threatening sound would very plausibly result in cautious immobility.  As for its instantaneous assumption of the pose, to move instantaneously is the next best thing to not moving at all.  It is less likely to startle than a slow movement.  Twigs which have been bent get suddenly released in the natural course of events; they do not move slowly.  The instantaneous appearance of a twig where no twig was before may possibly give the victim pause; it may halt out of caution, not out of terror.—­[TRANS.]]

[Footnote 3:  The word “butterfly” is here used, as is the French papillon, as a general term for all Lepidoptera; the insect in question is of course a moth.]

[Footnote 4:  Now classified as Lasiocampa quercus.—­[TRANS.]]

[Footnote 5:  Rabasso is the Provencal name for the truffle; hence a truffle-hunter is known as a rabassier.]

[Footnote 6:  Since these lines were written I have found it consuming one of the true tuberaceae, the Tuber Requienii, Tul., of the size of a cherry.]

[Footnote 7:  The difficulty in conceiving this theory lies in the fact that the waves travel in straight lines.  On the other hand, matter in a state of degradation may expel particles highly energised and of enormous velocity.  Most antennae are covered with hairs of inconceivable fineness; others may contain cavities of almost infinite minuteness.  Is it not thinkable that they are able to detect, in the gaseous atmosphere, floating particles that are not gaseous?  This would not prevent the specialisation of antennae as mere feelers in some insects and crustaceans.  The difficulty of such a supposition lies in the fact of discrimination; but if we did not possess a sense of taste or smell discrimination would seem inconceivable in their case also.—­[TRANS.]]

[Footnote 8:  This classification is now superseded; the Pea and Bean Weevils—­Bruchus pisi and Bruchus lenti—­are classed as Bruchidae, in the series of Phytophaga.  Most of the other weevils are classed as Curculionidae, series Rhyncophora.—­[TRANS.]]

[Footnote 9:  The Christmas number (Noel) of the Annales politiques et litteraires:  Les Enfants juges par leurs peres, 1901.]

[Footnote 10:  The American usage is to call acridians grasshoppers and Locustidae locusts.  The English usage is to call Locustidae grasshoppers and acridians locusts.  The Biblical locust is an acridian.]

  Demy 8vo, Cloth, 10/6 net

  FABRE:  POET OF SCIENCE

  By G. V. LEGROS
  With a Photogravure Frontispiece

     This biography is based upon long acquaintance and access to family
     letters, and is a striking record of a wonderful life.

“Stands out as a really sound, sympathetic, and artistic piece of work....  The simple story of the life-work of an observer of nature in general, and of insects in particular, is unfolded in a manner which makes it as fascinating as a romance.”—­The Times.

     “A rare biography.”—­Saturday Review.