86 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[June, 



time witliout food. On one occasion one was 

 kept in Lancaster three or four mouths, and 

 during that i)eriod it rejected food of every 

 kind, and tinally died. On another occasion 

 an individual, sent us hy Dr. Boughter, from 

 New Mexico, survived six or eight weeks, and 

 during that period only appropriated half a 

 dozen of the many flics and other insects we 

 gave it ; and we ol)served that it always took 

 the living insects instead of the dead ones. At 

 length it remained several days perfectly inert, 

 and we supiiosed it to be dead, and immersed 

 it in alcohol, but, to our surprise, it levived 

 and struggled ten minutes, at least, before it 

 died. They are very sensiMy affected by cold, 

 but when the weather is warm they are rather 

 lively little creatures. 



ABOUT FLIES. 



An Ench'ph chi'inist has published the results of 

 his observations of Hies, with whieli he has experi- 

 mented. If wliat. lie reports is true, we should be 

 more kind-hearted to these little insects. It is interest- 

 inj; to watch a Hy that has just alighted after soarins: 

 about the room lor some little time. He goes througli 

 a series of operations which remind you of a eat 

 licliinji: herself after a meal, or of a bird plumins its 

 feathers. First the hind feet are rubbed tog-ether, 

 then each hind leg is passed over a wing, then the 

 fore legs undergo the same treatment; and lastly, if 

 you look sharp, you will see the insect carry his pro- 

 boscis over his legs and about his body as far as he 

 can reach. The minute trunk is perfectly retractile, 

 and it terminates in two large lobes, which you can 

 see spread out when the insects begin a meal on a 

 lump of sugar. Now, the rubbing together of legs 

 and wings may be a soothing operation, but for what 

 purpose is this carefully going over the body with 

 the trunk, especially when that organ is not fitted for 

 licking, but simply for grasping and sucking up food. 

 On placing a Hy under the microscope, to the inves- 

 tigator's disgust, it appeared covered with lice. The 

 chemist concluded that here was something which at 

 once required looking into. Why were flies lousy? 

 The fly seemed to take his position very coolly, and 

 extending his proboscis, began to sweep it over his 

 l)ody as if he had just alighted. A glance through 

 the microscope, however, showed that the operation 

 was not one of self-beautification, for wherever the 

 lice were there the trunk went. The lice disappeared 

 into the trunk and the fly was eating them. He took 

 the paper into the kitchen and waved it around, tak- 

 ing care that no flies touched it, went back to the 

 microscope and there found animalcules, the same as 

 on flies. He had now arrived at something definite ; 

 the animalcules were floating in the air, and the quick 

 motions of the flics gathered them on their bodies, 

 and the flies then went into some quiet corner to have 

 their dainty meal. The investigator goes on describ- 

 ing how he continued the experiment in a variety of 

 localities, and how , in dirty and bad smelling quar- 

 ters, he found the myriads of flies which exist there 

 literally covered with animalcules, while other flies, 

 captured in tjedroomsor ventilated, clean apartments, 

 were miseraljly lean and entirely free from their prey. 

 Wherever filth existed, evolving germs which might 

 generate disease, there were the flies covering them- 

 selves with minute organisms and greedily devouring 

 the same. 



Wliether the above theory, in regard to the 

 renovating quality of tlies, is truf or otherwise, 

 it cannot be successfully denied that these lit- 

 tle dipters perform no useless function in the 

 economj' of nature. AVe have seen this theory 

 questioned — contradicted — but we cannot say 

 successfully disproved ,• for, that cutaneous dis- 

 eases, and infections of ditVerent kinds, are 

 commimicated l)y flics, has been generally ad- 

 mitted by eminent medical authorities. But 

 aside from this, tliere are tangible and visible 

 evidences to the ellect that tlies are among our 

 greatest — and under some circumstances 

 among our only — means for the removal of 

 putrid and decaying matter, and the purifica- j 

 tion of the atmosphere during warm summer 

 weather, and tlierefore, instead of making so 

 much "ado" about i\\v\r presence , it might go 

 very ill with us, if — other conditions remaining 

 the same — they were entirely absent. Every- 

 body of any intelligent observation at all, must 

 have noticed, over and over again, from their 

 earliest youth to latest age, that flies are often 

 engaged in rubbing their front feet and their 

 hind feet together, passing the hind pair over 

 their wing-s, and the front pair over tlieir pro- 

 boscis, although it may not have been apparent 

 what the puri)osc of these manipulations may 

 have been. They appeared to be engaged in 

 rubbing off something, but whether animalculse 



or other accumulations of filth, could not be so 

 easily determined without the aid of a jiower- 

 ful magnifier. But, that they greatly assist in 

 the decomposition and deodorization of putrid 

 animal and vegetable matter, cannot be for a 

 moment (pieslioned, and in that oiHce they are 

 invaluable. 



