MITES. 2t 



Corn is removed and the floor swept, we very shortly find a gathering 

 like a handful of dust on different parts of the floor. Mites, if 

 neglected, will very soon lessen the value of cheese by losing its bright- 

 ness, but in hay the mischief may not be so easily seen ; they may to 

 some extent destroy the aroma which good hay should have." 



The following note of enquiry, forwarded to me by the Editor of 

 the ' Farming World,' also speaks of the Mites being found in a loft as 

 well as in the stacked hay, and in this case in Clover hay. The note 

 was as follows : — " A few weeks ago I bought from a neighbouring 

 farmer ten tons of what I thought to be good Clover hay. It was 

 brought home, and part was made into a stack, the other part being 

 put into the stable loft. The hay is now living with Mites, and I wish 

 to know if, when eaten in such a state by horses and cattle, it will 

 prove injurious to them ? " 



The following note, which I am permitted by the observer to use, 

 though not originally sent to myself, was written on Sept. 15th, and 

 notices the great quantity of what proved, on examination, to be the 

 same kind of Mites found on the ground or straying about by a 

 haystack : — " I was at a place in Berwickshire last week, and at lunch 

 we leaned our guns against a haystack. On lifting them we found them 

 powdered with white Mites, and on looking at the foot of the stack we 

 found the ground covered with a thick powder of the Mites, which had 

 evidently dropped from the stack. No one of the party had ever seen 

 such a thing before, nor had any of the farm servants. I send you a 

 tin with some of the Mites, and will be obliged if you will tell me if you 

 have seen anything of the kind before, and if so what they are, what 

 has caused them, and if they are likely to be injurious." 



In this instance the Mites were presumably in the substance of the 

 stack, for in a subsequent letter my correspondent remarked, " The 

 farm bailiff mentioned that when cutting the hay the men had com- 

 plained of it being full of lice." As this word is by no means limited 

 popularly to its technical meaning, in all probability it was used in this 

 case in reference to the Mites. 



Notes came from other places, as for instance, an application, with 

 specimens accompanying, from Upleatham, in Yorkshire, mentioning 

 the Mites as being picked up close by a haystack, and desiring infor- 

 mation as to what they were. Also, on the 25th of Sept., Mr. John 

 Speir, of Newton, near Glasgow, writing to the ' Farming Woidd,' in 

 reply to some of my enquiries, gave the following observations : — " No 

 one need annoy himself about having Mites in his hay, as it is only 

 well-saved hay which produces Mites. I have seen them an inch or 

 more deep on the ground round a hayrick, but as soon as the cold or 

 wet weather sets in they all disappear. This is the most common- 

 sense way of clearing them off", which Miss Ormerod asks about, that 



