Chap. XIV.] GRADATION OF CHARACTERS. 141 



These three marks, 5, c, and d, with the intervening bright 

 shades, form together the so-called elliptic ornament. 

 These oi-naments stand in a line parallel to the shaft, and 

 manifestly correspond in position with the ball-and-socket 

 ocelli. Their extremely elegant appearance cannot be ap- 

 preciated in the drawing, as the orange and leaden tints, 

 contrasting so well with the black marks, cannot be 

 shown. 



Between one of the elliptic ornaments and a perfect 

 ball-and-socket ocellus, the gradation is so perfect that it 

 is scarcely possible to decide when the latter term ought 

 to be used. I regret that I have not given an additional 

 drawing, besides Fig. 58, which stands about half-way in 

 the series between one of the simple spots and a perfect 

 ocellus. The passage from the elliptic ornament into an 

 ocellus is eifected by the elongation and greater curvature 

 in opposed directions of the lower black mark [b), and 

 more especially of the upper one (c), together with the 

 contraction of the irregular sub-triangular or narrow mark 

 (c?), so that at last these three marks become confluent, 

 forming an irregular elliptic ring. This ring is gradually 

 rendered more and more circular and regular, at the same 

 time increasing in diameter. Traces of the junction of all 

 three elongated spots or marks, especially of the two upper 

 ones, can still be observed in many of the most perfect 

 ocelli. The broken state of the black ring on the upper 

 side of the ocellus in Fig. 56 was pointed out. The ir- 

 regular sub-triangular or narrow mark (c?) manifestly 

 forms, by its contraction and equalization, the thickened 

 portion of the ring on the left upper side of the perfect 

 ball-and-socket ocellus. The lower part of the ring is in- 

 variably a little thicker than the other parts (see Fig. 56), 

 and this follows from the lower black mark of the elliptic 

 ornament {b) having been originally thicker than the 

 upper mark (c). Every step can be followed in the pro- 



