Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1874-11-22

A PsPer Eead Before the Memphis
lfferoseopfc society on hursdHy
Might. n IGth lsssaut. ny
Br Luelus Morse

NEEht. n Isth Isssant. ny
Br. BueIus Morse
Insect life presents t. the microscopes
a iouudIess Geld fIr study Snd resesfe1.
A field. {, o, which b. n led Win OBJECTS
as interesting, IS Instructive as lasci AZ
tng 7 may say, Is any OF Whicn MS ln-
struuent can lake cOgnlza1ce-. we
eauuof fix upon any insect no matter
how commOn-the fy, The gnat, tne
mosquito, the d-a, the moth-any OF
-h.se EVERYDAY pests which torture OF
srn-.y us and set ourselves honest y 70
.-,rk ro learn It's habits and pecunariUesi
ofsuai iarizs ourselves with its minute
anatomy without being amszeoi in
.frueted. delighted by the beauty and
de iescy OF its structure, the harmony
and a.ssntabilitv OF i5s diff rent organs.
have - ls,.ien for our brief cOnsidera-
ton tbis evening one Of the most COM
mon and familiar, aad I might add, one
~ the most widely distributed speci-
mems Of the InsecuvOra known to the
antomologist-the common house fly.
And we shsll remember that whatever
points 20 interest we may discover in
coz iuQuiries into its strac lure, are taken
Do suf varied in almost countless
changes 10 similar or related forms Of
life; 80 that while we are examining the
g. We are not only gaining knowledge
NJ special facts, but 81 facts
often y d .ly general N their application.
The hOu-e -fig belongs TO the Dipters, OF
twa-winged insects-the 18th great or
der Of the Articulata. Il forms one OF
the very numerous family Of the mus
cidaa sud il known i'm scientific parlance
as rle Ha6sca dOWcsticd II IL = perfect
insect, having PASSED through the COM
plete metauOrpbOsis- from the lSrva to
pups or Chry ssiis state, aud then into
that Of the image, in which DC
D. painfully famili Ar To us all.
Whence, then, come the flies, which
make them-elves 80 much st home in
our HOUSES? Mostly from the barn
ward. the roadside, the grazing pasture,
where she eggs sIe deposited in heaps Of
d-csvino arImal and vegetable matter
There. en- Matched, they pass the larva
or magg0t state. scavengering f1r the
General gO1G. The raD.di = with which
Sizes mu uply viii no. be 50 much Won
i-~ed at when il is known thateach in
diviauaI Of the female lays from one
Erudres and eighty % two hundred
aEtE Liuu-us calculated that three Of
-re ulusc1 UOWitOrjd, or bow flies, and
f1-fr Ut geny, would make way with the
carcass or an OK as quickly as Il could be
err-umed by lion When the larva OF
trei has reached is full development
III -Eiu dries up and turns n7oWnisn
color: h. organs Of the head are reiract-
ed; DC ceases active outward operations,
aid iu this state Of rest the legs, wingsi
t.ead and other organs Of the pei feet ny
are, evolved II yuC wish 10 see most
e5' f.,ls OF jact, ut away carefully the
end Co, this hardened case Of the cnrysa-
ID ana examine the young Is with
I1-tbe b.1y and bead q beautiful
nearly vr-le. tue eyes bloOd-r=d.
00-a- rgrrsf loose uTon the world after
r4f4 ss- n1srauorpho and the perfect
80 INSECT eag9neI.Css a life OF the most
ge-ive aud Wig nous type. Il possesses
81. =, su-s.fs1l-. appetite, aud Is inhef2tiga-
NJ IN it- searlh after f0ad. Wherever
rrare l. anything % eat or to drink II
WIN, ,vrsthar there you sre almost Ger
t,ia 10 fsa the fly as Ubiquitous as q
Irze-Iuach Er- 5Jsr
AFLyoE TRE WING
- most Tarere- ing 81 I'd Gun ius olJcc1'
What chi. fIy sIrises O e observtr's at
teuti,u s rhe variety Of directions ana
marvellous velocity AZ lts movements.
