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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/3422-h.zip b/3422-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9a078e6 --- /dev/null +++ b/3422-h.zip 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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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 + +Posting Date: February 28, 2009 [EBook #3422] +Release Date: September, 2002 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF THE FLY *** + + + + +Produced by Gerry Rising + + + + + +THE LIFE OF THE FLY: + +With Which are Interspersed Some Chapters of Autobiography + + +By J. Henri Fabre + + +Translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos + +Fellow of the Zoological Society of London + + + + +CONTENTS + + TRANSLATOR'S NOTE + + I THE HARMAS + II THE ANTHRAX + III ANOTHER PROBER (PERFORATOR) + IV LARVAL DIMORPHISM + V HEREDITY + VI MY SCHOOLING + VII THE POND + VIII THE CADDIS WORM + IX THE GREENBOTTLES + X THE GRAY FLESH FLIES + XI THE BUMBLEBEE FLY + XII MATHEMATICAL MEMORIES: NEWTON'S BINOMIAL THEOREM + XIII MATHEMATICAL MEMORIES: MY LITTLE TABLE + XIV THE BLUEBOTTLE: THE LAYING + XV THE BLUEBOTTLE: THE GRUB + XVI A PARASITE OF THE MAGGOT + XVII RECOLLECTIONS OF CHILDHOOD + XVIII INSECTS AND MUSHROOMS + XIX A MEMORABLE LESSON + XX INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY + + + + +TRANSLATOR'S NOTE + +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. + +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.' + +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!' + +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. + +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. + +[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.] + + + + +CHAPTER I. THE HARMAS + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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]. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER II. THE ANTHRAX + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER III. ANOTHER PROBER (PERFORATOR) + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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.' + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. LARVAL DIMORPHISM + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER V. HEREDITY + +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? + +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. + +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? + +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." + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +"The idea of wasting one's time with that nonsense!" he would have +thundered. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. MY SCHOOLING + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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!' + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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.' + +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. + +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.' + +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. + +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.' + +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. + +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. + +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.' + + + + +CHAPTER VII. THE POND + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +"Suppose we bred some ducks," says mother. "They sell very well in town. +Henri would mind them and take them down to the brook." + +"Very well," says father, "let's breed some ducks. There may be +difficulties in the way; but we'll have a try." + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +"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!" + +Broken hearted, I obey. Diamonds, gold dust, petrified ram's horn, +heavenly beetle are all flung on a rubbish heap outside the door. + +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!" + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. THE CADDIS WORM + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. THE GREENBOTTLES + +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. + +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. + +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!' + +And the harmless beast, our auxiliary in the terrible battle which +husbandry wages against the insect, has its head smashed in and dies. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER X. THE GREY FLESH FLIES + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. THE BUMBLEBEE FLY + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +'It's like that every year,' he said. 'The clump is overrun by +Nightingales.' + +'And the reason?' + +'The reason is that there is a hive close by, behind that wall.' + +I looked at the man in amazement, unable to understand what connection +there could be between a hive and the thronging nightingales. + +'Why, yes,' he added, 'there are a lot of nightingales because there are +a lot of bees. + +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.' + +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. + +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. + +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.) + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. MATHEMATICAL MEMORIES: NEWTON'S BINOMIAL THEOREM + +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.' + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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!' + +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. + +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. + +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. + +'Very well,' I replied. 'Come the day after tomorrow, at five, and we'll +begin.' + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +'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.' + +The future was to show that my distrust was justified. Narrow mindedness +and petty jealousy prevail everywhere alike. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +'It will be plain sailing,' said I to myself, 'if algebra is no more +difficult than this.' + +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. + +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. + +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: + +'You understand, because you succeed in making another understand.' + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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: + +'Do you understand?' + +It was a futile question, but useful for gaining time. Myself not +understanding, I was convinced beforehand that he did not understand +either. + +'No,' he replied, accusing himself, perhaps, in his simple mind, of +possessing a brain incapable of taking in those transcendental verities. + +'Let us try another method.' + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +'What are you doing with all those rows of figures amounting to zero?' I +asked him one day. + +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. + +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. + +'I shall have to learn analytical geometry some day,' I said. 'Will you +help me?' + +'I'm quite willing,' he replied, with a smile in which I read his lack +of confidence in my determination. