Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

CHAPTER XTVPESTS OF THE WOODSSummer twilight brings the mosquito. In fact,when we go far north or far south, we have himwith us both by day and night. Rather I shouldsay that we have her; for the male mosquito is agentleman, who sips daintily of nectar and mindshis own business, while madame his spouse is awhining, peevish, venomous virago, that goes aboutseeking whose nerves she may unstring and whoseblood she may devour. Strange to say, not amongmosquitoes only, but among ticks, fleas, chiggers,and the whole legion of bloodthirsty, stinging fliesand midges, it is only the female that attacks manand beast. Stranger still, the mosquito is not onlya bloodsucker but an incorrigible wine-bibber aswell — it will get helplessly fuddled on any swet*-wine, such as port, or on sugared spirits, while olgin it is inordinately fond.Such disreputable habits — the querulous sing'song, the poisoned sting, the thirst for blood, andthe practice of getting dead drunk at every opportunity,are enough of themselves to make the mosquitoa thing accursed; but these are by no mean.;the worst counts in our indictment against it. Wehave learned, within the past few years, that all thesuffering and mortality from malaria, yellow fever,and filariasis (including the hideous and fatalelephantiasis of the tropics) is due to germsthat are carried in no other way than by njosquitoes.Flies spread the germs of typhoid fever aii-d malig^^ant eye diseases; fleas carry the bubon'^ piaguCf'241