PECULIAR MOTIONS OF INSECTS. 



395 



Mygale avicularia, from Madame Merian. 



and we may, therefore, remark, in passing, that any 

 invention for enabling men to fly must take the 

 comparative weakness of our muscles into primary 

 consideration. Let any one try merely to stretch out 

 his arm as a hawk, or a swift fly ( Volucella), does its 

 wings, when hovering apparently motionless in the 

 air, and the quick recurrence of weariness, speedily 

 increasing to pain, will afford unequivocal proof of 

 the apparently exhaustless vigour of their vojitant 

 muscles, compared with ours. It would be no very 

 difficult matter to give voluminous illustrations on 

 this curious subject. A French naturalist, M. Cha- 

 brier, has actually written an elaborate quarto vo- 

 lume, on the flight of insects.* Though Chabrier 

 has unquestionable talents of the first order for re- 

 s earch, it is unfortunate that he permits his fancy to 

 travel somewhat beyond the boundaries of fact; and 

 t o this, no doubt, we are to ascribe his retracting his 



* Essai sur le Vol des Insectes, 4to. Paris, 1801. 



