460 ItaPOllT OF THE BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 



few feet above the ground, and with, a quick, darting movement 

 catch the end of a hair of their victim, and in an instant have fol- 

 lowed it to the skin, and are at their bloody work. They seem to be 

 ravenous in proportion to their numbers, and while the tenderer por- 

 tions of animals, such as the nose, flanks, and anal and genital regions 

 are the most subject to attack, when they are excessively numerous 

 they do not stand upon the order of attack, or lose any time in mak- 

 ing selections, but catch hold anywhere, and in an indescribably 

 short space of time it is difficult to discern whether an animal is 

 black or white, so quickly do they cover the entire body. On reach- 

 ing the skin they at once insert the stout beak, and do not withdraw 

 it, unless driven/ to, until filled with blood, when they drop to the 

 ground; the puncture being marked by a large drop of blood, which 

 oozes out of the wound and stands up on the surface of the skin. So 

 far as known, these gnats become gorged with blood but once. I 

 have never been able to make a full-fed individual live more than 

 twenty-four hours, a fact, however, in which there is little satisfac- 

 tion, as their numbers are incalculable. 



That the genital organs, in mules at least, are very susceptible to 

 the bites of gnats, is made apparent by the fact that the fatality is 

 much greater among males than females. 



ANIMALS ATTACKED. 



Of wild animals the deer is probably the greatest sufferer from at- 

 tacks by gnats, and in the gnat-infested regions these animals have 

 been well-nigh exterminated: by them. So tortured do these poor 

 brutes become that they will seek refuge in the " smokes " made to pro- 

 tect stock, and have even been known to venture into country black- 

 smith shops to escape their tormentors. 



Of domestic animals the mule is, for several reasons, the greatest 

 sufferer, although there is no animal, down to the cat, which is not 

 subject to attack by these pests, and the same principle will apply 

 to fowls. 



The greater fatality among mules is owing to their being chiefly 

 in use as work animals, and hence are more exposed to attack. They 

 are at the mercy of careless and ignorant attendants, who do not use 

 proper precaution in their management, nor obey instructions in re- 

 gard to the use of repellants furnished them. Then, a mule in har- 

 ness has little means of self -protection except in running away. We 

 are content to accept the horse very much as nature furnishes him 

 to us, but we can never consider a mule as finished until his tail is 

 shorn, and in this case the use of this appendage is denied him in 

 order to carry out this silly custom. There ought to be a heavy 

 penalty affixed for the shearing of a mule's tail, and the law carried 

 out to the letter. From being more emaciated by work they are less 

 able to withstand the effects of bites by gnats, and their shaggy coats 

 when in poor condition give the insects a better opportunity to fasten 

 upon them. A female mule, in good flesh, with a smooth coat of 

 hair, is by far the least liable of her kind to suffer fatally by reason 

 of gnats. 



Horses are by no means exempt from death by reason of attacks 

 of gnats, but their condition, and the position which they occupy 

 on the plantation, render them less liable to injury. 



Among cattle, while the fatality is not so great, the loss of flesh 

 more than makes up the deficit; besides, the beef is rendered un- 



