344 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



very much as though suffering from colic, and die in a few hours. Whisky is said 

 to be an antidote. * * * When they first appear they aro much larger than when 

 they have remained a few weeks, and when they first appear are more deadly to the 

 stock. * * * They are worst during seasons like the present — a big overflow of 

 the Mississippi River. 



During the present year (1884) the ravages of these gnats in portions 

 of Louisiana and Mississippi seem to have been worse than ever before. 

 The following is a sample of several communications which we have re- 

 ceived on the subject : 



Monroe, La., April 16, 1884. 



Dear Sir: I beg leave to address you on the subject of the greatest pest that has 

 ever afflicted this country — the Buffalo Gnats. I do not think the Department of Ag- 

 riculture at Washington or the public at large fully appreciate the fearful destruc- 

 tiveness of this plague. The loss and suffering caused by it every year are terrible. 

 To my mind these abominable gnats cause more injury than the grasshoppers, cab- 

 bage-worms, cotton-worms, phylloxera, and other insects to which you have devoted 

 so much profound and useful investigation. These latter affect vegetation, while the 

 gnats destroy animal life, and, unless checked by some better preventive or remedy 

 than any known or used at present, they will render farming or even living impossi- 

 ble in a large and fertile section of the United States. They get larger, more numer- 

 ous, and more ravenous every year. Hogs, poultry, and cattle die in great numbers, 

 and. what survive are reduced and poisoned so that they are a long time recovering 

 from the affliction. The mules and horses die spite of all precautions. This year 

 these gnats have for the first time been as bad at night as in the day-time. They till 

 the entire atmosphere like an immense swarm of bees, seeming to burst forth from 

 the whole surface of the earth. The flies that plagued Egypt could not have been 

 worse. The worry and pain of the poor brutes is horrible, and humanity demands that 

 some relief should be invented. 



We use smokes and oils of various kinds, but these remedies are inadequate, not only 

 for work-stock, but for cattle which run at large. 



The gnats are not entirely due to overflow, for they infest portions of the country 

 where there is no overflow, and I am satisfied in a few years they will spread over the 

 whole South and West. 



Is there not something which could be fed to stock that would make their blood 

 poisonous to the gnats? Or could the parents which breed these pests be destroyed 

 by any means? 



Hoping that you may thoroughly investigate this subject, I remain, 

 Very respectfully, 



A. A. GUNBY. 



Prof. C. V. Riley, 



United States Entomologist. 



REMEDIES. 



Smudges. — The good effects of a smudge, or thick smoke, in keeping 

 off the gnats have long been known. This method is in use at the South 

 at the present time, and also in Hungary. The customary method in 

 Hungary is simply described by Kollar as follows : 



"For this purpose they (the inhabitants) collect large and longish 

 heaps of straw, hay, foliage, dry dung, &c, both near their houses and 

 also in the pastures. A brand is put in the middle and the heap begins 

 to burn slowly and causes thick smoke, which prevents the approach 

 of the gnats. The cattle there, which know the effect of the smoke, fly 

 eagerly to the smoke-heap as soon as they perceive a cloud of gnats, or, 

 when these gnats annoy them greatly, lay themselves down by the 

 heap, and always on that side of it to which the smoke will be driven 

 by the wind or current of air." 



It will be unnecessary to elaborate upon this subject, as it is a remedy 

 which is well understood wherever these insects abound. 



Body applications. — We have already given, under the caption "Dam- 

 age done by European species," the salve recommended by Schon- 

 bauer for the purpose of anointing the animals to keep away the 

 gnats. This, however, is tedious in its preparation, and, from its con- 

 sistency, difficult to apply with rapidity. The use of oil of tar, by the 



