Flies.

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4395, 3 February 1883, Page 2

Flies.

The plau adopted by Mr S. Madge for keeping tho flies away from him.is exceedingly ingenious, and as far as we know, has never before been made public. Indeed, Mr Mudge would prefer keeping the secret to himself, as if universally adopted it would oease to act. The in reutor is a keen observer of nature, and he has noticed that he has never, on the very largest man's back, seen more than five hundred flies. The usual thing is for about 250 to settle on the back and hat, and for 250 more to worry into the mouth, nose, eyes, and ears of the victim. These constantly change places; those tbat weary of worrying perching on the back while those that were on the back go on the wing. But Mr Mudge ascertained from long and careful observation that the flies that attach themselves to a man in the course of a walk remain with him to !

the end, and that when he is, so to speak, fully stocked, the rights of those who are possession are respected, and no others come to him. Mr Mudge's idea was to get his back and bat taken up by dummies. With this object in view, be went to a fishing tackle maker, and gave an order for the manufacture of 500 artificial house flies. He bad these fastened on to tery fine and small steel hooks, and by their assistance attached them to his coat and hat—four hundred on the former and one hundred on the latter. The effect was truly marvelleus. He no sooner stepped out of his house on the road to his office, than a mob of flies on the look out for. pasture land made for him. But to their surprise and astonishment they found the" claim'taken up. They went round him half a dozen times,"counted th« number in possession, and finding that he | had the regular number left him in disgust. During the whole of Mr Mudge's walk from his house to his office not one fly came near him, and he has been equally successful every time he puts his dummies - on.

But Mr Mudge has a turn for figures, and he puts the case to himself thus :— "There are in Victoria 800,000 ~persons. Allowing 500 flies a head; that would give four hundred millions of those beasts of prey that .make a living off human beings. What would happen if every man, womanT"T and child in .the colony got himself taken y up by dummies ? The answer is plain. Either (a) the race of man-eating flies would die out; (6) they would turn from human beings to the lower animalsT«nd._ drive horses, cows, cats, dogs, pigs, &c, &c, mad ; or (c) in the struggle for existence they would disregard the rights of property, and settle.down in. fresh swarms on the backs and shoulders of those who were apparently stocked to their full limit. My belief is that the last mentioned ill would be the result, and that the dummy system; if universally adopted, would prove perfectly useless ior keeping down the plague of flies. For this reason I object in the strongest manner to the publication of my plan."—Melbourne Punch. •.-.--• .■-.=■