Man is being constantly preyed upon by insects; and were it not
for ordinary cleanliness, he would become a mass of vermin; even
this does not protect him from the rapacity of ticks, mosquitoes,
fleas and many others. Intestinal worms feed on him within, and,
unseen, use their slow efforts for his destruction.
The knowledge of so many classes which actually prey upon the
human system naturally leads to the belief that many others
endowed with the same propensities exist, of which we have at
present no conception. Thus, different infectious disorders
might proceed from peculiar species of animalcules, which, at
given periods, are wafted into certain countries, carrying
pestilence and death in their invisible course.
A curious phenomenon has recently occurred at Mauritus, where
that terrible scourge, the cholera, has been raging with
desolating effect.
There is a bird in that island called the "martin," but it is
more property the "mina." This bird is about the size of the
starling, whose habits its possesses in a great degree. It
exists in immense numbers, and is a grand destroyer of all
insects. On this account it is seldom or never shot at,
especially as it is a great comforter to all cattle, whose hides
it entirely cleans from ticks and other vermin, remaining for
many hours perched upon the back of one animal, while its bill is
actively employed in searching out and destroying every insect.
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