370 THE ATHERICERA. 



known as maggots, devour most voraciously, at the 

 same time that their presence appears to facilitate the 

 tainting of the meat. They do not, however, confine 

 their attacks to dead flesh, but frequently deposit 

 their eggs in neglected wounds and sores both upon 

 man and animals ; and in the ' Introduction to Ento- 

 mology ' of Messrs. Kirby and Spence, an instance is 

 related of a beggar-man having been so fearfully in- 

 jured by the voracity of the maggots proceeding from 

 some pieces of meat which he was carrying between 

 his shirt and his skin, that his death took place within 

 a few hours of his being discovered in this terrible 

 condition. 



It will be unnecessary to multiply examples of 

 this kind, but there is one point in the ceconomy 

 of the Flesh-fly (Sarcophaga carnaria) and its nearest 

 allies, which must not be passed without notice. 

 These flies are viviparous, depositing living larvae 

 instead of eggs in the dead carcases of animals, so 

 that the little creatures are ready to commence 

 their operations at once. The ovaries of the females 

 are of very large size, some authors having calcu- 

 lated that they contain as many as 20,000 larvae, so 

 that when we consider their rapid growth and con- 

 sequent extreme voracity, there will perhaps appear 

 to be less exaggeration than might be expected in the 

 statement of Linnaeus, that the progeny of three 

 Flesh-flies would devour the carcase of a horse as 

 quickly as a lion could do it. 



Besides these we have several personal enemies in 

 this tribe, some of which are injurious in the larva, 

 and others in the perfect state. In the former case 

 are several flies which have been known occasionally 

 to deposit their eggs in such situations, that their 



