Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-11-11
SCIENTISTS SCHEMES.
THEIR PLANS FOR exTeRMINATiNG
THE MOSQUITO.

THEIR PLANS FOR exTeRMINATINe
THE MOSQUITO.
The Sleep Murderer and Blood Sucker to
he Wiped Out by Careful Culture Of
His Natural Foes-RivsI Claims Of the
Dragon Fly and the Spider.
Of late the attention Of scientists has been
turned TO the mosquito. Undoubtedly the
mosquito has invaded the sacred presence of
the scientist and has exasperated him very
much, as he does the common place person
who knows nothing of science in any of its
manifold manifestations. At any rate, an
eastern scientist announces that the mosquito
is found in every part of the habitable globe
where there are swainps and stagnant water.
Ii would be exact TO say that the mosquito
finds the human being in every cline, and
that the average human being, scientists ex-
cepted, has never been known to hunt the
mosquito as diversion. True, he has nearly
knocked himself senseless by striking that
part of his anatomy where he imagined the
mosquito has ordered his repast, but has been
filled with rage when he heard the buzz of
the creature in a note which proved that all
was serenity with him.
NOT Him. BUT SHE"
The mosquito has been referred to as him ~
IL the scientist knows what he is talking about
the mosquito which keeps people awake with
Its dismal treble always in a minor KEY, which
is a terror not so much because it depletes the
life current in our veins as for the fendish
method of doing it, is 'shen-the female of
the species. He tthe scientist) tells us that
the male mosquito is an innocent who, If he
eads an aimless life, also leads homeless
pne. How he subsists, how he spends his
time while his sleepless and voracious spouse
Is making the existence of both man and beast
a burden to them, the scientist or naturalist
who makes this assertion does not deign TO
explain.
The scientist who seems to have accented
the mission of making it appear that every
thing created is useful to the human race
comes to the defense of the mosquito. In the
"larvR FORM" which is one of the stages of
existence which the thing which becomes the
bloodthirsty mosquito in the end passes
through, 1t is blessing in that it devotes il
self 20 cleansing swamp lands and stagnant
pools OF the miasmus which plague mankind
with various kinds Of fevers II this state
ment of the scientist Is correct, then the mos
quito is a more disreputable wretch than at
first appears, being no better than the savage
who saves the life of his unfortunate prisoner
in battle that he may torture him to death at
his leisure, since she preserves a human being
from the possibility of fever only TO reserve
him for unspeakable torture with her % pois-
onous lances and exasperating music The sci
entists who are seeking the life of the mos
quito to the limit Of extinction abandon the
drainage and filing theory, and seek other
nC f,,f. W. ~ ,tl,.
HUNT FOR ENEMIES
Accordingly they have been canvassing the
insect department of creation To find the
natural destroyer OF the mosquito One of
them, DR.. Lamborn, claims TO have found hin.
IN the dragon fly, more generally known rs
the devils darning needle" and, in some To-
calities, as the snake feeder" This long
bodied, wide winged, rakish insect, with his
basso buzz, has achieved "a bad reputation or
rather he has bad bad reputation thrust
upon him. His appearance In a school room
through the open window has turned ffty
well grown boys and girls, with their teacher,
frantic, and yet the scientist has learned that
the dragon hy never injured human being.
never piloted q snake to a repast, much less
allowed himself to be used in repairing the
rents in the hose of his Satanic ma jesty. The
clever DIR. Lamborn has discovered that the
dragon fly spends his days in eating insects
and that of all insects, he prefers the mos
quito, and having made this discovery he
has offered prize for the best essay on the
Of the dragon fy, based upon ex-
perience. This essay requires the naming OF
the most voracious species of the insect which
is hereafter to be known by the name of the
mosquito hawk"
II this particular scientist is upon the right
track, il the DEVILS darning needle Is in fact
the mosquito hawk. If he can be multiplied
as the sands OF the sea by persistent and in
telligeDt breeding, and his appetite for the
mosquito is not destroyed by uman manipu-
lation, there Is hope Of deliverance at summer
resorts from the deadly incursions of myriads
of mosquitoes Then every unhappy resident
in mosquito ravaged locality can keep his
own colony OF mosquito hawks, or, better
the breeder and dealer can sell them from
house to house, as he does alleged spring chick
ems and such The owner OF house will pur-
chase a score, while the occupant of single
room will make a modest purchase of two to
protect him from the death song of the mos
quito. And more, a new industry will be es-
tablished giving employment to scores and
perhaps hundreds of men and women.
LAST But NOT LEAST.
Another scientist has discovered another
destroyer Of the mosquito So far as has
been ascertained this destroyer bears him no
personal enmity. II is not a conflict of races
except that one regards the other as a deli
cacy Of the season as food. Strange to saw.
this mosquito destroyer Is even more ,,,si-
lively repulsive, and more feared by humans
than is the dragon fly. 1t is the spider. who.
if this naturalist knows himself, or rather
his subject. is not q vicious or poisonous in
sect. He does not believe that spiders bite
human beings. On. the contrary, he leads
one to suspect that this industrious creature
spins his webs with the dual purpose of
catching his daily food and relieving man
and beast of their tormenters. II Dr. Nc
Cook, who presents the spider theory in The
North American Review, is on the right
truck and he can bring people to his way of
he has not only relieved the spider
OF the odium Of generations, but he will be
the means OF bringing the cobweb maker into
popularity, and of making him subserve
useful purpose In that economy whose end is
TO make mankind comfortable. If his theory
shall be accepted, the spider that now makes
one shudder will become a pet, and the cob
web in the corner of the room which is now
regarded as a sign Of slackness in the house
keeper will be looked on as most useful or
nament. The spider will not only be pro-
tected, but his presence in all the house will
be encouraged and his webs will be jealously
guarded as the canopy that will entrap tl,~
mosquito who murdereth sleep and stabs u.
for our own life blood.-St Louis Globe
Democrat.
Plenty of Room.
The death rate on the earth is calculated TO
be sixty seven in minute, or 4,O20 an hour.
Nj 4SO a day 31 2I5 oO0 a vaar Tb. birth