Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-09-09

Enthusiastically, that he would bump
himself with violence into the surface
| of the looking glass and down he would
go inert ard unconscious into the
depths of tie water trough. The plan,
you see, is quite mercifuI: the little fly
would practically never know the eN-
tent of his deception. But the inven-
tor failed to lay stress on this aspect
of his invention. and perhaps that is
WY his fiy-tra never achieved a uni
versal popularity.
You must fool the fly. And to fool the
fly the great brain of humanity has
evolved a series of mechanisms whose
remarkable ingenuities. all taken to-
gether. have not been able to fool a
sufficient average number of flies to
make them good commercial rivals of
| the ordinary sticky and poison fly
papers. One reason of course may be
| that there is very little fun in seeing
fly in trap, even when you know, to
quote an inventor who one imagineS to
have been driven to his work by the
attacks of the enemy, that the fly
may be killed by pouring hot water
into the cage, or putting the trap in
the oven, or in any other suitable man
ner." "In any other suitable manner
the phrase invites the imagination of
an Indian just painting himself for the
warpath.
But just how have the inventors
sought to fool the flies? One way is by
batting an endless belt and leaving it
where the fly is likely to discover and
land upon it. The principle is simpler
than the usual mechanism, for it de-
ponds upon the very natural ten
dency of the fly to continue eating until
something happens to interrupt him
The belt revolves continually, and very
slowly. over a pair of rollers; so slow
| ly that the victim, settled comfortably
at his dinner. hardly realizes that he is
| in transit He eats, and eats, and
eats. The mechanism, like the hand
of fate, carries him steadily toward a
place where there is little brush; the
brush does its duty and brushes him
| into the depths of dungeon. The
| thing would be simple enough If each
new inventor hadn't felt called upon to
| find some nominally different arrange
ment of belt, brushes and dungeon.
One. for example, thus inveigles the
| ny into IAN entry chamber provided
| with N-shaped parts, directing the en-
| try of the flies, combined with cor
\ ridor chamber connected to third
chamber by means of fourth or final
| chamber connected to the third cham
Der through a gate, which gate is lift
ed by the fly in passing" This is an
example of what often happens when
one attempts to invent certain new
and useful improvements in fly-traps.'
| Other inventors have played cruelty
on the fy's fear of the dark. One of
these invented a machine with two
commandments and a shutter which
4 automatically darkens first one COM
partment and then the other. A small
opening connects each of these compart-
ments with wire cage. Each COM
4 partment is baited, and, as the in
ventor points out. the alternating
movement of the shutter allows one
side of the trap to be attracting the
hy even as the other side is catching
him. The fly sees the bait. he enters
the trap. he begins to enjoy himself,
when all in an instant the shutter
closes and he is plunged in darkness
l J5nwise fly. he neither stops to await
/ further developments or to finish his
luncheon. He looks about him; he
sees one little ray of sunlight; he
makes for it in blind terror; he flies
through the opening that admits this
single raw Of hope into his temporary
dungeon: he flies straight into the wire
Il trap. from which no fly has yet de-
veloped sufficient reasoning power to
fi1rd the way out again Then the
shutter reopens, and the compartment
is ready to decoy another fly. Other
4 inventive minds have devised rollers
\ whose slow revolution. again like the
hand of fate. carries the luekless insect
to his appointed destiny; this being, o.
4 course. only another application of tn,
!. principle of the endless band moving
perpetuaIly over its pair of rollers and