NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE. 105 



friend, the late Professor Quekett, told me that when staying 

 in the country, he once offered a penny each to the village 

 children for harvest bugs for the microscope ; in a few minutes 

 lie was obliged to retract his offer, they were so plentiful. The 

 harvest bug is smaller than the mite ; it can just be seen in the 

 cracks of the skin of the hand. It sticks to the skin by means 

 of two short arms situated above the upper legs; it feeds by 

 means of a tubular snout. My secretary, Mr. Searle, informs 

 me that vinegar allays the itching, and it is supposed kills them. 

 I wish I had space to say something about the parasites which 

 infest human beings, especially about that curious parasite the 

 guinea-worm, or Dracunculus. Whales are troubled with para- 

 sites somewhat like bugs, with formidable hooked claws to 

 hold on by ; there are some fine specimens in my museum. 



THE HORSE GADFLY, p. 125. When Assistant-Surgeon to the 

 2nd Life Guards, it was my duty to attend field-days on Worm- 

 wood Scrubs. One very hot summer's morning my horse suddenly 

 gave a great shudder, and seemed very much alarmed. At this 

 moment I saw a fly buzzing about ; the fly suddenly darted 

 towards the horse's fore-legs, and almost quicker than the eye 

 could follow planted a white egg inside the leg. This informed 

 me how the horse gadfly breeds. I examined the egg ; it was 

 stuck on to the hair by some glutinous material ; the horse 

 takes the eggs into his stomach by means of his tongue ; they 

 then gradually hatch out into queer-looking grubs, which fasten 

 themselves on the sides of the horse's stomach by two hooks 

 projecting from the mouth, and imbed themselves into the 

 mucous coats of the stomach. I have frequently examined 

 these ; the mechanism of the hooks is most beautiful. I 

 once found the nostrils of a roedeer entirely blocked up by 

 these grubs. It is a very curious thing that the fly never de- 

 posits its egg on a part not accessible to the horse's tongue. 



BLUEBOTTLE FLIES, p. 125. When I am at work in my dissect- 

 ing room the pretty little bluebottles and other flies come to help 

 me. It is wonderful how soon they find out what is going on. 

 Though not a bluebottle may be seen about, two or three generally 

 arrive in a minute or two. They help me much to make skele- 

 tons. 



I once heard of a capital plan to find out the exact locale of a 

 rat which had been poisoned and had died under the floor of a 

 sitting-ioom. A live bluebottle was turned loose; he hunted 

 about the room and at last sat down exactly over the spot where 

 the dead rat was. He found him out by the smell. This fly 

 VOL. n. p 



