64 THE BROOK BOOK 



dragon-flies. They were indeed giants in those 

 days. Imagine meeting a dragon-fly three feet 

 long out on some foraging trip ! No doubt the 

 mosquitoes of those times were large in propor- 

 tion, which is added reason for preferring the 

 twentieth century, bad as it may be. The name 

 "dragon-fly" is generally in use now, and is one 

 of the most descriptive of common names. To 

 smaller insects both in the water and in the air 

 this creature is a truly fearsome dragon. To the 

 more graceful, delicate species of dragon-flies, the 

 French have given the name "damsel-flies." Quick 

 to see its appropriateness, our entomologists have 

 adopted this name, and it has come into common 

 use in this country. 



Like its fiercer and more brilliant cousin, the 

 damsel-fly lives the larger part of the year under 

 water. The nymphs are very common in the 

 more leisurely parts of our streams. They cling 

 to the water plants and are difficult to see because 

 of their slender form and green color. They differ 

 from the nymphs of dragon-flies in having at the 

 hinder end of the body three flat, oval appendages 

 which look like little tail feathers. These are plate- 

 like tracheal gills. 



After we have watched the dragon-fly through 

 the changing year, dragging the nymphs from 

 their muddy haunts and watching the flight of the 

 gauzy winged "darning needles," hawking their 

 prey in the air, we shall know better how to un- 

 derstand why they hover so persistently over the 

 water, never minding the danger to their fine coats 



