Music of the Wild 



big eyes, a slender, long body, dainty legs, and 



four wings set in pairs on each side, with a strong 



When costa or rib along the front edge, the remainder 



Dragon- ^ transparent isinglass of the locust. They have 



flies Sing L . & ' 



a pair of sharp grinders in the mouth, and feed on 

 small insects among the rushes. As every living 

 creature has equal rights to life with all others, 

 the tragedy is quite as great when a dragon fly 

 pounces upon a water spider and tears off its legs 

 and eats the body as when a hawk sweeps down 

 upon a partridge and carries it away. 



Dragon flies are the typical insects of the 

 marsh, and of beauty surpassing all others. Not 

 only are their bodies brightly colored, but their 

 wings glitter as diamonds in the light. They have 

 curving, jointed antennas, and grow to a wing- 

 spread of four inches in some larger species, so 

 that they attack prey the size of cabbage butter- 

 flies. They deposit their eggs in water, and their 

 young are aquatic until time to take wing; when 

 they crawl on the rushes, burst their covering, 

 and emerge damp and crumpled, like night moths. 

 Soon, however, their wings expand and harden, 

 and they begin to flash their glancing colors over 

 the marshes and sing their song on the thwarts of 

 your boat ; yes, even on the brim of your hat. They 

 stray far inland, and often when on the road to 

 the marsh you can see them hunting through beds 

 of rank bergamot and cone flower, ruthlessly de- 

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