84 THE FLY. 



gold ; others have golden stripes and bands on a dark ground ; 

 others, again, are silvery ; while some have a general hue of brown 

 and green and yellow of a more sober kind. 



The habits of flies are as various as their colours. Some keep 

 to the house or the stable, some live abroad, while others prefer a 

 change; some delight in sunshine, and sip nectar from the flowers, 

 while others delight in evil odours, putrescent meats, and decayed 

 vegetables. Others, again, are predaceous, and live upon their 

 fellows. They differ also in disposition. Some are innocent, 

 others are crafty, blood-thirsty, and cruel. Some among them 

 are dreaded by man and beast, such as the Black-fly, the Mosquito, 

 the Gad-fly, and the Tsetse. 



A plea has been put in on behalf of the fly for its use in the fer- 

 tilisation of flowers. It is said that Bees only frequent those that 

 are sweet-smelling and bright in colour ; whereas flies prefer those 

 which are characterised by very evil odours, and those that are 

 reddish or yellowish-brown. Another plea is their use as scaven- 

 gers. In this connection a computation has been made that the 

 produce of one fly in the season can devour the carcase of a 

 horse in the same time that a lion would do. 



Let us hear what one of our poets says ; perhaps he is ad- 

 dressing insects in general, but his address to them will include 

 our subject : — 



" All the fields which thou dost see, 

 All the plants belong to thee ! 

 All that summer hours produce, 

 Fertile made with early juice ; 

 Man for thee doth sow and plough, 

 Farmer he and landlord thou." 



A word as to the enemies of the fly. They are many. Man 

 poisons them ; birds devour them; their fellows, wasps and spiders, 

 live upon their juices ; while some of them are subject to a singular 

 disease of a fungoid character, which has received the euphonious 

 name of Etnpiisina, which soon kills them. 



Still, numbers must survive, for they are occasionally seen in 

 mid-winter, when the weather is mild, and in early spring when the 

 sun is bright and warm ; and the question has been asked, where 



