fies. 199 
by the bites of unknown flies. Not being able to 
discover what fly it is that inflicts these poisonous 
wounds, and having spent so many hours in the fields 
without experiencing such effects, I rather doubt 
these statements, though put forth in perfect good 
faith : indeed, I have often seen the arms and chests 
of the men in harvest time with huge bumps rising 
on them which they declared were thus caused. The 
common harvest bug, which gets under the skin, 
certainly does not cause such great swellings as I 
have seen ; nor the stoat-fly, which latter is the most 
bloodthirsty wretch imaginable. 
With a low hissing buzz, a long, narrow, and 
brownish grey insect settles on your hand as you 
walk among the hay, and presently you feel a tingling 
sensation, and may watch (if you have the patience 
to endure the irritation) its body gradually dilate 
and grow darker in colour as it absorbs the blood. 
When once thoroughly engaged, nothing will frighten 
this fly away: you may crush him, but he will not 
move from fear: he will remain till, replete with 
blood, he falls off helpless into the grass. 
The horses in the waggons have at this season to 
be watched by a boy armed with a spray of ash, with 
which he flicks off the stoats that would otherwise 
drive the animals frantic. A green spray is a great 
protection against flies ; if you carry a bough in your 
hand as you walk among the meadows they will not 
annoy you half so much. Such a bough is very 
