278 NATURE SKETCHES IN TEMPERAtE AMERICA 



The Ponu 



ESIDE the open woods in the meadow 

 v^-s. j we have paused at the pond to witness 

 — ^ ' the myriads of aquatic plants and animals. 



How much is suggested in that swampy 



/ odor exhaling from the decaying lemna in the heat 

 of the July day! Venturing out from under the shade of the 

 trees, one finds the alert dragon-flies are sweeping here and 

 there over this haven of life. On watching them intently, 

 one sees that this apparently aimless flight is for the purpose 

 of catching the small winged insects, which are either in- 

 stantly devoured or carried to the dra;gon-fly posts at the 

 tops of the last year's dead reed stalks that here and there 

 have weathered the elements. Or, perchance, one of these 

 insects has sped down to the water's surface, where she has 

 momentarily dipped her body to release an egg. 



What country boy is not familiar with the flying monarch, 

 Anax, or the "snake doctor," which goes to and fro in mid-air 

 with glimmering wings, at one moment playing hide-and-seek 

 above the herbage at the border of the pond, and in the next 

 moment swinging out over the open surface. 



The timid boy who has superstitions respecting these harm- 

 less aviators in the sunshine may have lost heart; but the 

 one more courageous is often invited to- a merry chase by a 

 bold dash near his head of one of the less wary. He must 



