( 262 ) 



Many perfons cannot lufficiently wonder at the immenfe quanti- 

 ties of Flies with which the inhabitants of a befieged town, of any 

 note, are infefted. Bnt we may eafily folve this difficulty, when we 

 confuler that it is impollible for the commanding officers to caufe all 

 the bodies of the llain to be interred, and that from them, and from 

 the entrails and offal of beafts, left expofed in the fields, the num- 

 ber of Flies mull increafe beyond mealurc. For, let us fuppofe that 

 144 Flies in the firii month. in the beginning of the month of June, 



,,.,.-• r J r 1 there Ihall be two Flies, a male and a fe- 



72 of which fuppofed females. 



144 eggs laid by each female, male, and the female Ihall lay one hun- 



~~ dred and forty-four eggs, which eggs, in 



2S8 th I beginning of July, lliall be changed 



Z into Flies, one half males and the other 



10368 Flies in the fecond month, j^.^f females, cach of which females fliall 



5184 of thofe fimaies. lay the like number of eggs ; the number 



144 eggs laid by each female. ^^ pjj^^ ^.^ j^j^^^nt ^ ten thoufand : 



20736 and, fuppofxng the generation of them to 



proceed in like manner another month, 

 their number will then be more than 



5j^^ proceed in like manner another month. 



74G196 Flics in the third month. , , , , ,- , ,, , , 



leven hundred thouland, all produced 



from one couple of Flies in the fpace of three months. 



Confidering this we need not wonder at the great multitudes of 

 Flies obfcrved where the bodies of great numbers of men or ani- 

 mals lie unburied. 



There is a wondcrtul circumftancc, and ^^■cll wortliy of note, in 

 regard to Flies, namely, that the maggot from which a Fly is pro- 

 duced will come to its full fize in the fpace of five days : for, if a 

 month or more was required for this purpofe, as is the cafe with 

 other maggots, it would be impolTible for Flies to propagate their 

 kind in the heat of fummer, bccaufe the Fly's maggot can fcarcely 

 ever have any food than what is found in the place where the egg 

 was firll laid. Now this food of theirs, namely, fifli, flefli, or oflal, 

 lying in the open air and expofed to the fcorching heat of the fun, 



