232 ON A DRAGON PLY. 



hawk around, but never go far afield, and by remaining in one spot 

 you are more likely to catch sight of a larva, like a Captain Boy ton, or a 

 diver in his water-tight dress, coming up out of the water on to 

 the vegetation. The male in the winged form rather bears out the rule 

 of the gayer clothing, but mostly in primitive or simple colour, and is of 

 the two sexes a little more active. The females settle more frequently 

 on the vegetation. 



Very soon you will descry a male on the wing, which you keep in 

 your eye as far as the range will admit without turning your liead, 

 on the look out for a partner. This is done with an ehui that a 

 Frenchman might admire, seizing her with such force, that sometimes, 

 like a harrier overrunning his game, they topple over together. This 

 brings their wings into such juxtaposition that their flight is impeded, 

 and after a time they settle. Of about 200 sorts in England, nearly 

 a tithe may be found here, mostly with blue about them, and to see 

 this action of seizure you cannot resist the simile of a policeman chasing 

 and securing a runaway. 



The plan to keep them captured until the deposit of the eggs begins 

 is this : For catching the Stickleback without hurt, the best plan is the 

 open silk thread net which I suggested (" Midland Naturalist," 

 1881, page 110). In this case, to make your work easy, you have ready 

 a glass shade about seven inches across and ten inches high, such as 

 is used to cover small chimney, ornaments. Let it be white and thin, 

 with, if possible, a knob at the top, attached to about a foot of fine 

 wire or thread so as to hang it from the stout joint of a fishing rod or 

 a stick about five feet long. If it hasn't a knob you have to fix a 

 lashing, which is awkward. You also have ready a thin piece of cork 

 or light wood about nine or ten inches across. This is to slip iinder to 

 stand the shade upon. Keep these and a pair of scissors all ready 

 within reach. 



Having beforehand chosen a good spot and placed yourself where 

 you may sight them, which you may soon do should the morning be a 

 hot one, you select those closest to the edge of the land or just over it, 

 and quietly bring round with your left hand the glass shade somewhat 

 above them, and gently lower it over them, then slipping the piece 

 of cork under it as a base, and having the scissoi-s handy to cut any 

 stems in the glass which you leave there for them to cling to. The 

 open mesh of the net puzzles the fish, and you will find that the 

 transparency of the glass, in a similar way, puzzles the insect, so 

 that if it be carefully managed they will not be disturbed, and you 

 have them secured in a crystal palace. 



This kind of glass shade, perforated with a hole through the knob 

 at the top to let the air escape, can sometimes be used for securing 

 water specimens bj- lowering it over them into the water. By 

 standing your cork base with your glass shade upon it in the centre 

 of a handkerchief, and tying the four corners over the top, you have a 

 capital mode of sheepishly carrying your capture home. 