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +Suppose I say: 'Baptiste, give me my slippers.' + +I am expressing myself in plain language, a little poor in variants. I +know exactly what I am saying and my speech is understood. + +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! + +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? + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. MATHEMATICAL MEMORIES: MY LITTLE TABLE + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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.' + +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.' + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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: + +'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.' + +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. + +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. + +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.' + +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. + +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! + +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? + +'Br-r-r-rum! Br-r-r-rum! Br-r-r-rum!' goes the procession. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. THE BLUEBOTTLE: THE LAYING + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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). + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. THE BLUEBOTTLE: THE GRUB + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. A PARASITE OF THE MAGGOT + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. RECOLLECTIONS OF CHILDHOOD + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +All abashed, I open my hand and show my blue egg on its bed of moss. + +'Ah!' says his reverence. 'A Saxicola's egg! Where did you get it?' + +'Up there, father, under a stone.' + +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. + +'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.' + +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. + +'Saxicola,' the priest had said, on seeing my find. + +'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?' + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. INSECTS AND MUSHROOMS + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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.] + +He smiled at my apprehensions and went away with a poor opinion of my +knowledge in the matter of mushrooms. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +[Recorder's note: Modern mycologists warn against Fabre's claim that +boiling neutralizes all mushroom poisons.] + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. A MEMORABLE LESSON + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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'? + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +'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!' + +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. + +Astounded at this strange question, I answer with a smile. + +'Don't be afraid,' he says. 'Confide in me. I'm asking you in your own +interest. Have you any capital?' + +'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.' + +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.' + +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. + +'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.' + +'But that's just what I'm aiming at!' + +'Give up the idea.' + +'Haven't I the necessary attainment?' + +'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. + +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.' + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +The inspector in literature spoke next. At the first words which he +uttered, I said to myself: 'Oho! This is a very different business!' + +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. + +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.' + +I inquired his name of my colleagues, who were always better informed +than I. They told me it was Victor Duruy. + +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. + +'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.' + +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. + +'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?' + +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. + +'I will help you,' he said. 'What do you want for your laboratory?' + +'Why, nothing, monsieur le ministre, nothing! With a little application, +the plant I have is ample.' + +'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!' + +'No, there is one thing which I will accept.' + +'What is that?' + +'The signal honor of shaking you by the hand.' + +'There you are, my friend, with all my heart. But that's not enough. +What else do you want?' + +'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.' + +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.' + +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. + +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. + +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! + +'Que lou bon Dieu ie done longo vido e santa, pecaire!' she said, in her +cracked voice. + +And, curtseying and nodding, she withdrew, still staring at the coin in +the palm of her hand. + +'What did she say?' asked Duruy. + +'She wished you long life and health.' 'And pecaire?' + +'Pecaire is a poem in itself: it sums up all the gentler passions.' + +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. + +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. + +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. + +'Why don't you show those gentlemen your hands?' he said. 'Most people +would be proud of them.' + +'Workman's hands,' said the prefect's secretary. 'Regular workman's +hands.' + +The general, almost scandalized at seeing me in such distinguished +company, added: 'Hands of a dyer and cleaner.' + +'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.' + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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.' + +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. + +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. + +'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!' + +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! + +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. + +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. + +'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.' + +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.' + +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.' + +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. + +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. + +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. + +'What!' said his father. 'Won't you visit our museums, our collections? +There are some very interesting things there.' + +'I know, monsieur le ministre, but I shall find better things, things +more to my taste, in the incomparable museum of the fields.' + +'Then what do you propose to do?' + +'I propose to go back tomorrow. + +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. + +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. + +'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!' + +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. + +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! + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life of the Fly, by J. