'ECULIAU MOTIONS OV INSECTS. 390 



MygrJe avicularia, iVom Madame Merian. 



and we may, therefore, remark, in passing, that any 

 invention for enabhng men to fly must take the 

 comparative weakness of our muscles into primary 

 consideration. Let any one try merely to stretch out 

 his arm as a hawk, or a swift fly ( Volucella), does its 

 wings, when hovering apparently motionless in the 

 air, — and the quick recurrence of weariness, speedily 

 increasing to pain, will aff()rd unequivocal proof of 

 the apparently exhaustless vigour of their volitant 

 muscles, compared with ours. It would be no very 

 diflkult matter to give voluminous ilkistrations on 

 this curious subject. A French naturalist, jM. Cha- 

 brier, has actually written an elaborate quarto vo- 

 lume, on the flight of insects.* Though Chabrier 

 has unquestionable talents of the first order for re- 

 search, it is unfortunate that he permits his fancy to 

 travel somewhat beyond the boundaries of fact; and 

 to this, no doubt, we are to ascribe his retracting his 



Essai sur le Vol des lusectes, 4to. Paria, 1801. 



