418 RAVAGES OF INSECTS. 



one mother of an allied species (J/, carnarici) produces 

 about 20,000, and that they have been j)roved by Redi to 

 increase in weight two-hundred-fold within twenty-four 

 hours. The most extraordinary fact illustrative of the 

 voracity of these maggots which we have met with, is the 

 folloAving, given by Kirby and Spence, from ' Bell's Weekly 

 Messeiiger :' — 



" On Thursday. June 25th, died at Asbornby, Lincoln- 

 shire, John Page, a pauper belonging to Silk-Willoughby, 

 under circumstances truly singular. He being of a restless 

 disposition, and not choosing to stay in the parish work- 

 house, was in the habit of strolling about the neighbouring 

 villages, subsisting on the pittance obtained from door to 

 door : the support he usually received from the benevolent 

 was bread and meat; and after satisfying the cravings of 

 nature, it was his custom to deposit the surplus provision, 

 particularly the meat, betwixt his shirt and skin. Having 

 a considerable portion of this provision in store, so deposited, 

 he Avas taken rather unwell, and laid himself down in a 

 field, in the parish of Scredington ; Mdien, from the heat of 

 the season at that time, the meat speedily became putrid, 

 and was of course struck by the flies : these not only pro- 

 ceeded to devour the inanimate piece of flesh, but also 

 literally to prey upon the living substance ; and when the 

 wretched man was accidentally found by some of the inha- 

 bitants, he was so eaten by the maggots that his death 

 seemed inevitable. After dealing away, as well as they 

 were able, these shocking vermin, those who found Page 

 conveyed him to Asbornby, and a surgeon was immediately 

 procured, who declared that his body was in such a state, 

 that dressing it must be little short of instantaneous death ; 

 and, in fact, the man did survive the operation but a few 

 hours. AVhen first found, and again when examined by 

 the surgeon, he presented a sight loathsome in the 

 extreme ; white maggots of enormous size were crawling 

 in and upon his body, which they had most shockingly 

 mangled, and the removing of the external ones served 

 only to render the sight more horrid." Kirby adds, 

 " in passing through this parish last spring, I inquired 



