The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1871-07-20
INsEcrs AVID THEIK USES,

Some people look upon all insects
as injurious, while the truth is that
vast numbers of them are the best
friends the farmer has, and instead oi
preying upon his crops they are bust
" employed during their brief exist.
ence in ridding his fields, orchards
and gardens of other insects which
are really destructive. It is, there.
fore, of the greatest consequence to
be able to discriminate between
friends and foes, to know which to
kill and which to spare. Also, in the
economy of nature, insects are OF
great importance as food for birds,
fish, and animals, which in their turn
become food for man. The caterpillar
is devoured by the carabus or an ich-
neumon fly; these. are eaten by in
sectivorous birds, which either serve
us as food or enliven our gardens and
groves with their melodious songs
Without insects these birds could not
exist, and, although they are not alb
solutely necessary to human exist
ence, it must be acknowledged we
should miss their songs and their
cheering presence. GEeJS-l-E9
Fishes also live almost altogether
on animal food. The gnat or mos
quito is taken from the surface of the
water by the minow, and this in turn
is swallowed by some trout or. pick
erel, which next makes its appearance
as a great delieacy upon our table,
Several animals eat insects, and, as
will subsequently, be shown, man
himself has been glad to accept them
as an article of diet, both in the Old
World and the New. Insects are al
so of great use in the qualification of
plants and trees by conveying the
pollen from one flower to another es-
pecially where the plants are too far
apart for the pollen to be waited by
the wind. Observe in the spring how
flies, bees, and other insects dive into
the flower cups, and having feasted
on the nectar within, emerge covered
with, the efecundating dust or pollen,
which they deposit on the pistils Of
other plants, fertilizing and making
them fruitful, when. perhaps, if left
to the chance of winds they might
prove seediess and barren.
Insects are very useful as scaven-
gers in removing decayed vegetable
and animal substances which would
otherwise taint the air and cause sick
ness. Lnn8us states that three flesh
flies and their descendants would eat
up dead horse much sooner than A
lion could land we all know how soon
a putrid carcass is removed by mag-
gots, which are the Larvae of large
flesh flies. Water larv@ purify the
element they live in by devourine
the smaller animalcul8 and the yege-
table matter always aboundings in
stagnant water, and which would
otherwise create a noxious. atmos-
phere. Linneus says, ~This will
readily appear if an experiment be
made by filling two vessels with pu-
trid water, leaving the larvae in one
and taking them from the other: for
that with the Larvae in will be found
pure and without smell or bad odor,
while the other will remain foul and
putrid smelling" See also aaweIl-
kept aquarium, in which the exact
balance has been kept between Ivege-
table and animal life, and the water
will be found perfectly clear and free
from minute confervB.5 ~ hHe
Some insects are of great utility in
the arts, for medicinal purposes, for
dyes, or coloring matter. and in pro-
sducing silk. nialasnag essids
AS food for man, insects are Of very
little utility; yet they have been eat
en-, both by the ancients and moderns.
Pliny tells us that the cossus, the lar
vac or grub of some large beetle, was
fatted with -four and esteemed great
delicacy; and even at the present
time the grugru, large fat worm,
feeding on the palm trees in the West
Indies, is said to be delicious if prop
erly cooked. Locusts, or large grass
hoppers, are still used as an article of
food by many of the African nations.
One author speaks of wagon-loads of
locusts being brought into Fez as a
usual article of food. Another states
that they are used by the Arabs, when
there is scarcity of food. "As a
substitute for corn, the Arabs would
grind up locusts in their handmills,
and make cakes of the dough.0 Our
western Indians also use the locust or
western grasshopper, as an article of
food, first singeing off their wings,
and then, after roasting them in large
quantities, pounding them between
two stones, and making kind of dry
cake, which is said to be very nutri-
tious.