We confess that the sensation they create in 

 settling upon, running over, and lapping up the 

 secretions of the exposed parts of the liuman 

 body, may not be a pleasant one, neither is it 

 a pleasant o])erati()n to have a tooth drawn, or 

 a wound dressed, and yet, our health and fu- 

 ture comfort may be only securable liy means of 

 these o]ierations. Their redundant existence 

 would not surely Ije permitted, if they were of 

 no ]iossible use, and if tliere were no comjien- 

 sations for the many annoyances they inflict 

 ujion us. Viewed from our standjioint, we 

 have no grievances to be redressed on account 

 of the presence of flies, for we feel that the 

 sanitary condition of that habitation may well 

 be questioned where flies will not voluntarily 

 enter ; and where there is a spontaneous mor- 

 tality among the flies, the proi>er healthful 

 ventilation of such a i)lace should become the 

 jjubject of immediate solicitude. It is true, 

 that their redundancy may often bedispropor- 

 tioned to the necessity for them, under special 

 circumstances and in special jilaces, Init in such 

 cases the more rational remedy would be in re- 

 moving the causes than in fretfully battling 

 against the tffecls. We have often seen li(piid 

 traps set for flies, in which their bloated bodies 

 were permitted to remainfromsix to ten hours 

 in the hot days of summer, and it has always 

 occurred to us that ten dead flies, so immersed, 

 were more oflensive and hurtful to a human 

 habitation than ten hundred living ones. 

 Spiders, toads, hornets, lizards, and many other 

 animals, live almost exclusively on Hies, but 

 imfortunately those who are prejudiced against 

 flies, are a thousand times more so against 

 those friendly animals. 



WHAT THE COUNTY PAPERS DO. 



An exchange combats with considerable vigor the 

 argument that the city papers are cheaper and better 

 than the country papers because they give more col- 

 umns of reading for the money. Do the city papers, 

 it asks, ever give you any home news ? Never. Do 

 they say anything in regard to your own county? 

 Nothing. Do they contain notices of your schools, 

 churches, meetings, improvements, and hundreds of 

 other local matters of interest, which your paper 

 publishes without pay ? Not an item. Do they ever 

 say a word calculated to draw attention to your 

 county and its numerous thriving towns, and aid in 

 their progress and enterprise? Not a word. And 

 yet there are men who take such contracted views of 

 this matter, that unless they are getting as many 

 square inches of reading matter in their own paper 

 as they do in a city paper, they think they are not 

 getting the worth of their money. It reminds us of 

 the person who took the largest pair of boots in the 

 box, simply because they cost the same as the pair 

 much smaller that fitted him, whilst the former were 

 entirely too large, and therefore useless to hliii. 



The case is the same in regard to country 

 agricultural journals, and many farmers are 

 constantly " dancing to the tune of city fid- 

 dlers," when the case ought to he the reverse. 

 The very largest city periodicals in the coun- 

 try often do not contain as much in their col- 

 umns of a specific local interest as may be 

 found in an ordinary country newspaper. It 

 is true, some of them are largely filled with 

 semi-sentimental, semi-romantic and literary 

 matter, some of which is good and interesting 

 reading, but very little of it illustrates, en- 

 courages or is in symjiathy with rural life ; 

 and the general effect is, to wean the country 

 jieople from rural occupations, and to engen- 

 der a hankering after the blandishments of 

 the city. Of course there are many noble ex- 

 ceptions ; and perhaps the very best thing a 

 farmer could do, after subscribing to his own 

 local journal, would be to subscribe to one of 

 these, but under no circumstances will he find 

 a city journal so near him in .sympathy and 

 special interest as his local journ.al. If he has 

 anything to ask, or anything to .say, he will 

 find none more willing to place his desires be- 

 fore the public in a readable manner than his 

 local editor. We by no means intend to dis- 



parage city journals, for they contain much in 

 their columns that is of special interest to the 

 rural citizen, but, outside of market reports, 

 the most useful and interesting matter in them 

 to the rural reader is what they glean from 

 connti7 papers and country contributors. 

