CHAPTER VI 

 THE MASTERY OF THE AIR 



What Getting into the Air meant The Flight of Insects Why 

 are there so many Insects? The Flying Dragons The 

 Flight of Birds Different Kinds of Flying in Birds Migra- 

 tion the Climax The Fourth Solution of Flight Fitnesses 

 of Birds and Bats Attempts at Flight Gossamer Spiders. 



AGE after age life has been slowly creep- 

 ing upwards, becoming finer and finer 

 in its forms, and with greater freedom in its 

 ways. And who shall say that this progress 

 is going to stop? In any case the fact is that 

 for millions of years there has been among 

 animals a search after new kingdoms to 

 conquer, sometimes under the spur of necessity, 

 sometimes prompted by a spirit of adventure. 

 So after the open sea and the shore of the sea, 

 the fresh waters and the dry land, we come to the 

 air. The last haunt to be conquered was the air. 

 Of course there are no animals quite aerial. 

 These dancing May-flies, they spent two or 

 three years as aquatic larvae on the floor of the 



