66 TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISCENCES, 



stantly, more or less, invade the 

 towns voluntarily or by being car- 

 ried there by the elements. For 

 these reasons it is necessary that 

 for instance, the mosquito and fly 

 insects, be constantly given sani- 

 tary attention during the summer 

 and fall time and their breeding 

 places be kept clean and freely 

 sprinkled with coal oil or copperas 

 or carbolic acid, etc. 



The writer, as far back as 1878 

 had. read original essays before tlie 

 West Texas Medical Society and 

 other bodies on the importance of 

 being familiar with the fly and 

 mosquito genera and other insects 

 as factors in transmitting disease 

 upon human beings, and to study 

 their habits, propagation, prophy- 

 laxis, and extinction. 



Among the large variety of 

 birds which kill and feed on in- 

 sects, one in particular is a great 

 destroyer of the mosquito family 

 and moths — the so-called bullb.at, 

 or goatsucker, or night swallow, 

 of which several genera exist — a 

 bird of dark, speckled, reddish- 

 grey plumage ; a large, flat head, 

 and enormous mouth when opened. 

 It is nocturnal in habits, and be- 

 longs to one of the very rarel 

 birds which lay their eggs on the 

 bare ground, absolutely without 

 any nest, not even scraping the 

 ground or using any protection 

 whatever. 



This interesting and useful bird 

 has been more fully described and 

 depicted elsewhere herein. 



When night approaches large 

 numbers of our bullbats can be 

 seen at nearly every tank or creek 

 swiftly flying in search of mos- 

 quitoes, gnats, moths, etc., and all 

 night long they are kept busy in 

 destroying such insects. When day 

 break appears they seek the lower 

 branches of a tree (mostly mes- 

 quite tree) and sit lengthwise on 

 such branch until perhaps dis- 

 iiurbed, when they spread their 

 long wings and slowly fly to some 

 other protected spot. 



Of other species of night flyers, 

 the common bat takes a high place 

 as one of the most useful animals 

 in destroying insects, including 

 vast numbers of mosquitoes, and 

 gnats. Indeed, on account of the 

 large amount and the only food 

 they consume being insects of all 

 sorts, the bat has been lately 

 given closer consideration as 

 a sanitary scavenger by no pne 

 less than our friend and townsman 

 Dr: C. A. R. Campbell, who has ar- 

 ranged and patented a practical 

 device for attracting and harbor- 

 ing bats by the wholesale, for. the 

 purpose of ridding the surround- 

 ings of a community of mosquitoes 

 and other insects. The device is 

 so arranged that not only the bats 

 find a lodging place and multiply, 

 but the bat manure or guano, from 

 such bats can be also gathered in 

 properly arranged barrels and 

 used as fertilizing material. At the 

 same time. Dr. Campbell suggests 

 an arrangement to protect the 

 small minnow fish in tanks and 

 creeks from feeding on the eggs 

 of the dragon fly— the latter also 

 being an enemy to the culex or 

 mosquito family. 



Practical demonstration, only of 

 course with extensive use of Dr. 

 Campbell's sugestions, will show 

 to what extent mosquitoes will be 

 exterminated by such device, but 

 the scheme is based on sound prin- 

 ciples and it will be a great boon 

 to humanity indeed if successful. 



Since above has been written, 

 I understand that the experiments 

 are being conducted with most 

 satisfactory results, and a large 

 bat-guano gathering establish- 

 ment and breeding house for bats 

 has been created at theGoverh- 

 ment Experiment station on the 

 Corpus Christi road, and 

 also at the west side of 

 the hilly region facing Mitchell 

 Lake, one of the most prolific in- 

 sect breeding and marshy lagoons 

 10 miles south of San Antonio. ■ 



Now, let us see to what extent 



