THE AORIOULTURAL JOURNAL. 



or, as it has beea more generally termed 

 in other writings, Bengalia depressa. 



So far as the attack of the fly is con- 

 cerned, I think it may safely be said that 

 last season alone there were some hun- 

 dreds of patients who passed through the 

 hands of various medical men and who 

 suffered from this form of parasitism to 

 which the term Myiasis " has been ap- 

 plied. 



For my own part I have met two or 

 three dozen parties who suffered, though 

 I was always too late to see more than the 

 scars left after the maggots had escaped. 



In one case a child under six months of 

 age had had between 20 and 30 taken 

 from the scalp, and in the majority of 

 cases this seems the part most subject to 

 invasion. In other cases the cartilageous 

 portion of the nose was attacked, and 

 maggots were commonly found in the 

 skin of the chest, stomach, back, arms, 

 buttocks, and legs. In another case the 

 finger of a baby was invaded, and two 

 cases of attack in the scrotum were men- 

 tioned to me by reliable witnesses. 



In no instance have I had any direct 

 evidence of natives suffering from the 

 pests, but I have flies reai ed from larva? 

 taken from the body of a coolie. Dogs 

 and rabbits also suffer from the same 

 parasite. 



The range of the fly seems limited to 

 the coast and no further inland than an 

 elevation of 1,000 ft. It is common from 

 the Tugela downwards, being particularly 

 abundant about Verulam and Durban last 

 season, and not so much so south of the 

 Port. 



There is a general opinion that moie 

 than one species exists which has this un- 

 fortunate habit, and whilst this is possible 

 I am of opinion that, upon the whole, the 

 trouble arises from the species named 

 above. I am led to make this remark be- 

 cause a number of writers to the daily 

 press insist that any large, brown flj is a 

 dangerous one. Such an assertion at once 

 detracts from the value of any statement 

 such writers may make, as it shows too 

 hasty judgment and a habit of jumping 

 to large conclusions upon small evidence. 

 I take it that the better course is to advise 

 householders that i as the flies can only be 

 determined with a certainty by a specialist, 

 and then only after a minute inspection), 



the wiser plan is to destroy every large, 

 brown fly found about the home, and 

 particularly in the sleeping rooms. 



The following is a general description 

 of the true maggot fly, in popular words, 

 but it is only fair to say that it will apply 

 equally well to many species pi-obably 

 having nothing in common with the 

 pests : — 



Length, half an inch. Head large, eyes 

 large and of a dark-brown colour, the face 

 (or area between the eyes) of a light or 

 even yellowish brown. The thorax or 

 chest — the central division of the body 

 carrying the wings and legs — of a greyish 

 brown and sparsely clothed with spiny 

 hairs. The abdomen is white beneath, 

 and of a grey-brown colour above, except 

 for the large light-coloured segment which 

 is attached to the thorax. The wings are 

 transparent, glassy, tinged with a smoky 

 brown, and many veined, but not banded 

 or spotted in any way. The mouth is not 

 suited for piercing, but is spread out and 

 of a sucker-like form, suited for taking 

 up food in a liquid state. The female 

 flies are not supplied with any needle-like 

 ovipositor with which to pierce the flesh 

 of a victim in order to deposit their eggs 

 in the skin. 



The eggs of the maggot fly, taken from 

 the female's abdomen, are elongated and 

 white, being about 3-50th inch in length. 

 With regard to the depositing of eggs, and 

 how the larvae become encysted in the 

 skin, I regret to say that I have no data 

 supporting that explicit testimony which 

 one i-equires before accepting individual 

 views. In at least three directions it has 

 been averred that the flies lay their eggs 

 about the bedding, and the larv«, which 

 hatch from them, bore into the skin, one 

 writer to the ^atal Mercury stating that 

 the maggots had been picked out 20 at a 

 time, " while their bodies were vigorously 

 flapping to and fro as they bored their 

 way into the flesh." It is claimed that 

 this usually happens when the victim is 

 asleep — cei-tainly none of my acquaint- 

 ances have been able to satisfy themselves 

 as to where and how they became infested. 

 As to how long the maggots take to 

 mature in the flesh I will quote from notes 

 supplied to me by a fairly careful observer 

 who submitted them to me as a matter of 

 personal opinion open to amendation. 

 " When camping out last March," ob- 