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.08.01*END** +[Portions of this header are copyright (C) 2001 by Michael S. Hart +and may be reprinted only when these Etexts are free of all fees.] +[Project Gutenberg is a TradeMark and may not be used in any sales +of Project Gutenberg Etexts or other materials be they hardware or +software or any other related product without express permission.] + + + + + +Preparer: Gerry Rising +295 Robinhill Drive +Williamsville, NY 14221 +insrisg@acsu.buffalo.edu + + + + + +THE LIFE OF THE FLY: +With Which are Interspersed Some Chapters of Autobiography + +By J. Henri Fabre + + + + +Translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos +Fellow of the Zoological Society of London + + + + +CONTENTS + +TRANSLATOR'S NOTE +I THE HARMAS +II THE ANTHRAX +III ANOTHER PROBER (PERFORATOR) +IV LARVAL DIMORPHISM +V HEREDITY +VI MY SCHOOLING +VII THE POND +VIII THE CADDIS WORM +IX THE GREENBOTTLES +X THE GRAY FLESH FLIES +XI THE BUMBLEBEE FLY +XII MATHEMATICAL MEMORIES: NEWTON'S BINOMIAL THEOREM +XIII MATHEMATICAL MEMORIES: MY LITTLE TABLE +XIV THE BLUEBOTTLE: THE LAYING +XV THE BLUEBOTTLE: THE GRUB +XVI A PARASITE OF THE MAGGOT +XVII RECOLLECTIONS OF CHILDHOOD +XVIII INSECTS AND MUSHROOMS +XIX A MEMORABLE LESSON +XX INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY + + + + +TRANSLATOR'S NOTE + +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. + +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.' + +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!' + +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. + +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. + +[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.] + + + + +CHAPTER I THE HARMAS + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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." + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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]. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER II THE ANTHRAX + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER III ANOTHER PROBER (PERFORATOR) + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 Bru11e (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.' + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER IV LARVAL DIMORPHISM + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER V HEREDITY + +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? + +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. + +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? + +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." + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +"The idea of wasting one's time with that nonsense!" he would have +thundered. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER VI MY SCHOOLING + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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!' + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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.' + +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. + +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.' + +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. + +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.' + +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. + +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. + +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.' + + + + +CHAPTER VII THE POND + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +"Suppose we bred some ducks," says mother. "They sell very well in +town. Henri would mind them and take them down to the brook." + +"Very well," says father, "let's breed some ducks. There may be +difficulties in the way; but we'll have a try." + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +"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!" + +Broken hearted, I obey. Diamonds, gold dust, petrified ram's horn, +heavenly beetle are all flung on a rubbish heap outside the door. + +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!" + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII THE CADDIS WORM + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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, be 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER IX THE GREENBOTTLES + +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. + +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. + +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!' + +And the harmless beast, our auxiliary in the terrible battle which +husbandry wages against the insect, has its head smashed in and +dies. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER X THE GREY FLESH FLIES + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER XI THE BUMBLEBEE FLY + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +'It's like that every year,' he said. 'The clump is overrun by +Nightingales.' + +'And the reason? ' + +'The reason is that there is a hive close by, behind that wall.' + +I looked at the man in amazement, unable to understand what +connection there could be between a hive and the thronging +nightingales. + +'Why, yes,' he added, 'there are a lot of nightingales because +there are a lot of bees. + +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.' + +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. + +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. + +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.) + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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, + + + + +CHAPTER XII MATHEMATICAL MEMORIES: NEWTON'S BINOMIAL THEOREM + +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.' + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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!' + +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. + +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. + +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. + +'Very well,' I replied. 'Come the day after tomorrow, at five, and +we'll begin.' + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +'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.' + +The future was to show that my distrust was justified. Narrow +mindedness and petty jealousy prevail everywhere alike. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +'It will be plain sailing,' said I to myself, 'if algebra is no +more difficult than this.' + +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. + +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. + +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: + +'You understand, because you succeed in making another understand.' + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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: + +'Do you understand? ' + +It was a futile question, but useful for gaining time. Myself not +understanding, I was convinced beforehand that he did not +understand either. + +'No,' he replied, accusing himself, perhaps, in his simple mind, of +possessing a brain incapable of taking in those transcendental +verities. + +'Let us try another method.' + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +'What are you doing with all those rows of figures amounting to +zero? ' I asked him one day. + +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. + +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. + +'I shall have to learn analytical geometry some day,' I said. +'Will you help me? ' + +'I'm quite willing,' he replied, with a smile in which I read his +lack of confidence in my determination. