hed? How broad are the wings as compared with
the body? How are they folded? Are the two pairs of wings alike? Which
is used most in flying? Is the head firmly attached to the body? Examine
the large eyes; where are they found? Will grasshoppers bite you while
handling them? What is the brown juice which escapes from the mouth when
disturbed? How long are the feelers as compared with the body? Can you
tell the males from the females? What is the distinction? Do they ever
make music? Examine for all the foregoing points and write a brief
report covering these. Make a careful drawing of a grasshopper from one
side; also make an enlarged drawing of the face of a grasshopper and
name the parts.

CHAPTER IV

THE HOUSE FLY OR TYPHOID FLY

In the house fly we find one of man's most deadly foes. War can not
compare with the campaigns of disease and death waged by this most
filthy of all insects. In our recent strife with Spain we lost a few
lives in battle, but we lost many more in hospitals due to contagious
diseases, in the transmission of which this pest played a most important
part.

The fly is dangerous on account of its filthy habits. It breeds in
filth, feeds on filth in open closets, slop-barrels, on the streets and
in back alleys and then comes into the house and wipes this germ-laden
filth on our food or on the hands or even in the mouths of helpless
babies. Who has not seen flies feeding on running sores on animals, or
on "spit" on sidewalks? These same flies the next minute may be feeding
on fruits or other food materials. We rebel when pests destroy our crops
or attack our stock, but here we have a pest which endangers our very
lives, and the lives of those dear to us.

If the fly confined itself to filth we could overlook it as it would
help to hasten the removal of filth. On the other hand, if it avoided
filth and remained in our home we could not overlook it, but we could
feel safe that it was not apt to do us a great deal of harm. But, like
the English sparrow, one minute it is here and the next somewhere else;
from filth to foods and then back again to filth. In this way it carries
disease germs upon its feet and other parts of its body and by coming in
contact with food material some of these germs are sure to be left on it
and cause trouble later. The fly's method of carrying disease is
different from that of the mosquito where the germ is carried inside its
body.

[Illustration: House fly; a