The Portland daily press., 1898-04-02
PLAGUE OF FLIES.
Science Throws Light on a Problem
That Puzzled Phar0ah.


Astonishing Facts Adduced by Professor
| Howard, the Governments Chief Ento
MISUNDERSTANDING the Possible De.
scendants of a Single Pair of Flies in
One Season-How the Pestiferous In
sect Could be Practically DIFFERENTIATED
| with Little Trouble.
| Correspondence of Boston Transcript
Washington, March 25-Oue of the
famous plaques of Egypt has at last been
satisfactorily explained. Research by
government scientists has thrown light
upon problem which has long been re.
garded as biblical mystery. Professor
L. o. Howard, chief of the Bureau of
Entomology, has made a careful caIcula-
ton. and declares that single female fly
may become during one season the ances-
tress of no fewer than AZ, 1856, I03, 713,
559, 800 flies. This estimate supposes that
all her progeny and descendants, genera
ton after generation, survive and enjoy
favorable opportunities for the propag A.
uiOb oi oACil cPCOACe. buCu "
condition of affairs does not occur in ma
ture, but it was only necessary to extend
protection by supernatural means to one
pair of these insects and their postority
for summer in order to bring about a
plague far worse than is described in the
scriptures.
This is made apparent by taking the
big number above given and reducing it
to basis of reckoning that brings it
| within reach of the huplan understand.
ing. With a notion Of accomplishment is
end, your correspondent yesterday took
the trouble to catch tired specimen of
the Musca domestica OH window pane,
and carried it to the chemical laboratory
Of the Department. Of Agriculture, where
scales OF the utmost delicaoy and accuracy
are employed. The expert in charge SUBJ
lnlttec. the insect to careful test, and
fouid that it weighed two -hundredths
CT gramlne. This, it was explained,
meant that 400 flies would make one
ounce avoirdupois. Measurement, fur
thermore, showed that the animal was
four -tenths of an inch long.
| Having these data to begin with, it was
possible to arrive at some very interesting
conclusions. To make a pound, %, 400
flies would be required, implying that
so, 176 600 of the winged pests would go to
the ton. Imagine, if you please, a ton of
flies! Yet few more figures will show
that this is not such great quantity after
all. A aood-sized elephant weighs ten
tons, but it would be balanced on the
scales by half billion flies. Accurately
speaking, it takes SOL, 200, 600 flies to make
the equivalent of one elephant, weight
for weight.
Certainly, this seems like big lot of
flies. 1t would be most unpleasant to be
beset by SO many at once. But one such
fly elephant taken from the total of de-
scendants of single fly for season
would subtract therefrom an unimportant
fraction relatively. A simple calculation
pressed in figures by Professor Howard,
would make no less than 8, 800, 000, 600, 000
fly elephants to be the posterity of one
ordinary Window pane buzzer in season
of warm weather. However, the remark
able nature of the statement does not APP
pear until some more arithmetic is tried.
An elephant requires for standing room
so as not to he crowded, a space of at least
fifteen feet square, or 225 square feet. 1t
follows, by an easy bit of reckoning, that
1893, 200 fly elephants could find room to
stand in one square mile of territory. In
one thousand square miles, then, 1923, 200,-
900 fly Elephants might be accommodated.
1t will be noticed, however, that this is
only a small fraction of the 8, 300, 900, 000,-
900 fly elephants for which space must be
provided, and one naturally asks how
great an area they would actually need.
The answer will doubtless excite sur
prise. 1t is that the number of hyele-
plants mentioned would require SO, $40,
600 square miles of standing room, or
nearly twice the total area of the globe.
1t would take two earths to hold theml
In the above calculation no considera-
ton is given to the fact that fly weigh
ing as much as an elephant would be at
least twice as big, inasmuch as it Is much
lighter, bulk for bulk. However, the
statement is sufficiently impressive as it
stands. Another way to consider the
problem, equally interesting, is with re-
ference to the length Of n line Of 4, 472, 1885,
1903, 62S. 713, 559, 800 flies marching In single
file. 1t has already been said that one
good.sized fly Is four-tenths Of all inch
long. Obviously, then, line of these
insects one mile long, surprising them to
walk as close as possible, would number
157, $50 flies. 1t follows that continuous
would girdle the globe. This is a small
number, however, relative to the whole
army figured upon by Professor Howard,
which would extend for distance of 49,
76s, $50, 401, 000, 900 miles
The line Of flies, then, would stretch
l, O57, $50. 68S, 375 times around the world.
With this number abreast, it is interest
ing to reckon how broad belt the grand
army of insects would make. Accord
inely, let it be supposed that each line of
fl o, requires a strip half an inch wide to
march In. Ready calculation proves that
126, 300 of them would compose belt of
moving insects one mile in width. Tho
entire army would form phalanx more
than 100000 miles wide. II it be under
stood that one square inch will provide
standing-roo for six flies, it follows that
square foot will accommodate 1854 of
them, and in square mile %, 950, 274, 400
flies would have sufficient space. The
total number of flies stated by Professor
Howard, the progeny of one pair. would
cover 3l36 worlds like our own. The
question as to how near the whole army
would come to reaching tt nearest fixed
star, if extended in ii g file from a
point on the earth. is resp July referred
to the astronomers.
has heen eaid that Hy of ron tono,