The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1875-10-15
WHAT FLIES DO,

iuhlis!ie.i i: ii.- S--ieDtifc AmericaH the
re.uI- ~ Lis observations with flies. with
"i'r.' H. h;;- rNieriueEted If what he
r-'.-r'- f. iruJ.,ful there should he more
XII. ;,.."5.-i Uncle Tobys To acknowI-
.s'' tie IsLt W. owe these little in
secis- Nii you ever watch IA fly who
had just ;,Iighted after soaring about the
room for some little time? He -oes
through 1t series Of operations which re-
mind you of a eat licking herself after
ameal, or of IL bird pluming its feathers.
| First the hind feet are rubbed together.
then each hind leg is passed over a wing.
then the fore legs IN ltrgo like treat
ment: and lastly, if you look sharply, you
wills e the insCc carry his proboscis over
his legs and about his body as far as he
can reach. The minute trunk is perfect
ly retractile, and it terminates in two
large lObes. which you can see spread
out when the insect begins meal on a
lump of sugar. Now, the rubbing to-
gether of legs and wings may be sooth-
ing operation- but for what purpose is
this carefully going over the body with
the trunk, especially when that organ
is not fitted for licking, but simply for
sucking and grasping up food. On plac-
ing the fly under the microscope, to the
investigators disgust, it appeared cover
ed with lice. Mr.. Emerson concluded
that here was something which at once
required looking into. Why were flies
lousy2 The fly seemed to take his posi-.
ton very coolly, and extending his pro-
boscis, began to sweep it over his body
as if he had just alighted. A glance
through the microscope, however, show
ed that the operation was not of self
Identification, for wherever the lice
were the trunk went. The lice disap-
peared into the trunk, and the fly was
eating them. He took the paper into
the kitchen and waved it around, taking
care that no flies touched it, and went
back to the microscope and there found
animalcules, the same as on flies He
had now arrived at something definite;
the animalcules were floating in the air,
andsthe quick motion of the flies gather
ed them on their bodies, and the flies
then went into some quiet corner to have
theirdainty meal. The Investigator goes
on describing how lie continued the ex-
pertinent i'll Il variety of localities, and
how, in dirty and bad smelling quarters
he found the myriads of flies which ex-
listed there literally covered with animal
cules, while other flies, captured in bed
rooms, or ventilated, clean apartments,
were miserably lean and entirely free
from their prey. Whenever filth exist
ed, evolving germs which might gener-
ate disease, there were flies, covering
themselves with mingte organisms and
greedily devogripg the same
CATCHING FROGs.-A correspondent
of tile Troy (N. y Press writes from
Castleton, Rensselaer, County, thus:
was Oet driving on Saturday, and n
few miles from here found two men in a
swamp by the side of the road, who
seemed to be crazy, 70 judge fron their
movements. | watched .hem from the
carriage some time, and finally made up
my mind they We're fishing, but how they
could iind water enough To Dish in | could
not imagine. FINALLY L called out to
them; ''What ars you doing there?'
"COme and see," one of them shouted
back. | hitched my horse and picked my
way over tie hOgs TO them. They were
catching frogs. They would strike them
with clubs where they could reach theu,
but the most of them they caught witIra
wire snare" They hada large basket
full, more than 1GG pounds, they said, and
l guess they sold tile truth. One of them
said he made a good deal of money catch
ing frogs for the New York market. He
said that in one month last season he
caught l, 600 pounds of dressed frogs, for
which he got thirty cents pound, max
ing $3.50 for LIS months work Part OF
the time he had two boys to hs!b him.
Last week, near Hudson, he said he
caught upward of 5rN pounds and sold
them FOR SlGO, or ut an average ofthir-
ty-twO cents a pound, These stories
seemed to n,e Incredible, and yet he
assured me It was truth. He can clear
twenty eight cents a pound, he says,
easily. He seemed to be All honest man,
and from the ease with which they
caught tine frogs l was led to believe that
he had no. stretched the truth much, if
at all.