Rensselaer Union, Volume 11, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 May 1879 — How Mosqultoes are Developed. [ARTICLE]

How Mosqultoes are Developed.

Fokseveral years past 1 have noticed in warm vveatnor that my wooden ciatoru, which Is above ground, has been infested with pocullar looking little red worms. I have heard many others like myself complain of these worms,' and l had taken it for granted that they were a species of earth worm. However, last summer I procured a glass jar and sprinkled the bottom of it with a very small quantity of sand and clay. 1 then half Ailed tho jar with dear fresh water, and after putting a dozen of these worms in a jar, I tied a nicco of cloth over the moflth,. and placed it in a light, airy place. The worms wore from half to threoftfurlhs of an inoh in length, of a bright red color, and had rather a jointod appearance about the body. They wouid crawl on tho bottoln of the jar, swim through the water by a ranld bending of the body backward and forward, and occasionally come up to tho surface of tho water and float. Within twenty-four hours after placing them in tho jar, 1 noticed that they had all gone down to tho bottom of the vessel, and had envolopod themselves separately in a kind of temporary shell inado of earth and sand. In a few days after this I saw one of those worms crawl out of his temporary house at the bottom of the jar and swim to tho surface of the water. Here, after twisting about for a few seconds, he ruptured a thin membrane that enveloped his body and eatne out a fullfledged mosquito ready for business. I noticed many of the other worms going through tho same performance within a short while afterward. Some of the mosquitoes wore much larger than others, bnt, as T have already stated, some of the worms were alsolargor than others.—b\ W. Coleman. M. D., in Scientific American. li —» If Bon Franklin were to walk into Philadelphia now, with hisloaf of bread under each arm, ho would be jugged with the rest of the tramps.— Reno Uazelte.