The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1877-09-08

sIeIter from tne ny, Dut great is his Joy
in lightly skipping over the polled stub
BILE, and great is the suffering and paw
ing of hands and upstarting anger of the
object of his walks abroad.
Of the loves of the fly it is not neces-
sary to speak further than to hint that
he is ditfusely polygamous. And thus
it is that the larvae which are the ia
fancies of all the teeming millions of
these pests are so innumerable. The fly
does not support his family, and so can
afford to have it very large indeed.
But the fly is not an uninteresting animal
by any means, if his disagreeable rela-
ton to man can be effaced from consider
alton. He is very energetic. The earli-
est dawn arouses him, and nothing
abates his activity until dusk robs him of
his dear light and puts him to roost on
ceiling or wall. His movements are ex-
tremely quick and animated. He walks
about with rapldity to make one sup
pose he is engaged in the most vital
ly useful of tasks and has to get
through to meet sharp appointment
When he flies it is not the sustained dig
nifty and directness of the bee, for exam
pie, but it is series of zigzags, with
corners very sharp, reminding one very
much of an auctioneer darting hither and
thither upon bidder. Even when he
seems to be taking his ease and shade in
hot moons beneath the trees, his repose
consists merely of retaining pretty much
the same position all the time by squar
ing it or flying off and returning at tam
gents to it, so that you must wonder at
the immense resources the animal ex-
ponds in never getting on and never
wishing to get on. Indeed, he is never
quiet save when he is eating or asleep.
Doubtless his quiet eating is only APP
parent, for, from the time he spends at
it, he must be working very busily with
his mouth. And as for his quiet when
he is asleep, it is very clear to mortals
that his legs would be much more at
ease if he went regularly to bed on his
back, instead of hanging by his feet in
that rash trapese-performers style. And
then his acute sagacity in finding his
meals! How readily he finds his human
prey out as it lies asleep before the
tables are set and the groceries are open!
How fsr-reaching his discernment of
sugar and carrion! With what genius
does he find the weak, unprotected
places of the horse and the dog and the
COW! What discriminating contempt
has he for the cat, whom he rarely
touches, and is apt to get caught if he
does! How admirable his easy IMPROVE
dence, which makes him live to eat and
love and sleep, aud his ardent faith
which intruStS hiq numarouS hratc m tho
fortuitous kindnesses of that never relia-
BILE guardian, Future! Take him alto
gether, men can learn a good lesson
from him if they feel like it this warm
weather, albeit they cannot learn it all
until they see him die next fall in the
first nipping adverse breath.
And lastly, for the usefulness of the fly
not real apparent usefulness, which,
after all, might win this enemy some
little esteem, but rather that usefulness
which natures God has beautifully ar
ranged to come out even from the sell
fishness of the creature as honey from
the dead lions jaw. 1t is his voracity
which makes him a scavenger, and
most useful one, as anyone who watches
his feeding places will see. And further
than this, his rapid and cratic and net
like flights upon his forays for food and
diversions of love and siestas in the
shade are said to be most useful in clear
ing the air of millions of tiny insects and
germs, which he carries upon his gluti-
nous case as he goes upon his May way,
and which he scrapes off with those fore
feet of his into the dust of death for mans
benefit. With this last a moral may be
pointed by the reader unless prevented
by" there's that pesky fly again.
Philadelphia Times. AXIS