80 WASTE-LAND WANDERINGS. 



sassafras sapling was so covered that they appeared to 

 outnumber the leaves, and gave the tree a permaturely 

 frost-bitten appearance. I cautiously drew near, and 

 counted one hundred and seven of them, and there were 

 almost as many more. Then giving the tree a vigorous 

 shaking, they all took flight, and made a distinct rustling 

 noise as they did so. They did not mount the air to 

 any height, but scattered over the snowy boneset blos- 

 soms, and reminded me of an October shower of painted 

 leaves. 



A migration of what was unquestionably this species 

 of butterfly took place near by, in September of 1881. 

 They flew at a height of probably two hundred yards 

 only, and moved in a long, narrow body, that took an 

 hour to pass a given point. The migration is known to 

 have extended twenty -five miles, and if the direction 

 was not changed, or the journey ended, a few hours 

 would have brought them to the sea. It is rather curi- 

 ous that several such migrations occurred at about this 

 time in the New England and Middle States. Since 

 then I have not seen it repeated. 



Associated with the bees and butterflies that sucked 

 endless sweets from the fragrant boneset were hundreds 

 of beautiful dragon-flies. These darted everywhere in 

 the most erratic manner, but did not seem to molest any 

 other creature. I counted five distinct species, some of 

 which were brilliantly colored. These insects also mi- 

 grate in countless thousands ; and often the air is filled 

 with them, flying at a considerable elevation, all in the 

 same direction, and taking hours and even days to pass 

 a given point. 



