The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1903-11-04
THE DEADLY HOUSE FLY.
Cut This Out and Keep It For Reference
Next Spring.

which it also feeds. Our domes.
tic animals, the dog and cat,
though far from clean in their
habits, we like to have about Is,
but keep them in their proper
places. The house fly, on the 9th
er hand, is generally tolerated
anywhere. 1t crawls over hands
and faces, it gets into the milk, it
walks over sugar and salt, over
bread and cake, often soiling and
contamlnating everything that it
touches with it's filthy teet.
Flies are a menace to health,
because after walking and feed
ing upon filth they can and do
sometimes carry upon their feet
and tongues the germs or seeds
of disease like dysentery and ty-
phoid fever. When these dis
eases occur in localities where
outhouses are in use, unless the
utmost precaution is taken, the
germs of these diseases may cas-
lily be spread abroad through the
agency of flies.
A striking illustration of this
fact was brought to the attention
of the public during our war with
Spain, when typhoid fever was
prevalent among the soldiers in
the concentration camps in diff
ferent parts of the country. DR..
Victor Nj. Vaughn is authority
for the statement that flies un.
doubtedly served as carriers of
infection. Flies swarmed over in
fected matter and then visited
and fed upon the food prepared
for the soldiers at the mess tents.
In some instances where lime
had been spread over the infect
ed matter flies with their feet
whltened with lime were seen
walking over the food.
An individual fly lays on an av.
erage about 120 eggs, which in a
few hours hatch INTO larvae, or
"maggots," and after another
transformation the full grown
adult flies appear, ten days from
the time the eggs were laid
Contrary to popular belief, flies
do not grow in size after their
last transformation.
When we consider how expos
ed is the system so generally in
use for the disposal of the secre-
tlons of the human body in rural
districts, is it strange that ty-
phoid fever occurs so frequently
in the country? Under such CIR
cumstances every opportunity is
offered for the spread of this dis
ease through the agency of flies,
particularly the house fly, which
finds in the stable and the out.
house the conditions most favor
able for it's development.
To this end every effort ought
to be made first to do away with
all places favorable for the breed
ing of flies. Horse manure can
be kept in a closed pit or the
place where 1t is stored should
be screened. Where it Is not
practical to screen, chloride of
lime if used in liberal quantities
will prevent the development Of
any eggs which may be deposit.
ed in manure.
Screens should be used in ev.
cry door and window and all food
should be kept where there is no
possibility of flies getting to it.
Fly traps and sticky paper ought
to be used constantly, even when
doors are screened. Finally, III
privies should be screened or
done away with altogether. In
no way can the wastes of the hu.
man body be done away with
more safely and thoroughly than
the medium of water
Earth closets where water can be
used are coming into general use,
and it is to be hoped that before
many years the old d-fashioned |
country outhouse with it's expo
sure to flies and it's many other
L.. 4