The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1875-07-10
Eli Is.


L
Mr. Emerson, distinguished English
chemist and naturalist, has been observing
the habits of the common housetly, and he
has given the following account of his pro
ceedings in the Scientific american. In the
light of the revelations of that gentleman
investigations, the fly assumes the position of
an important friend instead of pest to man
kind
"Did you ever watch a fly who has just
alighted after soaring about the room for
some little time: He goes through a series
of operations which reminds you of cat
licking herself after a meal or of a bird
puming its feathers. First the hind feet are
rubbed together and each hind leg is passed
over wing, then the fore leg undergOes a
like treatment; and lastly, if you look sharp,
you will see this insect carry his probosCis
over his legs about his body as far as he can
reach The minute trunk is perfectly retrac.
tile, and it terminates in two large lObes,
which you can see spread OUT when the insect
begins meal on lump OF sugar. Now the
rubbing 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 grasping and
licking up food?
Mr. Emerson states that lie began his self
appointed task of finding out whether the
housefly really serves any appreciate pur-
pose in the scheme Of creation excepting as
an Indifferent scavenger, by capturing fine
specimen and gluing his wings down to a
microscope slide On placing the slide under
the instrument to the Investigators disgust
the fly appeared covered with lice, causing
the offending insect to be promptly released
on hati IN cd in ,lla lu
No. was no better off than fly No l, and the
same may be predicated OF flies 3, 4, ), 6, (or
of flies, as the algebras have it, Mr. Emer-
son concluded that here was something which
at once required looking into. Why we're the
flies lousy. Meanwhile fly No ., 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 self beautl-
cation, tor wherever the lice were there the
trunk went. The lice were disappearing into
the trunk the fly was eating them.
He took the paper into the kitchen and
waved it around, taking care no flies touched
it, went back to the microscope, and there
found animalcules, the same as en- flies. He
had now arrived at something definite; the
were floating in the air, and the
quick motions Of the flies gathered them on
their bodies, and the flies then went into some
quiet corner to have their dainty meal.
The investigator goes on to describe how,
he continued the experiment in a variety OF
localities, and how, in dirty and bad smelling
quarters, he found the myriads of flies which
existed there literally covered with animal.
cules, while other flies, captured in bedrooms
Or well ventilated, clean apartments, we're
lean and entirely free from their
prey. Wherever filth existed, evolving germs,
which germs might generate disease, there
we're the flies, covering themselves with the
minute organisms and greediiy derouring
he same