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her piazza one evening a “little bug” flew into her face and became 
entangled in her hair. While trying to remove it she was almost over- 
come by the sickening stench which seemed to be emitted by the insect, 
and which clung to the fingers for hours afterwards in spite of repeated 
washings. The crushed remains of the “ bug” were placed in a little 
bottle with the intention of showing them to me, but had been forgotten 
until my inquiries recalled the matter, perhaps a month later. By that 
time they were so few and so badly decomposed that I was only able to 
see that they must have belonged to a very small carabid beetle, but as 
no odor whatever remained, and as some doubt existed as to these being 
the veritable remains of the original “ bug,” the matter was dropped. 
During the summer of 1896, however, the same disgusting odor 
appeared in various parts of the campus with a frequency which was 
extremely disagreeable, and it became so noticeable and occasionally so 
overpowering on the piazza that the family found little pleasure in sit- 
ting out of doors on warm evenings, and I was sorely puzzled. An 
incandescent electric lamp hung from a tree about 25 feet from the 
piazza, and among the many insects attracted by it were many lace- 
wings (Chrysopa), with whose odor I was perfectly familiar, and for 
some time I endeavored to connect our mysterious affliction with these 
insects, but without success. The dog, the children, the neighbors, the 
privy, and the sewer, all fell under suspicion in turn, and all but the 
last were speedily exonerated. The roof pipes and all other openings 
leading to the sewer were examined and sniffed at without result. The 
lattice about the base of the piazza was opened by day and by night 
and the space beneath was thoroughly searched for offensive matter, 
animal or vegetable, all to no purpose. The attic and walls of the 
house being inhabited by several families of red squirrels and flying 
squirrels, it was thought possible that some of them had died, or pos- 
sibly had carried young birds into their nests and left them to decay. 
It is no uncommon thing to see the red squirrels carrying off young 
robins from the nest, or eating them in the sight of the enraged parents. 
With this in mind, holes were bored in the box posts of the piazza and 
the most susceptible noses applied, but without the detection of any- 
thing unusual. I cireumambulated the foundations of the house on all- 
fours, with nose to the ground, to the edification of the spectators, but 
without any nearer approach to a solution of the problem. 
Early in August last year, and while still puzzled by the continuance 
of the nuisance, I received the following letter from Mr. Charles Hebard, 
of Pequaming, Baraga County, Mich.: 
PEQUAMING, BARAGA COUNTY, MICH., August 9, 1896. 
SUPERINTENDENT AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, 
Lansing. 
DEAR Srr: For the past two years we have been frequently annoyed by an insect 
that emits a horrible odor. One live one will scent a whole room. 
At first we thought there were dead rats undei the veranda, but finally discovered 
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