, 1875-05-01
The Mission of the FLY.

|
Why are flies has been d perpetual query
with bousekeepers and persons who would
take noon-day maps in hot weather. The
question has been answered by Mr.. Emerson,
an English chemist, whose experiments are
recorded in the Scientific american. In the
light of the revelations OF that gentleman Is
investigations, the fly assumes the position of
an important friend instead OF pest to man
! kid.
Did you ever watch a fly who has just
oro.bted ,,,fter soaring about the room for
conn. ,;ttr. I'M? He goes through series
of oDo-ot;o,s w,Hio-h reminds you of a cat
Iickiny herself after a meal, or of bird
5lumiug its feathers. FnIt, 'ho hiiiu ie''' are
rubbe8 together, then each hn. leg is passed
over wing, then the fore legs l. "uerBo a
like treatment; and lastly, if you look -sh'. 'p'
you will see the insect carry his probes, Is
over his legs and about his body as far as he
can reach. The minute trunk is perfectly
retractlle, and it terminates in two large
lubes, which YOU can see spread out when the
insect begins meal on Il lump of sugar
Now the rubbing together OF legs and wings
may be a smoothing operation; but for what
purpose is this CAREFUL going over the body
with the trunk, especially when that organ
is not fitted for licking, but simply TOR grasp
ing and sucking up food
Mr. Emerson sta'es that he began his self
appointed task of finding cut whether the
house fly really serves any appreciate pur-
pose in the scheme Of creation, exceptil s as
an indifferent Scavenger, by capturing fine
! specimen and gluing his wings down to y
microscope slide. On placing the slide under
| the instrument, to the investigator disgust,
the fly appeared covered with lice, causing
'6e o8e03j0g j0ssct So 81 2gowQ'}y yg3ease3
and another substituted IN MS place. Fly
! No, ? was not better off than fly No. /, and
as the same might be predicated of flies ,, 1,
/ D lor Of n flies, az the algebras have IL, Mr..
Emerson cunclai,d that here Was something
which at cnce required looking into Why
were the flies lousy? Meanwhile fly Ne. >,
on the slide, seemed to take his position very
coolly, and, extending his probosciss began to
sweep it over his body as if he had Just
alighted- glance through the microscope,
however showed that the operation was not
one OF self Identification, for wherever the
lice were there the ;rsss.ls won't. The lice
were disappearing into the trunk the fly
Was eating them.
He took the paper iuto the kitchen and
waved 1t around, taking care that no flies;
touched 1t, went back to the microscope an
there found animalcules, the same as on flies
He had now arrived at something definite.
the animalcules Were floating in the air /;
and the quick motions of the flies gathered
them on their bodies. aud the flies then went
into some quiet corner TO have their dainty
meal.
aiae investigator goes on 10 describe bow
he continued the experiment. in different h.
cailties, and how, il dirty and bad smelling
quarters, he found the myriads of fies
which existed there literally covered with
aRimalcnleS, while other flies, captured il
: bedrooms well ventilated, clean apart
{ ments, were Iniserably lean and entirely free
from their prey. Wherever filth existed
evolving germs which might generate dis
ease, there were the flies, covering themseive:
with the miuu'e organisms and greedily de-
vOuring the same.