Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1901-09-07
The COMMON HOUSE FLY.
A STUDY OF THE CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE LITTLE PEST.
He 10 an Agent Of Infection He Has Many
PIratical Traits and is Quickly Drawn by
Scents Committeeman That Are Viz.
uIent and Bloc Jy. Minded.

fITatical Iraits ana IS duIckIy OraWn by
Scents -cousins.cern,an That Are Viz.
ulent and 6loo5y. Minded.
The common house fly is an agent Of
infection. But that is not his claim to
consideration here. Albeit no blood
sucker, he has every Other piratical char.
acteristic. Like Macbeth, he murders
sleep with his dorning, buzzing or crawl
ing. He is as inquisitive as whole regi-
ment of gossips. He is as determined TO
possess the earth and the fulness thereof.
In excuse or explanation of such acqui-
sitivencss he can plead his eyes. They
are like rubies, faceted several thousand
times. and forming perfect image
through every one of the facets. Thus
he sees before. behind, around himself
at the same time. Naturally. it is con-
fusing to the sense of property and pro-
portion, moral and material, to be thus
many visioned. These eyes, out Of all
proportion TO the insects size, are, fur
Their. SO mounted that they can be pushed
little out of socket. when occasion
arises. They are so big, indeed, and
take UP so much of the head, one may
well wonder where fly packs away
his very keen and decided sense OF
smell.
Flys are quickly drawn by scents i'm
perccptible TO human nostrils. Still they
do not feed wholly by scent. Their feed
ing is throughout curious process,
often involving something which looks
like reasoning power. IL fly lights
Upon somthing moist and high favored
he at once begins to suck it. But If in
crawling or flying he finds something
dry, which he yet fancies, he stops
stockstill, sets his bill down upon it,
and forces through the bill drop Of
liquid, something like saliva. After a
little, when the liquid has moistened
what it fell on, he begins feeding. 1t is
the marks left by this part Of the fly.
specks good housekeepers so loa,he.
A fly has an air pump in each foot,
with a hollow running down the leg to
it. through which air goes in or out
Thus he walks as lie listetf, overhead
or down. He has no voice proper-his
buzzing and droning are wholly matters
of wings. BY setting the wings rapidly
in motion and forcing out air under
meath, he makes the familiar sounds.
His mouth Is retrac,ile telescope tube,
drawn in or out as required.
The house fly has cousins GERMANY
scarcely to be told from himself, who are
among the most virulent and bloody
minded Of all winged pests. They haunt
pastures from June to October, torment
ing especially. horses, mules and cattle.
Indeed, in stock raising regions 1t Is
sometimes unsafe to drive spirited horses
after ten o'clock in the morning, unless
they are protected with nets. The name
Of these stock flies is literally legion |;
more, they are winged appetites, pitiless
and sharp Of beak as hawks or vultures.
They settle in clouds over an animal,
clustering thickes and biting hardest
either side of the back bone just behind
the shoulders. where it Is well nigh inn
possible for the poor beast to reach and
dislodgc them with either head or tail.
Cattle thus bitten break wildly for thick
scrub and tear through it until their
tormcntors are brushed of. Afterward
they come half way up their sides and
stand in it all day, or else bury them
selves in the thickest shadicst under
growth, the thicker and shadier the
better. There they stand all day with
dropping heads, waiting until shutdown
before they go out to Craze. But for
the fact that flies grow sluggish, almost
torpid as soon as the SIN is down, and
do not get fully alive again until it shines
warm next day, grazing beasts would be
in danger of starving before fly-time
ended. Horses loose at grass lie down
and roll every few minutes thus killing
many OF their prosecutors. But in har-
ness they may be driven to run away by
the unbearable pain OF the singing and
sucking.
Big, lubberly horse-nics, two inches
across the spread OF the wings, though,
they suck voraciously and bite hard, are
not to be named in the same breath with
the swarming stock flies. 1t is rare to
see q dozen true horsctlics at once. With
opportunity, they bite anything that has
blood, but are shy OF attacking human
beings. They have beaks as big as darn
ing needles. and make wounds tina,
sometimes bleed after they have been
driven away or killed. They have fur
ther the stock hy's malicious knack OF
settling and sucking in the most inaces-
sblc spots. But since they offer fair tar
gets for an expert with the whip it is
the part OF wisdom, very well followed
to kill them with swish of the lash
as they hover buzzing about.-Nc1e YOrk
San.