Arizona republican., 1891-12-04
THE HORN FLY.
It's Appearance, Habits and the Way tc
 Destroy If.

It's Appearance, Habits and the Way tc
 Destroy It.
 Flies which are quite small, like com mon hies to the naked eye, make blotch- es two or three inches square about the roots of the horns of my cattle, and if. hally eat the horns off; is there d remedy. D. c. $.
 Answer-This is evidently the horn ny (Hamatobia serrata). It was the most troublesome of all cattle flies in New Jer- sey during 1889, so much so that a special investigation was made by the experi- ment station of that state. The follow. Ing facts are taken from the report of Frotessor J. B. Smith: The flies are about one-slxth Of an inch in length, of dark ash-sray color with faint yellowish tnge To the ordinary observer they appear nearly black and are generally so described. In habits this fly is quite un- like any other biting flies that trouble cattle ltis never seen except on horned stock and appears to worry the cattle both day and night. In biting, the flies bury themselves in the hair, spreading out their wings at the same time. Early in the season they prefer to work at the base Of the horn, clustering there in great numbers. Later they seem to be less confined to the head and attack every part of the body, clustering at the root of the tail. Startling stories are often told of the great damage done by them. Some farmers claim that they bore into thn horn fhnt hn lnN l.. L while the insects bore on into the brain.
 No case has yet been reported where it could be proved that this took place. An examination of the mouth parts of the insect through microscope will show that 1t would beimpossible forit to gnaw or bore. The fly is a sucker, not chewer at all. It operates more like the ordi- nary fly or mosquito. In biting, it thrusts fine and sharp tube through the hide like pushing a needle through cloth. A small quantity of saliva or poison is then injected into the wound. This sets up an immediate inflammation and causes flow of blood to the wound. The fly then begins to suck or pump the blood through the little tube into its body until it is satiated or driven off. There is ab- solutely no way in which it can chew, and not one particle of solid matter can be detached or swallowed. At the base of the healthy horn is soft, pulpy ma.- terial which feels greasy to the touch. It Is here that the flies suck, leaving this part dry and lifeless and, to that extent, injuring the horn. Thin skinned and nervous animals, like young Jerseys generally suffer most from the fly. Its eggs are generally laid at night in fresh manure. There they hatch. The larvB depend for nourishment upon a soft, partly liquid substance-if deprived of it they perish. If all fresh droppings are thoroughly spread out to the sun with a hoe or shovel or well sprinkled with lime or plaster, the eggs will be destroyed. In the stable, plaster, abundantly sprir- kled about the manure, not only holds the valuable ammonia, but kills these eggs. To kill the flies on cattle nothing is better than fish oil with little carbolic acid, and tobacco dust added. CarboEc sheep dips are also good and tar is ire quently used. The best way is to put the material on with q sponge, wetting only the tips of the hair on the belly, udder and other parts where the tobacco dust will not stay. The tobacco is to be sifted into the hair at the base of the horns, along the back and at the root of the tail. For this dusting Professor Smith recom- mends X. O. dust, mixture of finely ground sand, lime and tobacco, with a small amount of carbolic acid.-Rural New Yorker