Middletown transcript., 1893-07-22
THE PESKY
CRITTERS
THEY PAY THEIR ANNUAL VISIT
TO THE COUNTRY.
Mr.. AMOS SKEETER HERE
How He is Conducting Himself Along
the Bay shore and Other Resorts.
some Lively Stories About Things
That He has Accomplished in DIFF
ferent Quarters.

How to be happy though poor, how to
be happy though married, and various
other "hows" and "thoughs' have been go.
ing the rounds of the newspapers lately,
but how to be happy, though pestered by a
mosquito is question thatstrongly appeals
to our humanity just now, and we seek in
vain for an answer for this difficult prob
lem. To vaDquish the foe is our first in
stinct, but experience has taught us how
futile is the attempt, for when the murder
Gus blow is dealt, ten chances to one, the
only injured party is oneself, while the
would-be victem goes winging its way to-
ward the ceiling, singing such tantaiizing
tune, that every one accepts the statement
of the scientists that it is female, for only
creature of the femenine gender could be
so evasiue, and SO tantalizing at the same
time.
Failing to kill the pesky little things. We
must per force make up our minds to evade
thir onslaught if possible, and endure their
presence with fortitude. But one thing is
pretty certain, any man or woman who can
fight mosquito the whole of mid-sum-
mer night and wear smile at the breakfast
table next morning, and pass through the
day with only pleasant words for everybody
is not very long for this world.
The mosquito crop is unusually large this
year, and not confined to any particular
locality. Naturally there are good many
mosquito stories going the rounds. The
bay shore of Maryland furnishes som e
rather startling stories which. if they did
not appear in the Baltimore Sun might be
questioned.
"But if you want to see mosquitoes" says
the Sun, Irregular .gallinippers, just go
across the bay and spend few minutes i'll
Ann Arundel. Calvert or St. Mary's. You
don't want to stay long, though, because
you might die from loss of blood"
"Why some years ago party of Wash
ington capitalists tried to build summer
town on the bay shore BETWEEN Thomas
Point and Bay Ridge. They had to aban
don the project on account of the mosqui-
tos, which actually drove the carpenters
away who were building the houses, and
ate all the red paint off the buildings. be-
cause it looked like blood. Well, they're
worse than that this year."
81 was down in Wicomico some years
ago, in 'SS believe" said Western Shore
man. land mosquitoes were so bad that we
had to wear nets over our hats and keep
our hands in our pockets That's the only
way we could get along. 1t was awfully
hard on the cattle. They didn't have any
nets or pockets and would roll around and
stamp and switch like mad. Wherever
they could get TO water they would lie in it
until the cows milk got weak. Lots of
them were drowned, too. They would lie
in the water with only their noses out until
the 'skeeters' got on to the racket and went
for the noses. The cattle then put their noses
under, too and got rid of the 'skeeters,' but
were drowned"
But there are some simple remedies which
they say will keep mosquitoes away. One
which is known to be unfailing is the use
of the oil or extract of .pennyroyal. ].
Sprinkle little on your fan, aud you can
sit on your porch whole evening gently
using your fan, and mosquito wont come
near you, they hate the smell of it. The
same diluted and rubbed on the body will
insure night free from the lancet of these
blood suckers.