The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-09-30
The Mosquito-An Unsofontifto Study,
Now. comes the mosquito. Not that tie
mosquito confine his visits to the late sum-

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Now, comes the mosquito. Not that tie
mosquito confine his visits to the late sum-
mer and autumn by any means, for, like
the poor, we have him always with us, or
nearly always; but it is about this time
that he begins to take himself seriously, to
insist upon himself, to labor and to prey,
but not to wait by any means.
There are some curious and interest ing
points about the mosquito, and now that we
must give him some measure of attention
whether we wish to do 50 ',r not, it is well to
get some entertainment cut Of him. He
gets good deal out ct US.
There are a good many kinds of him for
one thlng-genera or species, as the reader
may please of them active by day
others by night, and some-as anybody NAV
discover for himself, though the scientific
books neglect to mention the fact-ready.
like the lower class Of restaurants, for
'meals at all hours of the day or night"
The most curious thing about MOSQUITO
is that he Is found in some places, and not
in others where the conditions are appar-
en- ltly precisely the same. There are places
where mosquitoes swarm, while in others
near at hand and similarly situated not a
mosquito ever presents bill. The reason
for this nobody knows.
Another thing about the mosquito that
nobody knows is how he buzzcs. That is
his secret, and as yet he has not revealed it
to anybody. Entomologists have question
ed him on this point to no purpose. They
have dissectcd him, separated each of his
muscles from its follows they have stud
led him sitting still, flying and walking,
they have observed him in the act of blood
letting they have counted the vibrations of
his wings, and learned that Ms stroke is tlr-
ty to the second; but they have never dis
covered how or why he buzzcs. They have
many pretty theories Oh the subject, but
have agreed among themselves upon no set
tied doctrine.
The mosquito is q graceful fellow in all
he does, and if he would sleep OF nights
would not be an unpleasant companion, but
Tor his bite. We should say her bite for it
is only the female that bites, Il fact from
which every reader will argue that mosqui-
toes must be polygamists, with many thou
sands OF wives apiece, for one very rarely
finds the mosquito that docs not bite. lie
~ rarcr than the man who does not smoke
or the woman whose shoes arc avowcdly
too small by half Il size.
Why docs the mosquito bitc9 That is
another secret. 1t is pretty certain that
she has no occasion to do SO. Vegetable
juices and sweets arc her natural food, and
1t Is now doubted whether or not she really
needs any food ut all. TO test this uucs-
tlon Tennessee cntomolog list believing that
arrangements for scaling the state debt
were III satisfactory state of advancement
devoted his spare time few years ago to
the making OF experiments. lie imprisOn-
Cd several mosquitoes under bell glasses and
kept them there without food during the
whole term of their natural lives, and he
testifics that they remained healthy, active
and vigorous, without pcroepliby losing
llcsll, until the advent OF cold weather put
an end to them and the experiment at once.
Their blood-thirst, therefore, seems to be
purely malicious, and not ut all part of
their struggle for existence.
An ingenious apoogist for the MOSQUITO
attempted few years ago to set up Il de-
tense for her, which: if 1t had been true,
would not only have excused her, but
would have justified her also, in the use of
her lanccts. lie declared that Mrs. Mos
quito is female practitioner that she
lives IN malarious regions and punctures
SKINS there, partly to drive mon away from
Pestilential spots and partly to countcract
the poison OF the atmospcre by tho admin
lstratlon OF an antidote; in word this
apologist held that Mrs. Mosquito bites not
1or the purpose Of sucking blood but to ad-
minister minute doses of quininc by sub
cutancous injection. If this fact could be
proved, we should have in the mosquito the
most elcclic OF physicians-one VINO uses
the ola school lancet, but gives homeopathic
doses.
How tho mosquito bites is much better
known than why she bites. She carries six
little lanccts inside her proboscis, and with
these she puncturcs tho skin, making hole
80 small that tho blood cannot flow through
1t except under pressure, and through this
hole She draws what she wants by sort of
speclal suction pump stomach which is dis
nnct from her stomach proper. The inllam-
nation and irritation which follow the bite
arc due not 80 much to the puucturng of
The skin us 70 the acrid saliva which flows
into the wound. This irritation is some
times SO great as to produce fever, a fact
from which 1t appears that, if the mosquito
is really physician. she adhcres to tho
homeopathic doctrine that like cures like, a
doctrine which has never been followed out
TO its logical end Ill cases where men, hay-
ing broken their heads by falling down
Il Hight OF stairs, need to be thrown down q
Hight by way OF repairing the injury. Per
haps this is Il misintcrprctation of the doc
trlne, and at any rate has nothing to 10
with mosquitoes, whose heads cannot be
broken in any such way.
The usual remedy for mosquitoes is to
slap ones self violently. 1t does not hurt
the mosquito, but it braces the sufferer up
ana teaches him to endure pain.