THE DRAGON-FLY NEW-BORN. 307 



got all its natural length. The wings, which are 

 the large and useful organs of these flies, have as 

 yet very little more volume than they had when 

 enclosed in the short and straitened pupa case. 

 They are merely furrowed plates, or laminae, of 

 some thickness, and arranged one over the other, 

 as if packed together. One can scarcely conceive 

 how each of these wings can acquire its proper 

 dimensions, how it is to enlarge and lengthen 

 sufficiently. They are folded into plaits like a 

 fan, or like the leaf of a tree just about to be 

 developed ; hence they naturally appear very nar- 

 row, and the cause of their appearing so short is, 

 that each of their longitudinal portions is folded up 

 like the paper lanterns, more frequently used by 

 nuns than by other persons." 



The remaining portion of the dragon-fly's his- 

 tory will be found in the next chapter.* 



Some curious instances are given by various 

 authors of the escape of more than one insect 

 from the same pupa. Thus we are told that a 

 male and female emperor moth were once pro- 

 duced from one larva, and therefore one pupa, of 

 extraordinary size. Messrs. Kirby and Spence 

 * See p. 316. 



