ole area
of the cage, sounding the soil on this side and on that and ploughing
superficial furrows in it. They get as far from the brick as the limits
of the enclosure permit.

They dig, by preference, against the base of the cover; here they make
several borings, without any reason, so far as I can see, the bed of
soil being everywhere equally assailable away from the brick; the first
point sounded is abandoned for a second, which is rejected in its turn.
A third and a fourth are tried; then another and yet another. At the
sixth point the selection is made. In all these cases the excavation is
by no means a grave destined to receive the Mouse, but a mere trial
boring, of inconsiderable depth, its diameter being that of the
digger's body.

A return is made to the Mouse, who suddenly quivers, oscillates,
advances, recoils, first in one direction, then in another, until in
the end the little hillock of sand is crossed. Now we are free of the
brick and on excellent soil. Little by little the load advances. This
is no cartage by a team hauling in the open, but a jerky displacement,
the work of invisible levers. The body seems to move of its own accord.

This time, after so many hesitations, their efforts are concerted; at
all events, the load reaches the region sounded far more rapidly than I
expected. Then begins the burial, according to the usual method. It is
one o'clock. The Necrophori have allowed the hour-hand of the clock to
go half round the dial while verifying the condition of the surrounding
spots and displacing the Mouse.

In this experiment it appears at the outset that the males play a major
part in the affairs of the household. Better-equipped, perhaps, than
their mates, they make investigations when a difficulty occurs; they
inspect the soil, recognize whence the check arises and choose the
point at which the grave shall be made. In the lengthy experiment of
the brick, the two males alone explored the surroundings and set to
work to solve the difficulty. Confiding in their assistance, the
female, motionless beneath the Mouse, awaited the result of their
investigations. The tests which are to follow will confirm the merits
of these valiant auxiliaries.

In the second place, the point where the Mouse lay being recognized as
presenting an insurmountable resistance, there was no grave dug in
advance, a little farther off, in the light soil. All attempts were
limited, I repeat, to shallow soundings which in