upon the heat or coolness of the atmosphere, 

 especially the appearance of the sun. The 

 wanner and more unclouded his beam, the 

 more insects are there upon the wing ; and 

 every diurnal species seems fitted for longer 

 or more frequent excursions. 



As the time has now arrived when these 

 little winged visitors become troublesome 

 from their numbers— causing us to slay them 

 right and left for our own protection from 

 ceaseless annoyance, — a word or two about 

 keeping them partially out of our dwellings 

 will be acceptable. 



It is a remarkable, and, as yet, unexplain- 

 able fact, that if nets of thread or string with 

 meshes a full inch square, be stretched over 

 the open windows of a room in summer or 

 autumn, when flies are the greatest nuisance, 

 not a single one will venture to enter from 

 without ; so that by this simple plan a house 

 may be kept free from these pests, while the 

 adjoining ones which have not had nets 

 applied to their windows, will swarm with 

 them. In order, however, that the pro- 

 tection should be efficient, it is necessary 

 that the rooms to which it is applied should 

 have the light enter by one side only; for in 

 those which have a thorough-light, the flies 

 pass through the meshes without scruple. 



For a fuller account of this singular fact, 

 the reader is referred to a paper by W. 

 Spence in Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. vol. I, p. 1, 

 and also to one in the same work (vol. ii. p. 

 45), by the Rev. E. Stanley, late Lord 

 Bishop of Norwich, who, having made some 

 experiments suggested by Mr. Spence, 

 found that by extending over the out- 

 side of his window nets of a very fine 

 packthread, with meshes 1£ inches to the 

 square, so fine and comparatively invisible 

 that there was no apparent diminution either 

 of light or the distant view, he was enabled 

 for the remainder of the summer and autumn 

 to enjoy the fresh air with open windows; 

 without the annoyance from the intrusion of 

 flies, often so troublesome that he was obliged 

 on the hottest days to forego the luxury of 

 admitting the air by even partially raising 

 the sashes. "But no sooner (he observes) 

 had I set my nets, than I was relieved from 

 my disagreeable visitors. I could perceive 

 and hear them on the other side of my bar- 

 riers ; but although they now and then settle 

 on the meshes, I do not recollect of one 

 venturing to cross the boundary." 



Frank. 



[Thank you for this interesting commu- 

 nication. The poor house-fly is a wonderful 

 little creature truly. His curiosity and prying 

 propensities, however, get him into end- 

 less troubles. Just now may be seen a 

 number of boys about the streets, wearing on 

 their hats an enormous circular pillar of 

 paper— towering upwards to a fearful height. 



At a distance this pillar appears to have been 

 painted black ; but as it and its bearer 

 approach nearer we find it animated, and 

 can hear an incessant buzzing proceeding 

 from it ; not like the sound produced by a hive 

 of bees, but a horrible whirring and hissing 

 noise, painful to listen to. We are not long 

 kept in suspense as to what all this means ; 

 for the urchins enlighten us by unceasing 

 shouts of " Catch 'em a — live ! all alive — oh ! 

 Cockroach — es, bee — dies, blue bot — ties, 

 and waps — es, — Catch 'em a — live!! all 

 a — live ! ! ! " And sure enough these imps of 

 Satan are right. "All alive"the poor wretched 

 creatures are — glued, chained, riveted to the 

 frightful groundwork of that horrid cylindrical 

 towering paper pillar. We have, in a for- 

 mer number, minutely described how these 

 " Catch-'em-alive" papers are manufactured, 

 and entreated all people using them for the 

 purpose of destroying flies, to be merciful 

 in their cruelty. Whatever winged insect, 

 attracted by the smell of the composition 

 spread upon these broad -sheets, alights on the 

 paper to reconnoitre, he at once becomes fixed 

 as in a vice. His legs are engulfed in a morass 

 — he plunges — he frets — he fumes. All is to 

 no purpose. At last, in his agonies, he almost 

 invariably dislocates some of his joints ; 

 drawing his feet upwards, until, by his 

 height, and fearful elevation, we become sen- 

 sible of the magnitude of his efforts to escape, 

 and his consequent tortures. His wings are 

 free. His body lives ; whilst his extremities 

 are in a hopeless state of inactivity, racked by 

 unutterable anguish. We learn this by the 

 unearthly, half-stifled groans, and ceaseless 

 hum proceeding from the awful fly-paper. 

 Day and night the sounds fall upon the ear ; 

 and it is considered by the young, giddy, and 

 thoughtless, to be " good fun." " Catch 'em 

 a — live!" roar the juvenile dealers in these 

 engines of torture ! The refrain is taken up 

 — the joke enjoyed by the multitude — and 

 the sufferers linger on until death kindly puts 

 an end to their misery. One word more. If 

 these fly-papers are considered useful, let all 

 who use them burn them regularly at the close 

 of every day. Their cost — three for a penny — 

 is trifling, and not to be named in comparison 

 with the conscientious discharge of an act of 

 duty. Let any one carefully examine a well- 

 filled sheet of flies, and listen to their move- 

 ments as well as gaze on them, — then will the 

 sound of " Cockroach — es, bee — dies, blue 

 bot — ties, waps — es!" uttered by the dirty 

 vagabonds in our public thoroughfares (to the 

 tune of" Catch 'em alive — alia — live oh !") be 

 recognised with becoming horror. The heat 

 of the sun, broiling the unhappy victims glued 

 to these sugar-loaf pillars, is a sight as sicken- 

 ing to behold as it is painful to describe. 

 May we be the means of awakening some 

 feeling of pity for the poor sufferers !] 



