﻿3^4 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  While 
  in 
  some, 
  only 
  a 
  slight 
  and 
  brief 
  irritation 
  follows 
  the 
  bite, 
  in 
  

   others, 
  the 
  well-known 
  itching 
  sensation 
  becomes 
  intense, 
  and 
  is 
  accom- 
  

   panied 
  with 
  serious 
  inflammation 
  and 
  swelling 
  which 
  may 
  be 
  continued 
  for 
  

   several 
  days. 
  Again, 
  the 
  resultant 
  effect 
  of 
  the 
  bite 
  often 
  depends 
  upon 
  

   the 
  general 
  condition 
  of 
  the 
  system 
  at 
  the 
  time, 
  and 
  upon 
  the 
  particular 
  

   portion 
  of 
  the 
  person 
  where 
  it 
  is 
  received. 
  I 
  do 
  not 
  know 
  of 
  any 
  fatal 
  

   result 
  attending 
  the 
  bite 
  of 
  a 
  single 
  mosquito, 
  but 
  we 
  have 
  a 
  well-authen- 
  

   ticated 
  instance 
  where 
  death 
  ensued 
  as 
  the 
  consequence 
  of 
  the 
  stmg 
  of 
  a 
  

   hornet 
  inflicted 
  in 
  the 
  scalp 
  of 
  a 
  bald 
  head. 
  

  

  When 
  the 
  occasional 
  mosquito, 
  which 
  we 
  find 
  a 
  trial, 
  is 
  multiplied 
  a 
  

   thousand-fold, 
  the 
  wounds 
  against 
  which 
  the 
  victim 
  is 
  powerless 
  to 
  

   defend 
  himself, 
  become 
  a 
  most 
  serious 
  matter. 
  The 
  swollen 
  hands 
  

   almost 
  lose 
  their 
  service 
  ; 
  the 
  bloated 
  face 
  scarce 
  admits 
  of 
  recognition. 
  

   Mortification 
  of 
  the 
  limbs 
  has 
  ensued, 
  rendering 
  amputation 
  necessary, 
  

   and 
  cases 
  are 
  recorded 
  where 
  death 
  has 
  resulted. 
  Professor 
  Jeager 
  

   relates 
  that 
  on 
  one 
  occasion 
  when 
  traveling 
  on 
  the 
  banks 
  of 
  a 
  river 
  in 
  

   Russia, 
  his 
  servant 
  was 
  driven 
  to 
  such 
  a 
  degree 
  of 
  madness 
  by 
  his 
  suffer- 
  

   ings 
  from 
  the 
  dense 
  cloud 
  of 
  mosquitoes 
  in 
  which 
  they 
  were 
  enveloped, 
  

   that 
  he 
  was 
  only 
  prevented 
  from 
  shooting 
  himself 
  as 
  an 
  escape 
  from 
  his 
  

   misery, 
  through 
  the 
  united 
  strengtti 
  of 
  two 
  athletic 
  Cossacks. 
  

  

  The 
  severe. 
  stinging 
  sensation 
  and 
  subsequent 
  inflammation 
  and 
  itching 
  

   of 
  the 
  bite, 
  is 
  owing 
  to 
  a 
  poisonous 
  fluid 
  injected 
  into 
  the 
  wound 
  through 
  

   the 
  proboscis 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  its 
  insertion 
  to 
  affect 
  the 
  blood 
  and 
  cause 
  it 
  

   to 
  flow 
  more 
  readily. 
  This 
  opinion, 
  advanced 
  by 
  Reaumur 
  long 
  ago, 
  

   was 
  for 
  a 
  long 
  time 
  held 
  as 
  probable. 
  Very 
  recently, 
  however, 
  it 
  has 
  

   been 
  verified, 
  by 
  Dr. 
  Macloskie, 
  of 
  Princeton 
  College, 
  New 
  Jersey, 
  in 
  

   the 
  discovery 
  of 
  two 
  poison-glands, 
  the 
  duct 
  through 
  which 
  it 
  is 
  conveyed 
  

   into 
  the 
  hypopharynx 
  and 
  the 
  escape 
  of 
  the 
  fluid, 
  in 
  oily 
  globules 
  from 
  

   an 
  aperture 
  near 
  the 
  tip 
  of 
  that 
  organ 
  which 
  is 
  subapical 
  like 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  

   rattlesnake's 
  fang, 
  so 
  as 
  not 
  to 
  weaken 
  or 
  impair 
  the 
  delicacy 
  of 
  its 
  point. 
  

  

  Of 
  the 
  effects 
  of 
  this 
  poison, 
  and 
  the 
  reason 
  for 
  believing 
  in 
  its 
  existence 
  

   before 
  it 
  had 
  been 
  demonstrated, 
  Dr. 
  Dimmock, 
  has 
  written 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  

   " 
  After 
  having 
  experimented 
  a 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  times 
  with 
  the 
  living 
  

   mosquito, 
  I 
  am 
  convinced 
  that 
  there 
  is 
  use 
  made 
  of 
  a 
  poisonous 
  saliva 
  ; 
  

   for, 
  when 
  biting, 
  if 
  the 
  mosquito 
  fails 
  to 
  strike 
  blood, 
  which 
  it 
  often 
  does 
  

   on 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  back 
  of 
  my 
  hand, 
  although 
  it 
  may 
  have 
  inserted 
  its 
  

   proboscis, 
  nearly 
  full 
  length, 
  in 
  from 
  one 
  to 
  six 
  directions 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  and 
  

   withdrawn 
  it, 
  yet, 
  in 
  such 
  cases, 
  if 
  no 
  blood 
  be 
  drawn, 
  no 
  more 
  effect 
  is 
  

   produced 
  upon 
  my 
  skin 
  than 
  is 
  produced 
  by 
  the 
  prick 
  of 
  a 
  sharp 
  needle 
  

   — 
  a 
  red 
  point 
  appears 
  only 
  to 
  disappear 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  hours. 
  Certainly 
  there 
  

  

  