Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1875-04-09

The generally received opinion about
flies is that, despite limitless ingenuity ex-
pended on patent traps and poisoned paper,
they form one of those ills of life which, it
not being possible entirely TO cure, must
perforce be endured with as good grace
as may be. Consequently, when they ruin
our picture frames and ceilings, insinuate
themselves into our milk and molasses
pitchers, or lull us TO sleep with their
drowsy buzzing, only TO bite us during
our siumbers and render the same uneasy,
we thank fate that the cold weather will
rid us of the pest.
Did you ever watch a fly which has lust
alighted after soaring about the room for
some little time? He goes through series
of operations which remind you of cat
licking herself after a meal, or of a bird
pluming its feathers. First, the hind feet
are rubbed together, then each hind leg is
passed over a wing, then the fore legs I'M
dergo a like treatment; and lastly, If you
look sharp you will see the insect carry
his proboscis over his legs and about his
body as far as he can reach. The minute
trunk is perfectly retractile, and it termi-
mates in two large lobes, which you can
see spread out when the insect begins a
meal on lump OF sugar. Now the rub
hing together of legs and wings may be a
smoothing 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 grasp
ing and sucking up foodP
This query, which may perhaps have
suggested itself to thousands. has recently
for the first time been answered by Mr..
Emerson, an English chemist; and GER
tainly in the light of that gentleman's in
vestigations, the fly assumes the position
of an important friend instead of pest 10
mankind. Mr.. Emerson states that he
began his self-appointed task of finding
out whether the house fly really serves
any appreciable purpose in the scheme of
creation, excepting as an Indifferent scav-
| enger, by capturing a fine specimen and
| gluing his wings down to a microscope
slide. On placing the slide under the in
strument, to the Investigators disgust the
| fly appeared covered with lice, causing the
offending insect to be promptly released
and another substituted in his place. Fly
No. was no better OF than fly No. l, and
IS the same might be predicated Of flies g.
| 4, 8, Mr.. Emerson concluded that here was
something which at once required looking
into. Why were flies lousy2 Meanwhile
fly No. 2, on the slide, seemed to take his
position very coolly, and, extending his
| proboscis, began to sweep it over his body
as if he had just alighted. A glance
through the microscope, however, showed
that the operation was not one of self-beau,
tification for wherever the lice were, there
the trunk went. The lice were disappear.
ing into the trunk the fly was eating them
Up to this time the investigator had treated
his specimen as of the masculine gender
but now he changes his mind and con
cludes 1t TO be a female busily devourinl
not lice but her own progeny. The flies
then carry their young about them, and
when the family gets too numerous or the
i mother too hungry the offspring are eaten
Awhile reasoning thus, Mr.. Emerson
picked up a scrap of white writing paper
from which two flies appeared to be eating
something, and put it under the instru.
ment. There were the supposed progeny
again on the paper, and easily rubbed of
with cloth. "This," he says, "set me
thinking. took the paper into the kitch-
en- again and waved it around, taking care
that no flies touched it, went back to the
microscope and there found animalcules