. Skilled as they are in chemical work, they are equally capable of + wielding the pen, the pencil, the scalpel and the lens. As you here seem + unaware of it, I am delighted to inform you.' + </p> + <p> + This time, I should have liked the ground to open and swallow me up. + Fortunately, the bell rang for the train to start. I said goodbye to the + minister and, hurriedly taking to flight, left him laughing at the trick + which he had played me. + </p> + <p> + The incident was noised about, could not help being so, for the peristyle + of a railway station keeps no secrets. I then learned to what annoyances + the shadow of the great exposes us. I was looked upon as an influential + person, having the favor of the gods at my disposal. Place hunters and + canvassers tormented me. One wanted a license to sell tobacco and stamps, + another a scholarship for his son, another an increase of his pension. I + had only to ask and I should obtain, said they. + </p> + <p> + O simple people, what an illusion was yours! You could not have hit upon a + worse intermediary. I figuring as a postulant! I have many faults, I + admit, but that is certainly not one of them. I got rid of the importunate + people as best I could, though they were utterly unable to fathom my + reserve. What would they have said had they known of the minister's offers + with regard to my laboratory and my jesting reply, in which I asked for a + crocodile skin to hang from my ceiling! They would have taken me for an + idiot. + </p> + <p> + Six months elapsed; and I received a letter summoning me to call upon the + minister at his office. I suspected a proposal to promote me to a more + important grammar school and wrote begging that I might be left where I + was, among my vats and my insects. A second letter arrived, more pressing + than the first and signed by the minister's own hand. This letter said: + 'Come at once, or I shall send my gendarmes to fetch you.' + </p> + <p> + There was no way out of it. Twenty-four hours later, I was in M. Duruy's + room. He welcomed me with exquisite cordiality, gave me his hand and, + taking up a number of the Moniteur: 'Read that,' he said. 'You refused my + chemical apparatus; but you won't refuse this. + </p> + <p> + I looked at the line to which his finger pointed. I read my name in the + list of the Legion of Honor. Quite stupid with surprise, I stammered the + first words of thanks that entered my head. + </p> + <p> + 'Come here,' said he, 'and let me give you the accolade. I will be your + sponsor. You will like the ceremony all the better if it is held in + private, between you and me: I know you!' + </p> + <p> + He pinned the red ribbon to my coat, kissed me on both cheeks, made me + telegraph the great event to my family. What a morning, spent with that + good man! + </p> + <p> + I well know the vanity of decorative ribbonry and tinware, especially + when, as too often happens, intrigue degrades the honor conferred; but, + coming as it did, that bit of ribbon is precious to me. It is a relic, not + an object for show. I keep it religiously in a drawer. + </p> + <p> + There was a parcel of big books on the table a collection of the reports + on the progress of science drawn up for the International Exhibition of + 1867, which had just closed. + </p> + <p> + 'Those books are for you,' continued the minister. 'Take them with you. + You can look through them at your leisure: they may interest you. There is + something about your insects in them. You're to have this too: it will pay + for your journey. The trip which I made you take must not be at your own + expense. If there is anything over, spend it on your laboratory.' + </p> + <p> + And he handed me a roll of twelve hundred francs. In vain I refused, + remarking that my journey was not so burdensome as all that; besides, his + embrace and his bit of ribbon were of inestimable value compared with my + disbursements. He insisted: 'Take it,' he said, 'or I shall be very angry. + There's something else: you must come to the emperor's with me tomorrow, + to the reception of the learned societies.' + </p> + <p> + Seeing me greatly perplexed and as though demoralized by the prospect of + an imperial interview: 'Don't try to escape me,' he said, 'or look out for + the gendarmes of my letter! You saw the fellows in the bearskin caps on + your way up. Mind you don't fall into their hands. In any case, lest you + should be tempted to run away, we will go to the Tuileries together, in my + carriage.' + </p> + <p> + Things happened as he wished. The next day, in the minister's company, I + was ushered into a little drawing