58 



THE ATLANTIC SLOPE NATURALIST. 



Lords of these pestiferous insects. If 

 a breath of air is stirring they are 

 gone instantlv. The sand fly is a kind 

 of gnat, and nearlj- allied to the "no- 

 see-ems" of the north. There are horse 

 flies down south also, so large and 

 fierce that no horse can stand the bite, 

 and so in many parts they use the 

 patient mule for the work, as it can 

 live through a siege of fly bites that 

 would kill a horse. I have seen a man 

 cultivating beans in southern Florida 

 who had a negro hoy accompany hiin 

 to kill the insects that fed on trie 

 mule, and the mule's sides would be 

 gashed and spotted. One of these flies 

 probed me one day as I was writing, 

 and I jumped high enough to strike 

 the ceiling of the Cracker cabin. 



Then there are cock roaches in plenty, 

 and it does seem that the farther south 

 you get the larger the insects get, and 

 I have seen cockroaches down there 

 twice as large as any that eat the edi- 

 tor's paste at the north. Two inches 

 is a common length, and many are 

 much longer, and when a swarm of 

 them get out for an evening drill, the 

 noise made is noticable as they run 

 about rapidly. We used to have 

 "roach hunts" with prize to the best 

 man; small specimens under an inch 

 not counted The best way to swipe 

 them off the wall and ceiling is with 

 a coat or broom, and the man who 

 could scoop two or three at a smash 

 was considered skillful. We killed 

 hundreds but they seemed just as 

 plentiful afterwards, and about com- 

 pared with tiie inumerable chameleons 

 which skipped around just outside the 

 door and sometimes inside. 



Fleas ! Bless your soul, they are all 

 over the cat, dog, and chickens, and I 

 have counted over one hundred hang- 

 ing on the head of a fowl. They are 

 as thick as ticks on a Mexican mus- 

 tang. Then there are tchiggers, gen- 

 erally spelled jiggers; little critters 

 which burrow under the skin. Also 

 the grampus, scorpion and centipede, 

 but if you keep away from the business 



end of these pizen dispensers you are 

 O. K. 



But none of the insect varmiuts of 

 the south can give a worse stab than 

 a deer fly of northern Michigan, and 

 none possesses a more virulent poison 

 than that left by the Lake Superior 

 black fly. I have seen hardy little 

 iujun papooses with a thick crust 

 formed on their necks by the poisonous 

 bites of the black fly. 



The best w T ay to prevent bites is to 

 wear a covering of mosquito netting, 

 which is attached to the hat rim all 

 around and drawn in at tne neck. 

 Nothing equals this as a protection 

 at the north against flies and mosqui- 

 toes, but at the south, in certain sec- 

 tions, one must use cheese cloth in 

 order to keep out the sand flies, which 

 can enter through the mosquito net 

 mesh. 



As a preventive to be applied, the 

 best preparation that I have learned 

 is of what is known as "Nesmik's 

 Dope," which is composed of three 

 ingredients, viz: One part of penny- 

 royal, two of castor oil, and three of 

 oil of tar. This is not an elegant 

 prepratiou, but it serves the purpose 

 if well rubbed in. To those who are 

 disgusted at the smell and sticky sen- 

 sation, let me say that they had bet- 

 ter stay aw T ay from the insect infected 

 quarters, for there are two many de- 

 tractions of a serious nature to admit 

 of comfort with a man who has a 

 delicate nose and is anxious to shine 

 as an aesthete with white hands and 

 good clothes. 



In conclusion, let me saj r that in 

 nearly all quarters where fishing is 

 good, there are almost certainly serious 

 drawbacks, and if my readers do not 

 care to risk their skins for their pleas- 

 ure, then they had better keep out 

 of the w T ilds. Let me add that good 

 gloves are a necessity in many 

 sections, and dress is of great impor- 

 tance in the woods on an outing. No 

 furbelows, hut sensible covering, and 

 not the least important item is to let 



