The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1890-05-22
THE HEMoToPEA sERAPA.
A New Insect Especially Created to Annoy
Our DAIRY Cows.

n
Our Dairy Cows.
In dispatch from Albany published
recently it is said that State Entomolo-
gist Lintner has just told the Albany
Institute that . new insect, the buffalo
fly or cow-horn fly. popularity known IS
the Hemotopea Serapa. has appeared In
New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and, to
clothe scientific statement in popular
language. has its baggage checked for
northern points. Professor Lintner says
that we may wake up any morning now
and find the buffalo fly in the neighbor-
hood. The first question naturally Is:
What bad effect may BIO expected from
this insect? To this Professor Lintner
replies that the supply Of milk will
probably be materially reduced
from the cows being worried by
the fly. A COW, as the reader
will readily see, which has about the
same as switched her tail of and tossed
her head about till her neck aches can
not be expected to Aeep her average on
milk. As preventive Professor Lint
ner advises the "batniDg Of the cows
hide in OIL" The professors idea is
that il the surface OF the cow is we'll
CREASED when the h ffalo fly lights on
her it will slip ufand break its back.
We are sorry that Professor Lintner
does not indicate the exact kind of oil
with which we would do we'll to begin
lubricating our cows. As we under.
stand it, thit cow-horn fly will probably
spread over this part of the country
~ 1hac nd 70 nd c<O
raisers should know exactly the
variety of oil to which they should
turn. Oils vary widely, from the slip
perry and expensive olive oil to the thin
and volatile kerosene, and including
lard oil, whale oil, sweet oil, sewing
machine oil, cod-liver oil, castor oil,
melted tallow and many others. Few
dairymen, we suspect, can afford to dress
their COWS with olive oil every day.
Coal oil it would seem to us might pene.
trate and affect the flavor of the milk,
while it left gummy deposit on the
surface, which, instead OF causing the
Hemotopea Serapa to slip down, might
furnish him with the best possible foot
hold. The spectacle of . COW gyrating
. her tail to dislodge buffalo fly with
his feet SO stuck In a preventive that he
can not move If he would is not pleas
ant one to contemplate. As regards the
other lubricants mentioned. some are
too expensive, others have such marked
medicinal qualities that their use might
injure the health OF the COW, and per.
haps still other reasons might be urged
against the rest. On the whole, per.
haps lard oil may be found a fair com.
promise, though there will doubtless
be many stock-raisers who will put Q
tin roof on their cows and use no oil at
all. Others may hire cheap boys, one
boy to every two cows, say. to follow
them about and keep the insects away
with long-handled whisk-brooms, and sc
forth.
Even after the advent OF the Hemo-
topea Serapa there may be cows on
which there will be no flies. But none
of this excuses Prof. Lintner for neg.
lecting to specify the exact sort Of oil
which it will be best to use. Every
rightly organized cow-owner is waiting
to hear further from Prof. Lintner. In
the meantime let us keep cool-it may
not be SO bad after all. There is Nc
need Of getting excited about it, any.
hoW.-N. Y. Tribune.