THE DRAGON FLY 
3 
changed to one of tragedy. A rifle shot 
rang out and mingled its sound with 
that of the beating wings, and the gal- 
lant bird had paid the penalty with its 
life. The long wing feathers of the 
dead bird were distinctly worn and 
roughened where they had come in con- 
tact with the hard wood of the fallen 
tree, a bur oak, and the one point 
chosen for use showed the roughened 
sides distinctly smoothed by long use, 
thus doubly establishing the method by 
which the ruffed grouse voices his pres- 
ence to the listening ear, both of his 
own kind and of man as well. 
The Dragon Fly. 
BY DR. J. B. PARDOE, BOUND BROOK, N. J. 
These aeroplane-like creatures, said 
to be the most swiftly flying of all in- 
sects, are often spoken of as the swal- 
lows of the insect world. Like those 
birds they not only fly swiftly but they 
feed upon the wing. 
Dr. J. G. Wood, in his book, “Half 
Hours with a Naturalist,” says, “Its 
movements through the air are so 
spite of the confined space which pro- 
hibited the full use of its wings. Its 
appetite is immense. It will eat a but- 
terfly almost instantly. A lion’s appe- 
tite cannot be compared with that of a 
dragon fly. 
The dragon fly is considered a useful 
insect as it eats large quantities of flies, 
gnats and mosquitoes. Most of us wish 
it would eat all the mosquitoes, espe- 
cially the malarial kind that nearly 
stand on their heads when at rest, and 
whose bites cause the malaria fever and 
so much suffering. 
When a youngster I was told that 
the dragon fly was the devil’s darning 
needle and that it would sew up my 
mouth and ears ; also that it was a 
snake feeder. I often watched them, 
hoping they would lead me to a snake 
so that I could see the snake fed. I 
thought they must be wicked insects 
or they would not associate with the 
devil. When about seven years of age 
I left the town to visit my grandfather, 
who lived on a large farm. He warned 
me to avoid the bees with the big 
THE DRAGON FLY. 
Cut lent by “Photo-Era,” Boston. 
rapid and its wings so powerful that 
no other insect can escape them when 
once the dragon fly gives chase.” 
Its wing power is marvelous. There 
is a well-known anecdote of a swallow 
chasing a dragon fly into a greenhouse 
and vainly endeavoring to catch it, in 
stingers. One evening I saw one of 
these big bees with a long stinger on 
the side of the barn. When I started 
to walk away it darted in my direction. 
When I stopped it would alight on the 
side of the barn. I tried to walk away 
again but it came after me. I called 
