DRAGON-FLIES, ETC. 209 



sixteen other experiments preceded t\\Qexperimentum 

 decimum-septimum, one can imagine the disappointed 

 naturalist throwing away the bodies of his prisoners, 

 under the supposition that loss of liberty had im- 

 pelled them to a determined suicide, by quitting the 

 legitimate region of their existence, and thus eluding 

 his intention of detecting the nature of their 

 eventual destiny. 



Forewarned, however, by experience, he no doubt 

 patiently watched the dry remains of the aquatic 

 creatures, until, after many clays of unwearied at- 

 tention, he perceived at last that the black horny 

 skin of one of them began to split along the back, 

 and that this split widened, and at last two shining 

 emeralds seemed to emerge from the opening, which 

 were soon perceived to be the eyes of a living creature, 

 rapidly followed by the body, as shown in the en- 

 graving, No. 5, Plate VI. As the short semi-trans- 

 parent blades of dusky brown at the shoulders of the 

 insect (at first no longer than those represented) 

 began rapidly to expand, and actually grew visibly 

 under his observation, he soon saw them develop 

 themselves into exquisitely neuratcd wings of a rich 

 semi-transparent brown, destined to assume even- 

 tually the richest purple, and found that he had 

 traced for the first time the history of the singular 



p 



