Flies. , 177 



able to discover what fly it is that inflicts these poi- 

 sonous wounds, and having spent so many hours in 

 the fields without experiencing such effects, I rather 

 doubt these statements, though put forth in perfect 

 good faith ; indeed, I have often seen the arms and 

 chests of the men in harvest time with huge bumps 

 rising on them which they declared were thus caused. 

 The common harvest bug, which gets under the skin, 

 certainly does not cause such great swellings as I 

 have seen ; nor the stoat-fly, which latter is the most 

 bloodthirsty wretch imaginable. 



With a low hissing buzz, a long, narrow, and 

 brownish gray insect settles on your hand as you 

 walk among the ha} r , and presently you feel a ting- 

 ling sensation, and may watch (if you have the 

 patience to endure the irritation) its body gradually 

 dilate and grow darker in color as it absorbs the 

 blood. When once thoroughly engaged, nothing will 

 frighten this fly away : you may crush him, but he 

 will not move from fear : he will remain till, replete 

 with blood, he falls off helpless into the grass. 



The horses in the wagons have at this season to 

 be watched by a boy armed with a spray of ash, with 

 which he flicks off the stoats that would otherwise 

 drive the animals frantic. A green spray is a great 

 protection against flies ; if you carry a bough in your 

 hand as you walk among the meadows they will not 

 annoy you half so much. Such a bough is very 

 necessary when bying perdu in a dry ditch in summer 

 to shoot a young rabbit, and when it is essential to 

 keep quiet and still. Without it is difficult to avoid 

 lifting the hand to knock the flies away which 

 motion is sure to alarm the rabbit that may at that 

 12 



