The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1909-07-31
Flies
And Their
Feet.
BY DR.. J. G. BAYLES.

Those who are observant have PROB
ably noticed that every warm uay
brings few flies into the house.
Most of those which have already
made their appearance are small, and
evidently Young. Thus far they have
given little trouble, but the time IS
near at hand when they Will come
in swarms, and, having acquired cour-
age from familiarity with mankinc'
will proceed to make nuisances OF
themselves The good old summer
time" has it's drawbacks, and the
1nusca domestica, or common mouse
fly is one of the worst of them all
It is commonly believed that flies
remain in the house all winter. hlber-
mating in cracks and sheltered places.
This, if true at all, is true to a very
limited extent. and it is safe to as
sumo that 95 per cent. at least, OF
the flies found indoors in summer
have come III through the open Win
dows and doors. Flies are filthborn,
and never outlive their preference
for the conditions which created
them. but they are eager for dainty
food when they can get it, and the
moment a fly gets into the house he
makes for the places where food Is
kept or exposed, climbs over it and
makes himself as much at home. and
in much the same way, as hog n
trough of sw:ll. AS was forcibly point
ed cut in a pamphlet published in the
spring of 1908 by the Merchants AS
ISOLATION of New York, it never
wipes its feet"
Passing with the Indifference OF
the professional scavenger from the
nastiest, filthiest and most dangerous
products of organic decomposition 20
the bread, and butter. and cake OF
the family table, it leaves behind y
footprints which are often, and per-
faps nearly always, niduses OF patho-
genie bacteria This has been con-
clusively established by cultures on
gelatine plates over which flies have
been permitted to walk. Flies caught
in the rooms of patients suffering
from typhoid fever, smallpox, scarlet
fever. tuberculosis and other diseases
have been examined under the micro
scope, and in nearly every instance 1t
has been found that they are not only
covered, but filled, with the special
bacteria of these diseases. In a single
"1yspeck," about the size OF a period
used in punctuating an American edi-
torial article, as many as three thou
sand typhoid bacilli have been found
Careful observations have established
the fact that the spread of typhoid
fever in war time among the troops
in the field is affected chiefly by the
agency of flies; and PSYCHOLOGISTS
are reaching the conclusion that a
great many other forms of contagiou
and infection are propagated IN the
same way.
Even those upon whom statements
of this kind, however we'll supported
by scientific authority, make little or
no impression would shudder at the
thought of eating what the fly has
walked over and probed here and
there, if they could see what the
microscopic sees when he looks for
what he has left behind him. Elimin-
ating the idea of specific danger. it
should not be agreeable to a right
minded human being to have his fool
polluted by the filth which the fly car
ries with him. There is no fouler
thing in nature than the fly. The
carrion crow and the buzzard are i'm
maculate compared with him.
To keep flies out of house in
wolves very little expense and no
more trouble than the immunity from
annoyance is worth. Window screens
and wire outside doors are inexpen-
sive fixtures, and why any household
should be content to be without them
passes comprehension. 1t is a mis-.
take to delay installing these essen
tial agencies of protection for health
and comfort until hot weather Is
reached. The flies of May are just
as dirty and just as dangerous as
those of July. Once in the house theic
expulsion is difficult. They find plenty
to feed upon, and are as much at
home in the garbage pail as in the
sugar bowl.
A house free from flies and mos
quitoes is the only home in which
even an approximation to comfortable
living is possible. 1t is, moreover,
the only home in which life and
health are as well safeguarded as
prudence demands.-New York Amer
lean.