 There are no wheat-fields, corn-fields nor ru- 

 ral occupations in a populous city. 



A COMPLETE REMEDY FOR TOBACCO 

 FLY. 



Dr. Sypert came in last week to have published, 

 for the benefit of the planting community, a com- 

 plete and perfect remedy for fly, and yet as simple as 

 it is etfeetivc. It is siniiHy to stretch over the iied a 

 sheet, made of a thin, cheap domestic, which can be 

 bought at five cents a yard. It is called quilt lining 

 and l)rown muslin. Five dollars will cover a liundrcd 

 square yards of bed. 



Dr. Sypert has tried it and has preserved the bed 

 on which it was tried, while .all the others near are 

 eaten up. He puts it on, with a few small stakes 

 over the bed to raise it above the plants, and pinned 

 down closely around the edge. The plants grow well 

 under it. It admits light and the bugs and flies can't 

 get in. The bed should be swept clear of all bugs 

 and trash. Dr. Sypert has found the experiment so 

 completely successful that he came in to get domestic 

 to put over his other beds where he has plants coming 

 uj). The broom with which the bed is swept should 

 be very fine so not to tear the plants. Those who use 

 this may, we are assured, rest in perfect security. 

 Those who know Dr. Syixrt will not need to be 

 told that he never speaks until he knows what he 

 says. The doctor is a benefactor, and the wonder is 

 somebody has not thought of so obvious a plan be- 

 fore. — t'tavJcHUc Tobacco Plant. 



The above remedy is a vei-y old one, for we 

 have known it to be in use thirty years ago, in 

 protecting cabbages, radishes, cucumbers and 

 water-melons — in the 3'ottng stages of those 

 plants — from the attacks of the " flea-beetles," 

 and "striped cucumber-beetles," and with 

 good effect. It is one of those old, simple and 

 effective remedies, which people are liable to 

 ignore or forget, in their intense desire after 

 something that is new. Old cheese boxes, and 

 herring boxes, with the tops and bottoms 

 knocked out, and one end, or side covered with 

 mosquito-bar, were u.sed for the pmpose, when 

 the vegetables aforenamed were planted out, 

 or in hills. Of course they could not be applied 

 when the plants are large, but then the danger 

 from these insects is past. — Ed. 



SIMPLE CURE FOR DYSPEPSIA. 



Whenever we can aid our fellow men in allaying 

 the ills that flesh is heir to, we feel a pleasurable de- 

 light in BO doing. We believe that few diseases 

 usurp sucli a perfect and direful control of the phy- 

 sical and mental system as that of dyspepsia. It 

 produces nervous irritation and mental depression, 

 whilst it inflicts the most excruciating agony, which 

 causes it to be often mistaken in its character. It 

 arises from a disordered liver, that fails to proiluce 

 the requisite digestive properties in the stomach ; 

 hence a fermentation of the food, producing carbonic 

 acid gas, which by heat so expands as to cause tor- 

 ture to the afflicted, beyond description. It pros- 

 trates the sutlerer mentally and physically at times, 

 until he prays for death to relieve him. Although 

 not one of the greatest sutferers, yet the writer has 

 been for some time severely afllicted by this disease, 

 and, after being subject to considerable medical 

 treatment, had almost given up the idea of cure. 

 At this moment Mr. F. Kilburn informed us that by 

 taking for a short time a cleansed raw egg, mixed 

 with a little sugar to palate, every morning before 

 breakfast, we should be entirely relieved of the 

 etfects of dyspepsia. He constantly, when he met 

 us, tnsisted on our trying his remedy, and at last, in 

 desperation, we concluded to give the suggestion a 

 trial, and can now say, with many thanks to him, 

 that we find ourselves in as ruddy liealth as we ever 

 were in our lives. Our object in making this fact 

 known is that others similarly atSieted may have the 

 advantage of our experience. Should any of our 

 readers successfully apply this remedy, we shall be 

 glad to have them testify the fact to us, that we may 

 be able to give more extensive testimony of the good 

 result of the conquest of this terrible disease. We 

 believe that one-half the male portion of the commu- 

 nity sufl'er more or less at times from dyspepsia, and 

 doubtless spend a great deal oi money without ob- 

 taining relief, in purchasing quack nostrums that are 

 advertised as " dyspepsia cures." — Daily Express. 



Simple as tlie foregoing remedy is, we con- 

 fess we did not know what was meant by a 

 "cleansed egg," until we were informed by 

 the writer that it meant an egg deprived of 



