The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-06-22
DEALING IN DRIED FLIES.
A Central American Specimen Whose
Bite Is Often Fatal.

"I import anything under the sun
that | see any money in, said a down
town commission merchant in answer
to a N. Y. Tribune reporter the other
day.
brought in anything curious late
ly?" asked the inquisitive visitor.
"Well, no bric-a-brac or curiosities
of that sort. deal in the plain, every
day, homely products of nature, but 1
think I have something here which
will surprise you for all that. What
do you say to box as big as bale
of hay filled with the compressed bod
les of dried fies?"
"Flies!" exclaimed the reporter.
"What kindP Spanish tlies?"
"Not particularly Spanish, just Span
| ish-American. They're from Mexico,
and include any kind of fly that flies,
and all kinds of flies that fly, should.
say. James!" to boy, "bringa scoop
ful of those dried flies for this young
man to write about"
James went with grin to bale in
the warehouse behind the Office and
came back with shining brass scoop
running over with thin, dry, flat
things, which on inspection proved to
be flies of all sizes and colors, with a
sediment of broken wings and de-
tached legs.
"What are they for?" asked the re-
porter.
"People buy them to feed to their
singing birds. I sell them retail to
the dealers, who tell me they are espe-
cially good for some birds at any time,
and for others at certain times of the
year"
"I should say they would prove
pretty expensive diet. just think OF
the time and labor spent in catching
SO many flies"
you forget, young man, that q
Mexican Indian is not Knight o1
Labor. His time is about as valuable
as that of setting hen. Flies are
thicker, too, in the tropical valleys Of
Mexico than you have any idea of
something like mosquitoes in New
Jersey swamp, or shall we say, az
thick as blanks in lottery?"
"Well," continued the speaker, "tht
Mexican Indian who can no longer
sleep in his hut on account of thu
swarms of flies attracted by the filtl
which accumulates about his from
door sometimes is stung into a desire
/ II
is sweet, and sweeter if there is an,
money in it. He goes to the wood
and collects number of green twig
of certain tree. These he lays in
pile on the floor of his hut, with SOM
\ dry twigs under them. Then from an
other tree he gets a gum, which h
boils into a thin syrup and spreads Of
the walls of his hut. The flies are at
tracted by its fragrant and far-reach
ing odor. They gather to feed on il
!. Indian sets fire to the twigs on tn
floor and closes the apertures from tn
|, outside. The twigs emit an aromati
t smoke which kills the flies, and the
: fall to the floor in thousands. The
!. the natives wife dries them while h
!. goes to sleep again"
It Here's find for you," continue
% the merchant, as he singled out bis
$ ger fly than usual. ''This is a spec
o men of the man-eating fly of Centrs
e America. This is a fly which inhabit
: the low-lying coast regions of Centr;
+ America, and is much dreaded by th
natives for the fearful results whic
d Lucilia hominivoria. The averag
specimen Is dUOuG d GulIQ VI dH 1uC
70 long. 1t has big head. as you SCI
y with the eyes on top. Its cheeks al
; a golden yellow, its abdomen dar
: blue with purple bands, its legs blacl
its wings unusually big, and they pr
duce a continuous and loud buzzin
when in motion. "The person bite
by this fly gets a disease called myi
sis. 1t generally begins with an itcl
ing of the nose, then that organ swell
and bleeds, next it becomes ulcerate,
and in these ulcers may be found tt
larva of the fly. The whole face b
comes swollen, erysipelas sets in, fo
lowed by meningitis and death. Or
man, / knew, shot himself after he hs
been bitten rather than face the tor
ures he knew were certain. Cure
difficult. Subcutaneous injections
chloroform sometimes do good, but
often fail. One man l heard of w
cured by lemon juice injected into b
blood"