1 8 The Book of Bugs. 



of blood-kin would come to the picnic, not counting 

 maggots in arms. 



Who'd you say that was ? ' ' we may imagine old Pap 

 Fly asking. 



" Why, that's Jinny's oldest boy." 



"Jinny? What Jinny?" 

 : Why, Lizy's granddaughter." 



"Lizy?" 



Yes, Lizy. She was Mose and Drusilly's girl. Don't 

 you remember Mose? He was born away back in the 

 latter part of July, I've heard say." 



' No. No. I guess I don't ricollect. him. I'm a- 

 gittin' old. Old an' fergitful. It's turrable when you 

 git 's old 's I be." 



Fortunately for us, flies do not live much longer than 

 a fortnight, for if they were long-lived and LS prolific as 

 now, man would soon be forced to look for some place 

 where things \vere not quite so crowded, and the real 

 estate advertising colums would be full of, " WHY FIGHT 

 FLIES? Secure a Planet of Your Own on Easy Monthly 

 Payments." 



It is well to point out, how r ever, that the saving clause, 

 1 it is estimated," corrects the 2,000,000 if that should 

 happen to be, as Artemus Ward would say, "2 mutch." 

 In the original Hebrew I believe the same word can be 

 translated either 'much' or 'million." Scientific men 

 are just like other people and hate just as much to have to 

 answer, " I don't know," to a plain question. They have 

 learned that " it is estimated " acts on the same principle 

 as a boy's " over the left," and authorizes them to tell 

 with impunity the most jaw-dropping, eye-bulging whop- 

 pers, causing the public to wag heads and cluck, ' Tchk ! 

 Look at that now ! That's what it is to have an educa- 

 tion." 