room at the Tuileries by chamberlains in + knee breeches and silver-buckled shoes. They were queer people to look at. + Their uniforms and their stiff gait gave them the appearance, in my eyes, + of beetles who, by way of wing cases, wore a great, gold-laced dress coat, + with a key in the small of the back. There were already a score of persons + from all parts waiting in the room. These included geographical explorers, + botanists, geologists, antiquaries, archeologists, collectors of + prehistoric flints, in short, the usual representatives of provincial + scientific life. + </p> + <p> + The emperor entered, very simply dressed, with no parade about him beyond + a wide, red, watered silk ribbon across his chest. No sign of majesty, an + ordinary man, round and plump, with a large moustache and a pair of + half-closed, drowsy eyelids. He moved from one to the other, talking to + each of us for a moment as the minister mentioned our names and the nature + of our occupations. He showed a fair amount of information as he changed + his subject from the ice floes of Spitzbergen to the dunes of Gascony, + from a Carlovingian charter to the flora of the Sahara, from the progress + in beetroot growing to Caesar's trenches before Alesia. When my turn came, + he questioned me upon the hypermetamorphosis of the Meloidae [a beetle + family including the oil beetle and the Spanish fly], my last essay in + entomology. I answered as best I could, floundering a little in the proper + mode of address, mixing up the everyday monsieur with sire, a word whose + use was so entirely new to me. I passed through the dread straits and + others succeeded me. My five minutes' conversation with an imperial + majesty was, they tell me, a most distinguished honor. I am quite ready to + believe them, but I never had a desire to repeat it. + </p> + <p> + The reception came to an end, bows were exchanged and we were dismissed. A + luncheon awaited us at the minister's house. I sat on his right, not a + little embarrassed by the privilege; on his left was a physiologist of + great renown. Like the others, I spoke of all manner of things, including + even Avignon Bridge. Duruy's son, sitting opposite me, chaffed me + pleasantly about the famous bridge on which everybody dances; he smiled at + my impatience to get back to the thyme-scented hills and the gray olive + yards rich in Grasshoppers. + </p> + <p> + 'What!' said his father. 'Won't you visit our museums, our collections? + There are some very interesting things there.' + </p> + <p> + 'I know, monsieur le ministre, but I shall find better things, things more + to my taste, in the incomparable museum of the fields.' + </p> + <p> + 'Then what do you propose to do?' + </p> + <p> + 'I propose to go back tomorrow. + </p> + <p> + I did go back, I had had enough of Paris: never had I felt such tortures + of loneliness as in that immense whirl of humanity. To get away, to get + away was my one idea. + </p> + <p> + Once home among my family, I felt a mighty load off my mind and a great + joy in my heart, where rang a peal of bells proclaiming the delights of my + approaching emancipation. Little by little, the factory that was to set me + free rose skywards, full of promises. Yes, I should possess the modest + income which would crown my ambition by allowing me to descant on animals + and plants in a university chair. + </p> + <p> + 'Well, no,' said Fate, 'you shall not acquire the freedman's peculium; you + shall remain a slave, dragging your chain behind you; your peal of bells + rings false!' + </p> + <p> + Hardly was the factory in full swing when a piece of news was bruited, at + first a vague rumor, an echo of probabilities rather than certainties, and + then a positive statement leaving no room for doubt. Chemistry had + obtained the madder dye by artificial means; thanks to a laboratory + concoction, it was utterly overthrowing the agriculture and industries of + my district. This result, while destroying my work and my hopes, did not + surprise me unduly. I myself had toyed with the problem of artificial + alizarin and I knew enough about it to foresee that, in no very distant + future, the work of the chemist's retort would take the place of the work + of the fields. + </p> + <p> + It was finished; my hopes were dashed to the ground. What to do next? Let + us change our lever and begin to roll Sisyphus' stone once more. Let us + try to draw from the ink pot what the madder vat declines to yield. + Laboremus! + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life of the Fly, by J. 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