Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1875-04-21

tainly in the light of that sentleman's in
vestigations, the fly assumes the position
of an important friend instead of a pcst ,o
mankind. Mr.. Emerson states that he
began his self-appointed task of tiudn~
out whether the house-hy really serves an, :,
appreciable purpose in the scheme of cre,-
ton, excepting as IN Indifferent scavencer.
by capturing fine specimen, and glnnu
his wings down to microscope slide
On placing the slide under the instrument
to the Investigators disgust, the fly ap-
peared covered with lice, causing the of
Tending insect TO be promptly released
and another substituted in his place. Fly
No. was no better off than fly No. |, and
as the same might be predicated of flies 3.
4, ). Mr.. Emerson concluded that here
was something which at once required
looking into. Why We're flies lousy =?
Meanwhile, fly No. ,, on the slide, seemed
to take his position very coollv, and, ex-
tending his probosc>, began to sweep it
over his body rs if he had just alighted
glance through the microscope, howev-
er, showed that the operation was not one
of standardization; for wherever the
lice were, there the trunk went The lice
were disappearing into the trunk; the tlv
was eating them. Up to this time. the in
vestigator had treatr' his specimen Us of
the masculine gender, but now he changes
his mind, and concludes it to be !. female.
busily devouring not lice but her own pro-
geny. The flies then carry their Young
about them, and when the family gets too
numerous, or the mother too hungry, the
offspring are eaten.
Reasoning thus, awhile, 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-
mcnt. There We're the supposed progeny
again on the paper, and easily rubbed off
with cloth. Thi>,' he says, ''sct 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 animalculc>
the same rs on flies. had now arrived
at something definite; they were not the
progeny of the fly. but anmalcules tloai-
ing III the air. and the quick motions OF
the flies gathered them on their bodies.
and the flies then went into some quiet cor
ner To have their dainty meal"
lhc investigator goes on to describe how
he continued the experiment in Il variety
OF localities, and how, in dirty and b;,n
SiiSiiiH9 quarters. he lOullti tut llNfItlS o.
tile, which existed there, literally GOV red
with animalculcS. while other flies. cap
tured in bedrooms or we'll ventilated,
clean apartments, We're mi>erably .ean
and We're entirely free from their prey
Wherever filth existed. evolving germs
which might generate disease, there We're
the flies, covering themselves with the mi
mute oganism>. and greedily dcvouring the
same.
Mr.. Emerson. while thu, proving the
utility of the fly. has added another ami
lower link TO that curious and necessary
Chain of destruction which exists in AMI
mated nature. These iniinitcsimal animal
culcs. 70 N food for the flies. tn. flies for
the spiders, the spiders for the birds, the
birds for the qladrupcd>. and So on up t.
the last of the series. serving the same
purpose to man. He certainly deserves
much credit for an interesting and novel
Investigation, and for an intelligent dis
cernmcnt, which might even attack the
far more difficult task of teaching us the
uses-for Nature makes nothing without
some beneficial end-of the animalculc>
themselves.