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +Suppose I say: 'Baptiste, give me my slippers.' + +I am expressing myself in plain language, a little poor in +variants. I know exactly what I am saying and my speech is +understood. + +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! + +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? + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII MATHEMATICAL MEMORIES: MY LITTLE TABLE + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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.' + +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.' + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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: + +'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.' + +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. + +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. + +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.' + +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. + +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! + +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? + +'Br-r-r-rum! Br-r-r-rum! Br-r-r-rum!' goes the procession. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + + + + +CHAPTER XIV THE BLUEBOTTLE: THE LAYING + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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). + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER XV THE BLUEBOTTLE: THE GRUB + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI A PARASITE OF THE MAGGOT + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII RECOLLECTIONS OF CHILDHOOD + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +All abashed, I open my hand and show my blue egg on its bed of +moss. + +'Ah!' says his reverence. 'A Saxicola's egg! Where did you get it? +' + +'Up there, father, under a stone.' + +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. + +'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.' + +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. + +'Saxicola,' the priest had said, on seeing my find. + +'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? ' + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII INSECTS AND MUSHROOMS + +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 1arvae, 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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.] + +He smiled at my apprehensions and went away with a poor opinion of +my knowledge in the matter of mushrooms. + +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. + +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. + +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 he so formidable. The dish was, if not excellent, at least +harmless. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +[Recorder's note: Modern mycologists warn against Fabre's claim +that boiling neutralizes all mushroom poisons.] + + + + +CHAPTER XIX A MEMORABLE LESSON + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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'? + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER XX INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +'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!' + +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. + +Astounded at this strange question, I answer with a smile. + +'Don't be afraid,' he says. 'Confide in me. I'm asking you in +your own interest. Have you any capital? ' + +'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.' + +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.' + +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. + + '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.' + +'But that's just what I'm aiming at!' + +'Give up the idea.' + +'Haven't I the necessary attainment? ' + +'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. + +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.' + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +The inspector in literature spoke next. At the first words which +he uttered, I said to myself: 'Oho! This is a very different +business!' + +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. + +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.' + +I inquired his name of my colleagues, who were always better +informed than I. They told me it was Victor Duruy. + +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. + +'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.' + +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. + +'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? ' + +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. + +'I will help you,' he said. 'What do you want for your laboratory? +' + +'Why, nothing, monsieur le ministre, nothing! With a little +application, the plant I have is ample.' + +'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!' + +'No, there is one thing which I will accept.' + +'What is that? ' + +'The signal honor of shaking you by the hand.' + +'There you are, my friend, with all my heart. But that's not +enough. What else do you want? ' + +'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.' + +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.' + +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. + +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. + +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! + +'Que lou bon Dieu ie done longo vido e santa, pecaire!' she said, +in her cracked voice. + +And, curtseying and nodding, she withdrew, still staring at the +coin in the palm of her hand. + +'What did she say? ' asked Duruy. + +'She wished you long life and health.' +'And pecaire? ' + +'Pecaire is a poem in itself: it sums up all the gentler passions.' + +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. + +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. + +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. + +'Why don't you show those gentlemen your hands? ' he said. 'Most +people would be proud of them.' + + 'Workman's hands,' said the prefect's secretary. 'Regular +workman's hands.' + +The general, almost scandalized at seeing me in such distinguished +company, added: 'Hands of a dyer and cleaner.' + +'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.' + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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.' + +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. + +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. + +'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!' + +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! + +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. + +There was a parcel of big books on the tab1e a collection of the +reports on the progress of science drawn up for the International +Exhibition of 1867, which had just closed. + +'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.' + +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.' + +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.' + +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. + +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. + +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. + +'What!' said his father. 'Won't you visit our museums, our +collections? There are some very interesting things there.' + +'I know, monsieur le ministre, but I shall find better things, +things more to my taste, in the incomparable museum of the fields.' + +'Then what do you propose to do? ' + +'I propose to go back tomorrow. + +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. + +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. + + '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!' + +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. + +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! + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg Etext of The Life of the Fly, by J. Henri Fabre + diff --git a/old/tlfly10.zip b/old/tlfly10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..b649d4a --- /dev/null +++ b/old/tlfly10.zip |