Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 2, 1802).djvu/347

315&#93; r lv In order to prevent the i ns of this Ins< it. it bas i • mix three tiip-a 1 with ounce of flour of sulphur in a glazed n pot, which should be close- ly co i n d: after standing twenty- four hours, another ounce of sul- phur should be added, and the same quantity after forty-eig t hours, is to employ three ounces of this powder to three pounds ot the seed, carefully stirring the whole every time the vessel is opened, with a smooth piece of wood or ladle, that the seed may be tho- roughly impregnated with the sul- phur. It is then to be sown on an acre of ground, in the usual man- ner, where it will effectually keep off the insect till the third or fourth seeding-leaf is formed, which will acquire a bitterish taste, and thus be secured from the depredations of the fly. — Another remedy is, to strew tobacco-dust over the land ; and in some counties the seeds are steeped in soot and water for seve- ral hours previously to being sown, by which they acquire such a de- gree of bitterness, as to screen them completely against the ra- vages of this noxious insect. There' is a kind of fly which infests orchards, perforating the leaves of the trees, especially quinces ; and which, though the foliage is afterwards renewed, oc- casions irreparable injury to the fruit. With a view to prevent these depredations, it has been re- commended to mix a small quan- tity of diluted honey with some arsenic, which composition attracts the insects, and consequently de- stroys them. This remedy may, with due precaution, also be em- ployed in houses where flies abound ; and as flies are liable to FLY [3*5 great thirst, if a weak solution of arsenic with a little sugar be placed on a plate, in windows or on chim- . EheywiH drink it eager- I thus ma t with almost im- mediate destruction. As, however, arsenical remedies are liable to produce dangerous accidents, we shall communicate other means which are less hazard- ous, and equally efficacious, for exterminating iflies. If a room be swarming with these noisome in- sects, the most easy mode of ex- pelling them is, simply, by fumi- gating the apartment with the dried leaves of the gourd (Cucurlita, L.) the smoke of which instantly ex- pels them, if the window be open- ed, or suffocates them in a close room ; but, in the latter case, no person should remain within doors, as these narcotic fumes are apt to occasion the head-ach. In situa- tions where this expedient cannot be conveniently adopted, Profes- sor Tromsdorf has furnished usr with an excellent remedy, that nei- ther endangers the lives of chil- dren, nor is attended with much expence or trouble. Take two drams of the extract of quassia, dissolve it in half a pint of boiling water, add a little syrup or sugar, and pour the mixture on plates : to this enticing food flies are extreme- ly partial ; and it is to them not less fatal than solutions of arsenic. 'FLY-BLOWN, a term expres- sive of that corruption of flesh- meat, or any animal food, which is occasioned by flies depositing their eggs on its surface, where they are subsequently bred into maggots. — In the warm days of summer, meat is very liable to be thus tainted and rendered unfit for use, especially if it be kept in a close or damp p.' ace., which is not