The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1880-10-06
LET Us HAVE SLEEP.
How to Rid Your Sleeping Apartments Ct
Mosquitoes.

as follows OF the ValuS o. Z IS!eaA
Camomile" in exterminating flies,
mosquitoes and other wandering
wayfarers that interfere with the
peace and comfort Of humanity:
The Pyrethrum roseum, of ''Perslan
Camomile,' is the powdered leaf OF
a harmless flower growing in Cau-
cassian Asia in great profusion,
where for centuries it has been
used to rid the natives of unwel-
come guests from the insect world
It can be purchased Of almost any
druggist, at about seventy cents
per pound, already prepared for
use. With finely powdered dust
made from these flowers, the mos
quito, the house fly, the wicked
flea, and the disgusting Cimez lec-
tularius may all be promptly put to
fight or calmly murdered-a muir
der conferring or the human heart
Joy too deep for words for GER
tainly it is a JOY to sit, as I do now,
at my writing table this hot night,
watching the expiring agonies OF
insects, and rarely feel retributive
sting to warn one of their presence.
In order to enjoy this 7engeful,
delicious sport it is only necessary
to heap up in a little cone, one tea
spoonful of the blessed drug pyre-
thrum, touch it with: a lighted
match, and watch othe thin, blue
line of smoke as it rises to the cell
ing and is waited through the air,
changing the busy drone Of insect
life into a weak wall of insect woe.
Pretty soon down they come plump
on to the table, and over your pa
per, spin on their tiny backs, and
then sheath their lancets, curl up
their hair-like legs, and interest one
no more.
Upstairs our little ones sleep
unmolested, though there are thou
sands of mosquitoes in the room
the pests are sick unto death, ..and
cling sadly to the walls, too feeble
to think Of tapping the rich, warm
blood that glows in ruddy little
limbs just below; the fume OF the
pyrethrum has settled their husi-
ness, and while it fingers in the
room, outsiders are unwilling to
make an entry, though the windows
are raised and the lattices only half
closed.
Gauze bars were long since ban
ished from our beds; indeed, we
have not used them for nearly seven
years. They are hot, stufy things
at best, and one must be sadly
driven to attempt to sleep under
such a cover; then, as we know,
the mosquito always finds his way
through, no matter how carefully
one may tuck up his folds about
the couch.
Smoke from the Persian Camo-
mile, or its dusty powder, We have
found most eMcacious, and your
readers will bless me when once
they try it. The purity Of the
drug must be assured. This can
readily be tested: It must have
bright buff color, be light, readily
burned, and give pleasant tea-hke
fragrance; one pinch should kill
dozen flies, confined in bottle, at
once. Where it fails Of these
properties it has been adulterated.
In common use in large OF breezy
rooms, where from great dilution it
fails to kill, it nevertheless produces
on insect life, through it's volatilized
essential oil or resin, undoubted
nausea, vertigo, respiratory spasm,
and paralysis. It acts upon them
through the minute spiracles, the
breathing tubes, that stud the str
face of their little bodies, and form
the delicate network of veins in
their tiny wings.
To human beings it is, so far as
I can ascertain, entirely innoxious
and not disagreeable. That we-a
family Of eight persons, infants and
adults-haye lived in an atmosphere
of pyrethrum dust and smoke COM
bined, during this present summer,
is sufficient proof Of my statement.
To the skeptic I recommend an
interesting experiment: Pull the
pvrethrum into close, warm room,
where flies most love to swarm just
after dark, shut the door, and make