QUEER WAYS OF WALKING. 65 
oars, the hind ones reaching backward and serving as rud¬ 
ders for steering. The front legs are stouter and shorter, 
and are generally held above the water, though sometimes 
the insect rests upon all six of its legs at once. The body 
does not touch the water, but is held up by the long 
thighs, much as a stool is supported by its legs. Where 
the long, slender shanks and feet rest upon the surface, 
they form little dents or depressions, as if the water were 
covered with a very thin, strong sheet or blanket, and we 
shall learn by and by that this is true. If the water is not 
very deep, and there is a sandy bottom, we shall see, when 
the sun is shining, the shadow of the feet and of the body, 
and around each shadow made by the feet there will be a 
bright golden ring. Some day, perhaps, we shall learn 
about light, and how its rays are bent by the dents in the 
water, and why it makes these bright rings. The shadow 
of the body has no ring, because the body does not touch 
the water, and, of course, makes no dent in it. 
While we are watching, a fly, or mosquito, or other 
small insect may come flying over the water, and then our 
graceful, leisure-loving strider will show how sharp of eye 
and quick of motion it really is. There will be a stride, a 
jump, and the wanderer has been seized by the strider’s 
strong fore legs and sharp claws, and it was all done so 
quickly that the eye could not follow the motion. 
If we carefully place a perfectly dry sewing needle upon 
the surface of a glass of water, it will float, although steel 
is many times heavier than water, and it is a general rule 
that an object which is heavier than the liquid in which it 
is placed will sink. The needle will make a depression in 
the water, as the water strider’s foot does. But this is an 
experiment for the home or school room, and we are out 
of doors. 
Almost always the water in a pond or stream is either 
