15^ 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



An Impaled Fly. 



New York City. 

 To the Editor : 



A few days ago I was camping on 

 that stretch of sand and sand dunes 

 which ranges from Fire Island to Mon- 



TIIE \\'IX]) IMPALED THIS FLY. 



tank Point, and separates the Atlantic 

 ()cean from those inland bays, such as 

 Great South Bay, Peconic Bay, etc., and 

 was forced during this period to supply 

 my own meals through my craftiness as 

 a fisherman and hunter. 



As I found no birds flying along the 

 shore, I decided to enter the fields of 

 sedge grass and try my luck there. I 



lay down in grass about three and a 

 half or four feet high, and scanned the 

 horizon for any birds that might be 

 coming my way. Every time I looked 

 over my left shoulder I saw, a few feet 

 from me, a blade of sedge grass on 

 which a fly seemed to be perching. 

 After a lapse of from fifteen to twenty 

 minutes, I became curious to learn how 

 and why that fly clung to that blade of 

 grass, so I laid down my gun and walk- 

 ed over to gratify my curiosity, and 

 found that the sharp point of the grass 

 blade had pierced the fly's body and was 

 holding it impaled. It had evidently 

 l:)een flying over the field when a sudden 

 gust of wind blew it against the tip of 

 the blade and impaled it there. I 

 lirought it home, because I considered 

 it a peculiar freak of nature, illustrating 

 one of the many dangers that threaten 

 the insect world. 



I took the specimen to the IMuseum 

 of Natural History and showed it to 

 the curator, Doctor Lutz, who told me 

 that he had never seen a similar speci- 

 men. The butcher bird kills insects of 

 all kinds and places them on thorns but 

 Doctor Lutz doubts if this bird is a 

 habitant of this stretch of Long Island. 



I enclose two photographs made from 

 the s])ecimen. I shall be pleased to hear 

 v.hat you think of them. 



\^ery sincerely yours, 



A. L. Goodman, M. D. 



This is a rare and remarkable acci- 

 dent. The fly's life was lost as is that 

 of a tree when it is lilown over by the 

 wind. 



The [Missouri Experiment Station re- 

 ports encouraging progress with its ef- 

 forts to breed more hardy strains of ';e\- 

 era! of our most prized varieties of 

 reach. 



I think your August number quite 

 excellent and the September number its 

 equal. I hail with delight the new de- 

 nartment of "Ornithology." In fact if 

 I were to trv to express my apprecia- 

 tion it would take shape something like 

 the following: The Guide to NaTl'RE 

 is a live olive leaf dropped into my 

 window by the dove of good fortune 

 that impels the belief that the blinding 

 mists are abating and a new beauty is 

 rising from the common like a green 

 island thrust up from the sea! — Will 

 Webb Tuttle. Muncie, Indiana. 



