Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 August 1891 — Page 6

ABOUT THE MOSQUITO.

jpACTS ABOUT THE MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S PEST. iMqnltofi, as Sent Under the Microscope. vlth an Acc-mut of the Manner in Which They Are t re t—Ravage Females and Their XHiolont SrouM*.

and In more languages than any other living thing. Scientists variously call her the culex piplens, (diex Amcricanus , the cousin, the rn'iucheron and the “humming gnat.” The Century dictionary describes the insect of many aliases as “one of many different kinds of gnats or midges, the female of which bites animals and draws blood.” Persons who are given to attribute to the fema e sex all the gentlenesss and amiability there Is in the world will boar this in mind. Mr. Mosquito is an easy-going, gorgeously arrayed creature, with neither (he disposition nor the ability to bite and draw blood. He is a sort of a Turveydrop in the insect world, who seems to !iave no higher object during his brief lfe than “to show himself about town.”

MOSQUITO EMERGING FROM PUPA SHELL - (Highly magnified).

His life, to be sure, is a short one, but (hen it is full of indolence and luxury. He is expected to pay certain delicate attentions to his infinitesimal spouse, which she rewards when tired of him by giving him a short, sharp, and fatal

THE MALE MOSQUITO (NEW JERSEY 1 SIZE).

prod of the remarkable lance which she carries ooncealed in her probosis. He Is not provided with such a weapon, and is as much at her mercy as a boxer at that of a skilled swordsman. He is of gentle and perhaps amiable character. He lives on a strictly vegetable diet, which may account for the absence of the bloodthirsty and ferocious spirit of his spouse. She can at a pinch live the life of a vegetarian, but what she wants is gore, piping hot gore, human if she can get it; but never overlooking any chance. The toughest hide that over covered a horse or steer does not intervene between the lady mosquito and her vampirish thirst. It is even doubted that Col. Mosquito is given to vocal efforts. If he ever does join his consort In a nerve destroying duct, he sings very low, and his performance is entirely overlooked, when the restless human appreciates the ease with which my lady takes high C and holds it until driven out of the room by the exasperated wielder of a wet towel. Less is known about the origin of the mosquito’s name than of his habits, and Americans have no monopoly of information upon this latter phase of the subject. All climates claim the mosauito as pest in chief. On the upper waters of the Missouri mosquitoes, after a rainy season, are the greatest impediment to navigation met with. They swarm by millions. Cattle are driven in the river, and they stand with their muzzles alone held above the water, which are black with the pests. Pilots on • the boats are forced to burn smudge firos. They are of every conceivable degree of minuteness, and no veil has fine enough texture to exclude them. Artcic explorers all write of sufferings at the hands, or rather stings, of mosquitoes. In England mosquitoes are called gnats, and on the continent of Europe

THE FENALE MOSQUITO.

cousins, raoucheron*. and other names. Tto* gnat belongs to the genus cuter. It Is found in ruo t of the temperate aud tropicaJ portions of t'ne globe where man

HE anything but genial “mosquito,” “musketo,” “musquito,” “musquetoe," “moschito, ” “moschetto,” “mosquetto,” “muschetto,” “musbetto,” or “musquetto” is ' abroad. For such a very little pest the “mosquito” has more names

has penetrated. About thirty species are known in the United States. In the human family the female is the more ornamental as well as the more amiable animal. In the insect world, particularly among mosquitoes, the re-

THE LARVA OF THE MOSQUITO- (Highly magnified).

verse is the case. There are mosquitoes which confine their activities to the daylight hours, and which will lavish their caresses principally on the tender foliage of trees and aromatic plants. Theso

principally inhabit woods and marshes. The other variety make themselves heard and felt during the night chiefly. The greater portion of their active existence is passed in or near human habitations. Theso are the varieties with which man Is most intimately acauainted.

But in all tho species of the mosquito family the malo apparently is the superior being. In grace and elegance of architectural construction, as well as in variety and gorgeousness of raiment,tho male mosquito far surpasses the female. The male also enjoys privileges and prerogatives to which the female can never aspire—certainly can never gain. The function which she performs In propagation of tho species compels hor to consume more food than he does, and all this food 6ho is obliged to get herself. In every essential particular sho has to make hor own and the family’s living without the slightest aid from him. Such food as he requires for hlmsolf, which is neither large in quantity nor varied in quality, he picks up. Beyond that he does little except to display his charms and enjoy life. It Is tho female of the mosquito family with which tho human species comes in most intimate contact. The female does by far the greater portion of the biting done by the family,ana tho warblingsof the mosquito are those of the female mosquito only. The mosquito first appears in the form of an egg. The eggs are deposited in the water by the mother mosquito Before doing this she crosses her hind legs in the shape of a letter X. As