RS fir com Da-f-an OF size, what is the
-n-.d &C Jh= reindeer, clearing ms mlie
i. a rUfllu.e 2. 10 mat Of the fly, darllug
through @ laird q that distance IA the
=sm- tine TIE Usuai D1si-i n Ia the
III f-zi.h the back uuwar Q. but this l.
s.uelfue- r-ver ed. AID the Dac6 Is
-r-r.f f.yruv. srd as when starting
from the sail it aiiyhts upon the ceiling
I'D srHl,.s f. 10 execute thee an1nJiies
=- deb5 the wing .iave . peculiar
--rr. fura. They are comp I'D 81 an eX-
Gee f.lZIv strong and u=iics'e mem
rraul. 3 cO4riuu alton Of the external IL
fa-rulnr stretched over . frame or 4
o. The silk or giugham top Of an umofel-
n. l. stretched over the -teei or whale
81, , rfbs. Examined under a moderate
-. 20. the wing Is seen 10 be covered
49, .licate bair aud fringed AZ the
- --1 2 larger growth Of the same.
40 =. in nature probably exec 10
I--.r.-- la iriie-ceut huas Of the uy 5
- -. we'd a. an OPAQUE object,
--.-t rs-C ,En upon It at the proper
s,-.,l. - - 1reseuts q gorgeousuess
- - 'ug almost beyond de-
-. 49, T,l,-:. 2 2 s-esses a iurther
ne that in tie young
.,-..,.t.- - = - - alive, species
y 4'----. 7-' VI uoNsse leen going on
arluud the Lervures or rios, A. rbs Nv
make up lis fTaue work. d-v NJ
maTur. 6, h0wev-r, the wing - -
aud IF further ply Illogical cha. stiII
on IN their -tru stuTe, such change
q VI sit discovery.
how THE FLY WALKS UPON TIL C..gA-
IHG.
Many scientific men have entered into
profound inve-tig atoms to ascertain by
what means the fiy is enabled to set AZ /
defiance the law Of gravitatiOn, and /
wax apparently just a. well back down. /
ward az 10 The a ural position. Upon
the authOFity Of such men a. Sir Joseph /
B snks aud Sir Everard Home, the Sc i
cr-t was ANNOUNCED TO lie in species of /
sucker ~ Air-pump, supposed to exist in 1
e-ca fouf, ana tnat ny the alternate ex-
hau-ri0n and IL ia i1l II this apparatus,
LIe H. Wa enabled successiveiy 10 glue
and Inen 10 deJsCh each foot from the
ceiling or other 81 rfacs as il Walke3 /
Eloug. A simple experiment proved !
some what Ci-4-fr0Us % this beautiful
the, p Mr. Blackwell one Of those in
teI SLY Trsci. al sud experimental OBJ
servers y b. seem 20 tske delight IN ex-
p ding the fusly-Wro8ght but too often
faucilu sp- culati5us Of a certain class O.
scientific men, put some flies into q
Ias- receiver, eXh a1strd the air, and !
saw then peram uua-iug up and down
It's sides aud sticking fssU 10 its dome |
lust the same IS before the pressure was
vi bdrzwu. The saue inquirer founc |
that fiies not able b. stand back down
ward upon surfaces Yer, highly DO ished |
were era led % assume that position on
the : me Sur' aces when slightly oiled !
Hence bis conclusion is that the means
by which tLey effect their hold Is quite |
simple AMI mechanical, not differing
ul materially from the puivi Il OF dBe hairs !
which furnish support 70 many other in
=gcts This more modern idea, strange /
iy enough, cOiucides almost exactly
with ile lotto Is enterisin6d two nun
cred yeals Bgu ~ DR. Power, author OF
TX 90 experimental philosophy
The doctor, DO his f0rcibly direct yet |
quaint say, explains things as follows:
DO Tn fly is provided with six les aud 4
walks on four. The tsO foremost she
uses IS nauo- wherewith 20 wipe b i
mouth and nose sud take 40 what she
calls; her other four fset are eloven and /
armed with little claws BY which she /
fssteus upon Iugos ties and asperities of |
al bodies ike a cstamJunt Sna IS also /
furnished with q kind Of furry
substance like little spoDges with |
which nature hath lined the soles Of her
feet, which substance Is repleatsd with q
white i-co0s liquid -queezsd out At p ess
ure 90 glue herself O. the surface f" such
Is Dr. Powers description, and a very
good one il Is, ! msy remark. The pos
session OF "the white viseOus fluid,
50 ez=d cut at pleasure is now, hog-
ever, ga a great measure denied to the
dg's foot. BIZ. Hepworth and Others
suppose that the pUivilli or fine hairs with
which the bottom o! the foot is covered
give out a secretion not particu-