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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



but by no means endorsed the idea that it was created by Mr. Cross 

 or his electrical apparatus. It was not only a highly organized ani- 

 mal, and nearly allied to a well-known species, but it proved to be a 

 female, containing eggs, which, as he dryly remarked, seemed an un- 

 necessary comjilication in a new creation. 



Fig. 6. — Ttrogltphus longioe. 



Fig. 7.— ScGAR-MiTE {Tyioglyphus sacchari). 



The sugar-mite, T. sacchari (Fig. 7), is most commonly found in 

 brown sugars. It is large enough to be seen with the naked eye, and 

 sometimes appears as white specks in the sugar. It may be detected 

 by dissolving two or three spoonfuls of sugar in warm water, and al- 

 lowing the solution to stand for an hour or so ; at the end of the time 

 the aeari will be found floating on the surface, adhering to the sides 

 of the glass, and lying mixed with the grit and. dirt that always accu- 

 mulate at the bottom. In ten grains of sugar as many as 500 mites 

 have been found, which is at the rate of 350,000 to the pound. Those 

 who are engaged in handling raw sugars are subject to an eruption 

 known as " grocers' itch," which is doubtless to be traced to the pres- 

 ence of these mites. They are almost invariably present in unrefined 

 sugars, and. may be seen in all stages of growth and in every condi- 

 tion, alive and dead, entire or broken in fragments. Refined sugars 

 are free from them ; this is in part due, perhaps, to the crystals being 

 so hard as to resist their jaws, but principally to the absence of albu- 

 men, for without nitrogenous matter tliey can not live. The sugar- 

 mite is also found on the surface of jellies and preserves that have 

 begun to dry, and on the sugar of dried fruit, such as figs, prunes, 

 cherries, etc. They sometimes accumulate in the mouth of wooden 

 taps used for wine and beer. In dismissing this part of the subject, 

 which refers to mites infesting food, it seems proper to say that the 



