Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-07-27
THE WAR ON THE FIN.

The war on the househy is gons
merrily on The warnings recently
quoted in this paper from New Yorh
medical authorities on sanitation arr
almost everywhere repeated with en-
phasls. New matter derived from orig
lnal investigations comes to hand from
the University Of Chicago.
An authority on flies, who points out
that they spring almost entirely from
refuse heaps, offers the following rules
for their partial determination:
~. DO not allow any decaying or
panic material of any sort to aCcumu-
late on your premises Abolish all an
tiquated sewage systems and instaIl
new.
| the dark corners at frequent intervals
and apply lime.
% Pour Kerosene into the drains
and also treat with Kerosene all waste
| material not intended for fertilizlhs
- Kitchen waste intended as fooo
for hogs or other animals should ~
removed and used daily.
IS. If kitchen waste IS deposited w
large cans 1t should be collected IN
least once a week.
IS, Haul out the manure and spre9o
II on the soil every day, or at the
outside, every week.
~. If inconvenlent to haul the ma
nurc out at short intervals, screen 'he
pile 80 as to exclude flies. or treat
with kerosene or lime,
IS. Keep up the work of destroying
adult flies by the usual methods.
Professor William l.. Underwood OF
the Massachusetts Institute Of Teen
nology took u microphotograph not long
ago showing the tracks Of a fly across
glass of beef jelly. Beef jelly takes
up and nourishos germ life. Only rev
seconds elapsed during the iy's prog
ress across the jelly. Yet the creature
deposited some millions of dangerous
disease germs.
Professor Underwood counted one
colony. He found that it contained 49,
10000 germs of typhoid fever, diph-
iberia. malaria, and other diseases.
Miss Mary A Booth of Springfield,
Mass. is another who has made in"es-
LEGATIONS along these lines. She says
that it was not until the Spanish.
American war that deep thought wa
given to the subject of flies carrying
disease. For years such ideas have
frequently been expressed, but we're
not considered seriously. When the
boys were dying 80 rapidly at Mon
tauk of typhoid fever and malaria, 1t
was absolutely necessary that the cause
should be discovered. Then it was
that the danger from flies was realized,
and since then many interesting e%-
periments have been made.
This lady, one of the three women
in the country engaged in micro-pho-
Biography, believes that far more lives
will be saved by this discovery than
were heroically given up by the SOL
diers during the war. Although i'm.
possible perhaps to etxerminate the
flies entirely. yet if precautions are
taken. millions of them can be kept
from breeding. Then, too, we can take
more pains in keeping them out of our
houses and from our food.
1t is generally believed that flies die
from the cold after warm weather is
over, but this is a fallacy. The fly
has its troubles in the fall, and is
killed either by parasites or fungus
growth. Miss Booth has found as many
as fifty parasites on one fly. These
mako the fly sickly and stupid, and
finally cause its death. Enough flies,
however, crawl into cracks and safe
places TO perpetuate the race, and 30
they are as numerous as ever when
another summer comes around.