THE MOSQUITO'S STING —(Highly magnified.) A— In Its sheath. B—Half torn off to show sheath. C—Sucker developed to show parts. D—Barbed point of one blade of sucker.

the eggs are dropped they are caught' by the crossed legs, the'glutinous sub&tance attaching to the eggs holding them together. The number of eggs laid by one female before rising is very great. These eggs are arranged in the form of a raft and left to ride on the water, shallow, stagnant fresh water usually being selected. By the additions made to the number of eggs the raft is converted into a sort of a boat, and when the laying process is all completed the boat consists of from 300 to 350 eggs. This is the first stage in the exi tence of the embryo mosquito. Atter the last egg is laid and the boat completed the mother’s function, so far. at least, as regards thi9 particular brood, ends, and the eggs are left to shift for themselves. A few days after the egg boat is launched the larvae appear. These are of an elongated, worm-like form, ana come bufbf the lower end of the eggs, leaving the empty shells forming tho boat lying.on the surface of the water. Thd ffhe.l is soon destroyed by the action of winds and water. When tho larvae appear the eggs are hatched. Most read“TC ; nf this article have seen these larvae'in Immense numbers on the surface of stagnant water during the warm months. They are vulgarly called “wigglers ” Suspended from tho surface of the water, with head downward, they to breathe by means of a sort of tube communicating with the triahe*. The appearance o l the larva

may be said to complete the second stag* in the existence of the mosquito. From ten to fifteen days after the appearance of the larvae the substance enters the pup® state. They take on a thin skin, almost completely covering the larvae, and roll around in the water, their motions being directed by afin-lfia contrivance at the end of the tail. Ths quick, seemingly irregular, movements of the pup® give them the name of “tumbleis. ” Tney, too, aro familiar to persons residing In the rural districts in the spring and summer. The change of the larv® into the pup® completes the third stage in the mo 3 Quito’s existence. Between five and ten days after the pup® appeals the last and most critical stage in the entire metamorphosis of th(> egg into tho perfect insect arrives. About this period tho pupa skin bursts open, and the mosquito takes its first look at daylight. Tho pupa shell is in the form of a boat, the opening appearing on die surface of the shell which is farthest from the water. The insect rises slowly and deliberately until it at length balances itself on its tail A small gust of wind how or a slight eddy, and tho shell boat would tip over, when tho mosquito’s active existence would end before it begun. If the gust of wind or eddy fail to appear—and it is certain that they often do fail to appear—the Insect slowly extricates its front pair of legs, and places them on the surface of the water, still clinging to tho shell boat. Then it as slowly and deliberately spreads its wings. They at first strike the water, but aro raised ab ;ve It again, and the sun—for these affairs invariably take place on sunny days—and air dry them. Tho hind legs aro then slowly drawn from tho shell until their ends rest on tho edge of tho boat, the body is stretched out, the wings expanded. A moment afterward the wing* flap, the shell is tipped over, the head Is turned shoreward, and the mosquito is ready for business.

Electric Mosquito Not.

One of the most singular uses to which electricity has been put in this eleotrio age is announced from Paris. A French savant has invented an eleotrio mosquito bar, which is, he believes, destined to replace all other means of defense, against flying insects. Making use of the principle of electric exe* cution, he has constructed a sort of screen or wire-work cage, with a small electric light in the center. The mosquitoes, attracted by the light, attempt to fly through the interstices of the cage; but if they so much as touch the tips of their wings—and they cannot fly through without doing so—they are struck by the ourrentof eleotrioity with which the screen is kept constantly charged. This mosquito-trap, which, under a test, is said to have killed innumerable, victims, can be maintained only by the aid of a small electric apparatus, so ar-j ranged as to send alternative currents; through the wire network. It is supposed that the person to be! protected takes refuge on the interior! or the netting, with the little eleotrio light and the generating apparatus. It! is not too much to say that there are, some people who would rather have the; mosquitoes. Inasmuch as, if the electrified net-; ting will keep out the mosquitoes, at netting made a little closer would keep them out without any electricity,! it does not seem likely that this invention is destined to any great useful-! ness. It reminds one somewhat of the story! of a Dutchman who went about selling a preparation for poisoning a certain kind of troublesome insect. “You take de insec’ mit de finger an’' de dumb of von handt,” said the ped-1 dler, “an’ den mit de odder handt you put de pizen in his mout. ” “But,” said a farmer, “if you’ve got to catch them and hold them that way, why can’t you smash ’em and dona with it ?” “Veil,” said the Dutchman, “dot’s a good vay, too!” The electric netting also suggest* the story of Patrick’s experience with an ordinary mosquito canopy. He found one in a room he was to sleep in. one night, and, after studying it for a time, made up his mind how it was to be used. This was the way he related his experience the next day: , “It’s an illegant thing I found in me room lasht noight. There was a kyoind of a fishing-nit for minnows over me bid. I made a hole through it wid me knife, an’ ivery moskater in the room wint into the nit through the hole. Thin I shtopped up the hole wid me hat, an’ shlept on the flure all noight, comfortable-loike, wid niver a boite at all!”

