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. 



AiE after age life has been slowly creeping 

 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 mil- 

 lions of years there has been among animals 

 a search after new kingdoms to conquer, some- 

 times 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 



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