New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1876-07-29
BEELZEBTB ~ THE AIR.

preparing to 90 for the Makers NenderS, anu
Users Of every kind of Fly-trap, Fly-paper,
and Mosquit0-net. Fortunately for the mer-
cenaly people who make these things, ana for
the selfish people who use them, the season Is
too far advanced for the proposed measure 10
interfere seriously with the profits OF the one
class, or with the comforts OF the other. but
we are told that Bill will be introduced early
in the Winter, and that the Legislature VIII
be asked to clear the ground for the Society,
so that il can move on the enemy's works with
the opening Spring. 1t remains to be seen
whether the mosquitoes will respond to this
benevolent action of the Society by refusing to
introduce bills of their own, and whether the
flies will have the magnanimity to forego Their
own obstinacy, and put the old poet in the
wrong. who wrote: Pierce as wild bulls, I'M
tamable as flies"
We fear there is little hope of reform in
the manners of these creatures, and that "A
single seasons experience OF the new appllca-
ton of the doctrine of Protection Will stlmu-
late Free Trade in tly-papcr and mosquito
nets to Il lamcntable excess. Flies, we believe,
will find fewer sympathizerS than mosquitoes
in the impending conflict between the amIable
fanatics of TIE Society and Il world OF human
beings made desperate by petty, but pro-
longcd persecution. There IS coarse eie-
mcnt in the nature of this beast that makes
most pcople Indifferent to his suferings 1t
is true, scntimcn' al people have thought 1t
sim of 4 cruel disposition in Domitian that as
q boy. he amused himself with killing flies
We take pleasure in thinking, however, that
thc anccdote shows Domitian to have been, in
lou. 10. nfl lnE
II is a point for the arch;rologlsts to determine
whether the young DOmitian caught his flies
by chasing them into the corners OF the VIM
dow-pancs. or whether he scOOped them up
with his followed hand. Anyhow, we come
upon so few traces OF boy nature in the dry
asdust records Of antiquity that we cherish
this anccdoie and put it down to the credit
side in balancing the EmperOr'a character.
4 hint in one of Ben Jonson's plays betrays
that school-boys in his time delighted, like
those of our own day, in tOrmenting flies by
attaching straws and bits of paper to their
bodies and then setting them free, thus Gre
ating. temporarily, Il now spccies-mHscd pdpy-
yacea--as it were. Some schoOl-bOys, too, cX-
eel in making paper houses for flies, and put
into these convenient little dOmlciles all they
IL
experiments, such as pulling them method
ically to pieces, and seeing how well they get
ON with the loss OF one member after another,
BOYS learn the valuable truth-how little in
sccts are capable OF feeling pain.
The fiy, however, repays indifference with
Indifference and when ill-treated betrays no
emotion, but quietly bidcs his time Besides,
he is not so defcnsclcSS as has been imagined.
4 learned society, after years of investigation,
has Just decided that flies have teeth. The
society deserves our thanks for its discovery,
but if it should propose to put up statue (In
the Central Park, of cOurseD to the dlScoverer,
we fear it would be pestcrcd by thousands OF
people who would be ready to swear that they
had long suspected the fact, and had even
mentioned their suspicious to their acquant-
ances The fly is one of the most intelligent
of animals, but his intelligence is wholly per-
vcrted to malicious ends. So far as we know,
he has no other USE for his mental faculties
than to torment man. He has great
advantage over his competitor in this profess
sion-the mosquitO-in that lie is longer lived,
and is able to lay up experience from year 10
year. In this way he has reached an admira-
bic perfection in his particular occupation, and
has resources that even a Staten Island mos
quito 0he best developed and most accom-
pliShed of the family never dreamed of. The
fly $50 far as KNOWN builds no nest, nor shell
ter, LAYS up no store of food and pays no at
tention TO the education of his young. He
does not even care much for food, but he likes
to prevent other people from enjoying 1T. In
his Quilp-like malignity he will even drown
himself in your tea or coffee If, by dong so,
he can prevent your getting any good from
it. Like the elder Brutus, he pretonds TO be
silly, but this is only the better to accomplish
his ends He likes to hear people call him
silly fly" and 'poor fly" and no doubt
reckoncd at its full value the intelligence of
that stupid old moraliSt who opened the win
dow to let out one of his race, exclaimng, with
cheap sentiment, Farewell poor fly, the world
sis wide enough for thee and me-" He knows
very well that, If his ancestor was fly worthy
the name, he lost no time in getting into the
house again, and tickling his philosophers ears
and nose until tho sage could stand it no
longer. There is another story about fly
who pcrched on a chariot wheel, and Dragged
that he had won the race. and we are taught
to laugh at the fiy's vanity. But a good dead
of the celebrity of horses at Summer resorts,
particularly of those hired by the hour mt the
livery stable, is due to the flies, apd they have
no doubt caused many n runaway and break
neck accident by their persistent nibbling away
at inaccessible parts of the horses bodies. If
we talk about the vanity of flies over what
they can do, we must admit that they have good
enough reason to be vain. Some hosters
say that certain very old flies have learned to
settle accurately on particular point on a
horses flank, where they sit safe from the COM