Good Quali ies In an African King.

King Khama, of Bangwato, Bechu- 1 analand. Africa, is one of the most| noted rulers in the dark continent. A long time ago he adopted the Christian faith, and lives consistently with his belief. He cultivates the friendship of the whites and encourages their influence in his country. Knowing the evils of strong drink he prohibits its entry into his dominions and is thus doing much to detach from civilization one of its greatest evils. As an instance of his energy it may be said that; in the fall of 1889 he moved the town of ShoshoDg, with its population of 30,009 souls, to a more favorable site.l The new town is called Palapye and is twenty square miles in area. King Khama’s peopfe are prosperous ana happy.

Whine or Whistle, Which?

A small boy was chasing a somewhat bigger one the other day, when the bigger of the two stumbled and fell, l’he other tumbled over him and was hurt as much as the bigger one.i But the bigger boy was the biggest baby and began to whine and cry. The smaller one got up, brushed off the dirt, rubbed his barked knee and began to whistle. The other one looked at him a moment and then blabbered: “Jimmy, how can you whistle when it hurts so ?” “It doesn’t hurt so if yon whistle," said philosophical Jimmy. “It’s when you whine that it hurts so.” Whistle and whine begin alike, but they end differently. This is a world of compensations — snow comes down in the winter and ioe goes up in the summer.

REMAINS OF COLUMBUS.

Where The? Best end How Jealously They Are Hoarded. J. B. Bose, of Chicago, during a visit he paid to Havana, was granted the rare privilege of viewing the remains of Christopher Columbus. It is in the Cathedral that the remains lie. As one enters the great Boman doorway the eye is struck with the apparent

BOSES OF COLUMBUS.

vastness of the interior. Far away in the distance was the high nltar. The! tall images became blurred and indis-| tinot masses of masonry when viewed; from the entrance. Beneath the vaulted! roof lay the remains of the great discoverer, and it is with feelings of awe: and reverence that one approaches the' ohancel to gaze upon the bones of the man who did so much for the newt world. Eight men were necessary toi bring the moldering bones to view, as, each one possessed a key to certain, looks which the others could not open. On the gospel side of; the altar, or the left side as! viewed from the church entrance, is the tomb of Christopher Columbus. The heavy fastenings were as each priest or official stepped to the; tomb. The leaden casket was taken 1 out and opened. Only a few bones! left of all that was mortal of the great disooverer! As the lid was pressed back an inscription conld be seen on the inner side. There appeared the, words, “HI tre y Es de Varon dn. Christoval Colon”-—“Illustrious and Benowned Man, Christopher Columbus.”

As is known, Columbus died at Valladolid in 1506. About twenty-five years after the death of the immortal

CATHEDRAL OF HAVANA.

navigator his bones were removed from Seville, Spain, whither they had already been removed from Valladolid, and transferred across the seas to the cathedral in San Domingo, Hayti, whence, on the cession of that island to the English, they were again exhumed from their resting place of two oenturies and a half, and in 1795 buried for the third time with great pomp in Cuba in the Cathedral of Havana (named for Columbus —San Crystobel de la Habanos).

For a long time the sounds of almost all English vowels were, as the makers, of dictionaries explain at length, in a state of transition. In different words we now have the same vowel pronounced in almost all the various ways known to European languages, and in several that are peculiar to English speech. Probably the pronunciation! of more than half the words of the English language has been changed. There can be no doubt that English vowels originally had the same sounds they now have in most continental lan- 1 guages. Thus a was pronounced as it. still is in father, e as ei in rein, i as in ravine, and u like oo in school. But the English people, having a way of changing the sounds of vowels in speech, gradually converted each one of them into something quite different. The change is going on still. The vowel a, in London speech, is gradually rqoeiving the sound of long I. An American in London is asked if he l wishes to “take in a piper”—and is puz-j zled until he discovers that this is En-i glish for “taking a daily paper.” This tendency has become so marked! that the “pipers” thembelves have be- 1 gun, at least in a whimsical way, to print words which have a long a with ay instead. The Pall Mall Gazette, in an article on “Primrose Day,” devoted to the memory of Lord Beaconsfield, fancies Englishmen singing: But who will syve old England from the sbyme, ( And her sons and daughters who will syve? j For In vyne, alas I In vyne we deplore the honoured nyme ' Of Lord Beckingsflfeld now lying in his gryve This vicious pronunciation has begun to creep into a limited circle in America, whose members affect English ways. It should be rejected and resolutely discouraged by every one who wishes to speak good English.— Youth’s Companion.

