218 THE HARMONIES OP NATUKE. 



prodigious leap of the grasshopper, or the aerial velocity of the 

 dragonfly are continual sources of enjoyment for these active 

 little creatures. Thus every tree, every shrub, every flower by 

 the roadside is the residence or the food of numbers of tiny 

 beings to whom existence is a pleasure. We surely do not 

 require the dryads or the nymphs of the ancients to animate 

 our groves and fields, or to lend a voice to dumb Nature; the aid 

 of mythological fictions is superfluous where such an exuberance 

 of life bursts forth from every plant, and sings the praises of the 

 Creator. As soon as the morning sun gilds the summits of 

 the mountains, millions of insects awake and stretch their limbs, 

 or expand their wings to enjoy the light of day ; the evening 

 calls forth new legions from the shady recesses of the forest, and 

 even the dark night rejoices in children of her own. 



In the glowing noonday heat of summer all nature seems 

 indeed to sleep : the birds are silent, and the wild beasts of the 

 forest retire to their lairs ; but even then an attentive ear is still 

 able to distinguish among the shrubs and herbage the low con- 

 fused hum of numberless insects. Thus at all hours their voices 

 eloquently proclaim the universality of life, and the grandeur of 

 the Deity from whom all life proceeds ! 



On surveying the distribution of the two great divisions of 

 the insect world over the face of the earth, we find new reasons 

 to admire His wisdom and beneficence. Thus in the loftier 

 Alps, where the growth of trees is reduced to stunted proportions, 

 but where the meadows are still covered with a variety of beauti- 

 ful sweet-scented flowers, and afford the finest pasture to nume- 

 rous herds, the species of the carnivorous insects are at least four 

 times more numerous than the herbivora, many of which do not 

 ascend into the higher regions. This predominance of the 

 former is evidently intended to keep in check the enemies of 

 vegetation, which at this considerable elevation, where the sum- 

 mer is but short and insectivorous birds are rare, requires a 

 greater protection than in the lowlands. Supposing the propor- 

 tion reversed, then the Alpine meadows would no longer be able 

 to sustain those numerous herds which are the pride of Switzer- 

 land ; and regions which now largely contribute to the welfare 

 of the human race would lose a great part of their value, and be 

 converted into the worthless feeding-ground of a lower class of 

 animals. 



