Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-08-27

strong argument in favor OF scientific names
universally employed, that can be referred
to when one is in doubt relative to q species.
The scientific name of the 'chigger," alias
''red bug" is Leptus irritans.
We may state that the ''chigger'' is well
known 70 Southern people, AND TO city or
town people who visit the country, and yet
it is not well known The first comes of
the fact that it is a ruralist, with its home
in the country, and the second comes of the
fact that IL is too small to admit Of such
study with the naked eye as would enable
US to know it AZ sight, were it 70 suddenly
assume the proportions of an OK and meet
Us face TO face in the road What we see
Of 1t IS little red Speclz about the size OF
the point of fine needle, always on the
run aud always making splendid time for
an animal of its size. If it were the size of
horse and made such time in proportion TO
size as it now makes, it would gallop across
the landscape at the rate of seventy-fve
miles TO the hour.
But small as the ''chigger" appears TO
the naked eye. it does not seem correspond
ingly light when out on journey across
the unprotected cuticle of a fellow. II
runs as roughly, in proportion to SIZE as
dragging dead hog the wrong way of the
hair over freshly cut grass stubble. You
feel every step it takes, aud they come
down with an apparent weight that gets
you interested from the very start, and
keeps you that wey until it has located
claim, fo i+c 1il-irr- nd hn
work Of boring an artesian well Even
then your interest does not abate; indeed,
you feel deeper interest in its performance
after it has located than you felt before.
But you know how ii is yourself, therefore
we need not cause the printer to use any
more of his types in telling what to you
could not be otherwise than an old story
The true chigger of the tropics classes
entomologically with the feas, and there
fore has no relationship whatever with the
North American insect that we call BY the
same common name. Its scientific name is
Pulex penetrans. Our 'chigger'' is simply
a minute tick, with variations. 1t inhabitS
vegetation like the ticks, drops of aud goes
along with you when you pass that way like
the ticks, bites you like the ticks, and, like
the ticks, sacrifices its life to one square
meal, for it feeds but single time. But
under the microscope it don't much look
like tick. 1t is put up on much stronger
plan-in fact it is built as much for strength,
proportionately, as railroad locomotive.
No race-horse peculiarities about 1t, hence
its extraordinary get-up-and-gct is entirely
the result Of main strength. 1t has six
great, lubberly, long and unshapely legs, as
seen under the microscope-but for these,
and for head that looks somewhat like the
head Of cabbage, its general makeup
would much remind one OF pretty little
red turtle. 1t would be rather a beauty but
for those legs and pair of cow-hornish nip
pers that come out from the cabbage-head
end Of it. But really those nippers are not
ugly-they are scary TO look upon, that's all.
They are kept polished up to high degree
and are ever held ready for business. Ma
lures aim IN giving 1t those polished
nippers can be readily understood, but
when we come TO close examination
Of the legs we find something well calcu-
lated to puzzle Us. The legs are thickly
set, from their junction with the body to
their ends, with sharped hooked claws.
What Office those claws are intended to fill
in the economy Of nature would spring a
question not easily settled. We well know
of one Office that they do fill-it is those
claws that keep US so well posted relative
to how "chigger" that has cast his lot
-. l.
claws US with every step he takes. He is
the fellow with his spurs always on, aud
regular full store stock of spurs. at that.
Possibly to claw US is what those claws are
fort gives US timely warning of the
enemy's presence, keeps us posted with
reference TO his movements, and hence in
vests the invasion with seemingly greater
degree OF fairness than would otherwise
characterize the campaign.
OF course there is no way of stamping
out the "chigger" Texas can't do any,
thing at it by offering a premium on ''chig-
ger" scalps, especially now that she has so
much on her hands in the 1ack-rabbit scalp
industry. The United States government
might be willing to appropriate a few
thousand to run commission of Northern
men down for the purpose of blowing it
into smithereens with dynamite, or some
thing of that sort, after she gets through
with the rain makers, but the good fortune
of the rain makers in striking rain period
for their experiments will not be likely to
let the government out of the rain manu-
featuring business very soon, therefore it
is not probable that we need build very
high hopes for speedy relief from that
direction. Possibly the government might
be willing to pay some inventor for a few
patent scratching machines for US Just
.now-anything to break the crust of the
solid South, you know.
Viewing the case from every attainable
standpoint, we cannot help being forced
into the opinion that the ''chigger'' is here
to stay. Already it has stayed very
long time-we got it when we got the coun-
try. 1t is one of the things that our fore
fathers took away from the Indians, or
away from the Mexicans, so far as relates
to Texas. Few persons care much about
it, one way or the other, however. Those
who do care for it have an infallible pre-
ventive in keeping out of its haunts from
the latter part of April to the middle of
August. If this happens to be inconven-
lent, and there exists sufficient interest
in the matter to Justify the trouble sruol1-