A hew glass is said to have been invented which is as hard and tough as cast-iron. It is proposed to employ it in the manufacture of stairs, street lamp-’ posts and gas and water pipes. If it can be usea for the last named pur-; pose, and thus do away with the dangerous lead pipe, it will be an acquisition indeed. It is Thought that these and similar articles can be made of this new glass thirty per cent, cheaper; than they can be made of cast iron. j * \ 1

THE REAL QUESTION.

Professor C. H. Merriam and Professor i Mendenhall, Commissioners to Go to Alaska. In order that the Government may be fully prepared with all necessary technical information respecting the actual state of the Behring Sea seal.

C. H. MERRIAM.

some time the names of Professor Men-: donhall, Chief of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, and Professor O. H. Merriam, Ornithologist of the Department: of Agriculture, and has at last named them. This mission will be similar to that with which Sir Baden-Powell is charged on behalf of the British Gov-j emment, and if Professor Merriam ao-i cepts the place he will be instructed to leave for Alaska at once with Professor Mendenhall, who has already accepted. Professor Mendenhall was bom near Hanovertown, Ohio, in 1841. He received a common school education. At an early age he developed a fondness for thq study of mathematics and the

natural sciences. He was professor of physios and mechanics in Ohio University from 1873 to 1878. Later he went to Japan as professor of physics in the Im- ( perial University at' Tokio. During his stay he organized the general meteorologic-

al system of the Im- T - mendenhall. perial Government, and he was also one of the organizers of the Seismological Society of Tokio. In 1881 he returned to the United States and resumed the chair of the Ohio State University. He organized the Ohio State Weather Bureau Service in 1882, and subsequently devised a system of weather signals for display on railroad trains. Mr. Mendenhall became professor in the United States Signal Service in 1884, and established stations in the United States for the systematic observation of earthquake phenomena. He resigned from the Government service to accept the presidency of the Bose Polytechnic Institute of Ten® Haute, Ind. Besides member-' ship in other scientific societies, Professor Mendenhall has held the office of Vice President of the physical section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and President of the National Academy of Sciences.

GEN. BOOTH’S CASTLE.

A Tract for the Use of HU ‘‘Darkest England” Scheme. Gen. Booth of the Salvation Army has bought a large tract of land around Hadleigh Castle, which is u picturesque ruin near the mouth of the Thames. Only the old towers are standing. They have been sketched by hundreds of English artists and form the center of one of Constable’s noblest piotures. From time immemorial, says the New York Herald, the castle and the sylvan glades surrounding it have been

free to the public; but Gen. Booth, it is said, intends to devote the property to the uses of his “Darkest England” scheme exclusively, and therefore the purchase is unpopular in England. l The peasantry of the neighborhood are particularly sorry that the estate haa, changed hands, for they have been in the habit of earning a small income by 1 gathering blackberries and other wild! fruits from the ground.

He Was a "Feelin;" Man.

After a railroad aocident in a New England State, a poor farmer’s wife was taken out, bleeding and unconscious. The doctor and a kind woman were working over her when her husband came in and stood a moment, looking on in disturbed silence. Tfi* cheeks were drawn in, his eyebrows lifted, his hands in his pockets. Presently, with some effort, he cleared his throat to speak, and, as the doctor looked up, he asked: “Ye didn’t see a new tin dipper lyin’ round where ye picked her up, did ye?” He got no answer from the indignant doctor, and presently strayed out again in search of his dipper. Meanwhile, his wife opened her eyes and at once asked for her husband. “He’s safe,” said the doctor, shortly. She felt his curt tone, and, faint as 6he was, She divined what it meant. “He’s a dreadful feelin* man,” she said, “but he don’t never say much!”

A Carrier Bat.

