86 EVENINGS AT THE MICROSCOPE 



sumed. Now a tiny Annelid or other animal caught by 

 the bird's head of a Polyzoan, and tightly held, would 

 presently die; and though in its own substance it would 

 not yield any nutriment to the capturer, yet by becoming 

 the centre of a crowd of busy infusoria, multitudes of 

 which would constantly be drawn into the tentacular vor- 

 tex, and swallowed, it would be ancillary to its support, 

 and the organ in question would play no unimportant part 

 in the economy of the animal. 



CHAPTEK V 



INSECTS: WINGS AND THEIR APPENDAGES 



1 PROPOSE now to reveal to you some of the micro- 

 scopic marvels of the insect world ; a race vastly more 

 populous than all of the other animate tribes put to- 

 gether; for the most part so minute as to be peculiarly 

 suitable subjects for our present investigations, and so 

 furnished with elaborate contrivances and exquisite pieces 

 of mechanism, as to elevate our thoughts at every turn 

 to the majesty of the Divine wisdom displayed in the 

 most minute of His creatures. Let us begin with their 

 wings. 



The most perfect fliers in existence are Insects. The 

 swallow and the humming-bird are powerful on the wing, 

 and rapid; but neither these nor any other " winged fowl" 

 can be compared with many of the filmy- winged Insects. 

 The common House-fly, for example, will remain for hours 

 together floating in the air beneath the ceilings of our 

 dwelling-rooms, hovering and dancing from side to side, 

 without effort and without fatigue. It has been calculated 



