Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-07-24
THE DOMESTIC FLY.
Timely Facts and Speculation Concern
ina an Interesting Creature.

Timely Facts and Speculation Concern
ing an Interesting Creature.
"The common domestic fly" said a
man who is no scholar but has man
aged to pick up many interesting facts,
'is altogether too common and too do
mestic. She Is one Of the most inter-
esting animals"
you don't mean animals" a lis
tener broke in; "a fly Is not an ami
NAL
Then she must be a vegetable or a
mineral" said the first speaker. Call
her whichever you please, but she is
one of the most interesting creatures
extant.
"An industrious female fly lays about
flies and few males. The fly does not
set after laying; If she did she would
be retired from her wonted activity
during longer or shorter periods Of in
cubation Her eggs hatch without
motherly attention, and it is seldom
that one fails to hatch.
1.-THE fly has SO many eyes" the man
who is no scholar went on, that she
can see in all directions at once with
out turning her head or rolling her
eyes. That's why it is so hard to hit
her. A fly time poet sang:
Now doth the little busy fly
Buzz in fellows hair,
But try to smite her hip and thigh
And, 10! she isn't there
"The intelligence of flies is an inter-
esting and exasperating study. One Of
the ordinary ways Of trying to kill flies
is to fold a newspaper in the shape Of
heavy fiat pad and whack at them
with it when they are sitting still.
Now, the fly is familiar with the
scientific fact that If she sits perfectly
still the descending paper will make an
air cushion in front Of it that ninety
nine times out of a hundred will pro-
tect her from being crushed. The con-
cussion momentarily stuns her and she
falls to the floor apparently dead, but
in few minutes she has recovered and
is again on the job.
That's why when you strike at a fly
hard enough to spatter the butter all
over the walls she is able to reappear
so quickly on the rim Of the sugar
bowl
when out not for food but merely
for the fun Of tantalizing you the fly
knows when she has had enough. Then
she sits down on a dark spot in the
carpet and watches you prance around
the room looking for her on the walls.
"a very good way to catch flies is
to distribute fly paper and platters Of
poison on the tables and window stills.
No matter how thick the flies are
where this is done, their number will
be quickly reduced. You can easily
prove this by counting the flies you
have caught. 1t Is q great comfort,
when there are few million flies in
the air and more coming, to count up
your catch and know that a dozen or
so will never poster you any more.
This method of getting rid of flies
is often employed in restaurants. 1t
was the method used in the railroad
restaurant where a passenger hurried
in for refreshment, glanced along the
display Of pies and said:
"'Give me piece Of this huckleber-
ry'
THAT amt hucklebe-ry," said the
waiter girl, waving her hand over the
pie; it's custard.'
Cup with the lark Is a poetical ex-
preston for early rising. UP with the
fly would be stronger If less poetic.
The lark doesn't compel you to get up,
but the fly does. Besides the lark Is an
English bird, but the fly is bird that
knows no nationality. If the fly would
go away and let you sleep till the lark
gets up you would have less cause for
complaint.
when we were children we were
taught to believe that fly's foot was
wonderful part of creation-that
when it was placed fiat upon the CELL
ing the weight Of the fly pulled 1t away
in the centre and made a tiny vacuum
and that the pressure Of the atmos-
phere around 1t, in accordance with a
law of nature, held the fly from falling.
Several human flies broke their necks
trying to do the same trick with artifi-
cial flies feet before it was discovered
that If flies kept their feet clean they
couldn't walk on ceilings.
Files believe that mankind was Gre
ated for their amusement, and it has
always been a question with me which
gave fly the more solid enjoyment-to
buzz around your nose and make you
get up few hours earlier in the morn
ing than you want to, or to poster you
in the daytime until you rage around
the room with a paper slapper in your
hand while she watches you from be-
hind a door hinge"