William Hester, of Spring Hill, Ha., has a large brown bat which he has trained to carry messages like a carrier pigeon. Mr. Hester took the uncanny bird to his place of business in New Castle, and having made arrangements at home to note the exact time of its arrival let it loose. The bat few r. mile in 27} seconds. The Siberian railway will be commenced this year, bfeginning at Obdivostook, the further end of the line. Our advices do not state whether or not the constructing engineers have determined to bridge over, or tunnel under such names as are given Russian settlements. '

fisheries in the probable event of early arbitration of the UnitedStates’ rights in those waters, the President has d e-| cided to send two 1 agents to Alaska to! gather the necessary information. He has had under; consideration for

OUR BUDGET OF FUN.

HUMOROUS SAYINGS AND DOi INGS HERE AND THERE. I « Jokes and Joke’ets that Are Supposed uj Hare Been Recently Horn—Sayings and] Doings that Are Odd, Curio ns and] Laughable. Too Emphatic. , . “Good morning, Parson Limberlip! How did your congregation like the: minister who preached for you yester-j 'day ?" ! “Dey tell me, sah, dat he war charge’! | ter de muzzle wid gospel fao’s an’ dat; he war flush wid de parts er speech, 'but dat his intellecturum faculties iwuz sorter handicap’ by dat wooden! laig he merniperlated his gestur’s wid.! Yer see, de noddin’ ’gredien’s of my! fol’ hain’t ’onstomed ter bein’ rousted 1 outer deir Sabbeday dreams eb’y now an’ den’ wid a racket dat sonn’ like a, mernagerie let loose iner lumber yard, an’ if he war gwine ter be chronic wid' dat flock, an’.spresserfy his fervorum. wid dat wooden un’erstan’in’ dey’d sist on his w'arin oner deze yere boxin’ 1 gloves or a poultice on de hickory ’jint, ’deed dey would.” - . ... i The Shad Sea-on. Waiter—l expect you to pay in ad- 1 vance. | Gnest—What do you mean, sir? Waiter—No offense, sir, whatever; but the last gentleman who ate shad here got a bone in his throat and died without paying, and the boss took it out of my wages. At the Smiths .nian.

MoCanly-—Oh, gay, Dan; hadn’t yez better oheok yer face? Yer mout break somethin’ wid it. ! - i A Fine Send OIK Gotnix—-Well, I’ve jnst asked old Cashbox! if I could marry his daughter. Wooden—What did he say ? Gotnix—Oft, he promised me a fine send off. Wooden—A house on Commonwealth avenue and a place in his office, I suppose? Gotnix —Well, no; he said if I ever oame to see him again he’d throw me down the elevator shaft. Preposterous. Gay—-I feel like a Hew man to-day j Bnget—Do you? Glad to hear it., Perhaps you can see your way clear toi pay that little biU ? Gay—Fm a new man, I told you., You can’t expect me to assume the liabilities' of the old concern.— Boston Transcript. She Wasn't Surprised. “Yonr husband is not looking well, to-night, Mrs. Bhymer.” “He isn’t, and I’m not surprised at it.” “No? Has he been overworking himself?” “It isn’t that so much; it’s his originality. Why, that man is struck by] so many original ideas that his mind must be one mass of bruises. Looking. Ahead. “Young man,” said the stem father, “do you realize that my daughter is in the habit of wearing dresses that cost all the way from SSU to SIOO ?” “I do,” replied the young man firmly, “and sir,” he continued, an exultant ring in his voice, “it was only the other night that we took an account of stock and found that she had enough of them to last three years ahead.”— Cloak Review. Always Beady. “Did the plumber come down to inspect the pipes this morning ?* "Yes.” “What did he say?” “He said there was nothing the matter, but he could very soon remedy that.”— New York Sun. The Font of Knowledge. Mr. De Science—The officers of the Smithsonian Institution are having thej chatter of monkeys phonographed, in, the hope that their language may be understood, and ifc may be possible toi converse with them. Mrs. De Science—lsn’t that grand? l I hope they’ll ask the monkeys the very first thing whether we are descended from them or not.— New York Weekly. So Much tho Cotter for Her. A gentleman and hie wife, the latter with a 6-months-old infant in her arms, were about to enter the Austin Opera House to see the performance one night, when the doorkeeper suddenly said: “Beg pardon, madam, but you can’t' take infants inside 1” “Very well,” said the lady, “so much the better for me You just take care; of the little fellow till the play is over i -and, by the way, there’s a milk-bot-tle in case he should cry.”— Texas Siftings.

A head of Julius Caesar.— Life.

Or the 11,000,000 square miles oi Africa only 2,500.000 remain in tbs hands of the native rulers. _ .. I- —— ■■ .Midi#