Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1883-10-03
A Talk with IA Man Who Has
Spent Twenty Years With
Them.


Clnclnnau Enquirer.
81 have devoted twenty years to
study Of the habits Of mosquitoes, and
curious lot Of creatures they are
He was a withered-up, yellow faced,
parehment-skinned little man, with
bright little eyes peering out of big
ugly glasses that had been worn SO
long as to make deep burrows 10 his
nose But bright, chirupy little fel
low, withal. He had on musty black
suit and big collar. He was in the
rear room Of the second floor OF ll9
East Market street. A strange little
den OF room it was. The walls were
hung with all kinds of insects; the
tables aud chairs and bureau were all
covered with them. Glass eyed beetles
glared from between golden winged
butterflies, and odd looking little
round bugs were wedged into all sorts
OF out OF the way places.
u am writing a book on mosqui-
toes, continued he, after the excite.
ment had died out of his face. Lam
going to call it Twenty Years Among
Mosquitoes, by William p. DrieffeId
and will tell these scientific fellows a
thing or two. | have what | call a
hatchery over there 10 the corner, and
| make all sorts Of experiments with
them. You see it looks like a tube and
has little water in the bottom. Now
if you look closely you will see that
large mosquito in the corner there.
separated little from that covey OF
sabethes there; no, not that one with
the red belt. the one next to him.
That is female, and finer specimen
never lived She is three years old,
aud at the least calculation has had
10000 children
81 never let the air of this room
fall below zoe Fahrenheit, and | find
that with this temperature the average
life OF healthy mosquito is five years,
nine months aud fifteen days. | have
one old male who Is ten years old. His
proboscis is useless-paralyzed, /
think, and his eyes have long since
become useless to him. His atenna
have dropped of, and of the six sharp
bristles within his sucking proboscis
which he had when caught him, not
one remains. He couldn't even bite
child continued the old man.
mournfully looking over toward where
the gray veteran sat on the edge of the
tub.
But | was going TO call your at
tention TO Aspasia. Your eyes are
young and probably you can see how
her legs are crossed in the form of an
X. You doubtless see some tiny OBJ.
lects attached to this cross aud wedged
together, almost completely covering
the interspace between her legs. II
you had microscope these objects
would appear as little jugs with han
dies, They are eggs. When Aspasia
has laid $50 OF them her legs will IN,
cross and the eggs will float away like
a raft. These eggs produce these
wigglers you see over in that corner,
and they 10 turn change to the tum
blers you find below your hand there.
| have little glass strips, as you see, TO
divide them: could tell you much
Of the transformations from one stage
Of being to another, more beautiful
and strange under the microscope than
all the pageantry OF a tournament
during the Crusades. | could tell Of
how their skins change ioui times, OF
that marvellous mechanism that an
All wise Creator has arranged more
perfect than the most fiaished work Of
man. OF their queer manner breath
ing that causes them to tumble, OF tho
glorious resurrection when the trons
parent covering OF the pupa breaks
and the perfect mosquito with wings
and legs and all its wonderful anatomy
steps forth to conquer and to die"
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