■17 
tbat I am as great a naturalist as Audubon ! That Audubon bad Bach- 
man to write his articles, and I have (Lord save the mark !)" Browne!— 
"Still waiting orders. Smithsonian — no cans, no bottles, no tins, no 
nothin'". — "Spoke to Shugart, who will see Commissioner about my 
report."—" Off to Florida," etc. 
Through May and June he was hard at work in the field observing, 
sketching, and experimenting with solutions for the destruction of the 
orange insects. An extract from an official letter to him, signed by his 
superior officer and bearing date June 23, is interesting at this point. 
After referring to what has been done and the difficulties in the way it 
says: "But a more effectual remedy would seem to consist in covering 
the entire tree with some glutinous fluid, which would close up the aper- 
tures of the shells and prevent escape of the perfect insects. Blood has 
been suggested as being both feasible and economical, preserved by salt- 
ing, aud made sufficiently dilute with water to be readily applied with a 
syringe. Near the regions where the orange tree flourishes in Florida 
the alligator is found in great numbers. It is well known that this rep- 
tile abounds in blood, which could readily be taken in the winter, when 
it is in an inactive state. This blood could be preserved in casks, etc. 
July 3, this entry: "Killed alligator. After stabbing him in the 
neck and dividing vertebrse he still lived several hours. Not one pint 
of blood in its whole carcass, and nearly 5 feet long — one quart to 10 
feet ; 100 alligators to 25 gallons. Absurd ! " As no after mention is 
made of this proposed remedy, and there is no reference to it in Mr. 
Glover's published report, it doubtless did not amount to anything. 
A year after, however, when Mr. Glover had left the office, a series 
of articles against D. J. B. appeared in a Washington paper, sigued 
with a nom deplume, and among other things this matter was touched 
upon. While Mr. Glover would never admit that he had written the 
articles, he never denied their authorship. They bear his unmistakable 
ear-marks, however, and were preserved by him with other personal 
writings. As an example*of rich .satire this one extract on the alligator 
question is presented : 
I have been credibly informed by a gentleman who has had some practical experi- 
ence in combatting his (the alligator's) obstinate disposition to shuffle off this mortal 
coil, that, being an animal of warm and generous blood and of a highly excitable 
temperament, he will yield the almost fabulous amount of one pint of the much -desired 
crimson fluid. One of 10 feet then will give 2 pints, and 100 of that length somewhero 
in the neighborhood of 20 gallons. Two hundred negroes might possibly capture 100 
alligators in a day, one being necessary to hold the head and another the tail, whilst 
the surgical operator undertakes the pleasing task of relieving him of his claret. 
Supposing, then, each negro to measure only 5 feet in height, the account would stand 
as follows: 1,000 feet of negroes to capture and demolish 1,000 feet of alligators, the 
produce of which would be20 gallons of the coccus exterminating blood. Estimating, 
then, the hire of each darkey at $1 a day, making $200 for 20 gallons of sanguinary 
fluid, which might effectually syringe twenty orange trees in a grove, and, without 
mentioning the fees of the saurian phlebotomist, you have one of the most astounding 
1416:>— Bull 18 2 
