The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1910-08-18
IRON SULPYATE
TO KILL FLIES

house fly will be possible next year !
if the faith that John }. Davis, asssis. |
tant Illinois state entomologist, puts |
in his experiments with preventives |
proves to be justified. The Danish |
ment of nearly all typhoid fever from
country districts and of part of the tv-
phoid from cities, made possible by
the results of the experiments that
he will have completed by next spring,
will be, he believes, a subject for
legislation and police activity.
destroy the maggots in heaps of
refuse and so per cent of the flies
will be kept from life
This is the dictum which was given
by Mr.. Davis as he sat in his "bug-
house." the laboratory and breeding
room that has been constructed for
his experiments at Lowell and West
Waveland avenues, on the grounds OF
the new Carl Schurz high school. To
this place he went last winter, desert
ing the structure of wire screens
which he and his experimental sub
iects had occupied for several months
near the Oak Park high school.
by next spring said Mr. Davis,
while houseflies buzzed fearlessly
about his head, 81 should be in a po-
sition to say just how the maggots
of the flies can be most easily destroy
ed in the greatest numbers and how
the flies that escape destruction in
the maggot stage of their existence
can be fought when they reach the
adult form. This will be done only
by putting poison in refuse heaps and
by supplying parasites in sufficient
numbers to kill the flies not killed
by poison.
cat least so per cent of the flies
are developed from eggs laid in man
ure. If the manure is carted away
once every week, so that the flies do
not have time to develop, the plague
of flies will be no longer plague II
the manure is promptly spread OUT
on the ground the sun will quickly
kill eggs and maggots.
of people will not clean their sta
bles once a week, the manure heaps
and boxes must be treated with chem
icals if flies are not to come with
them. The finding of the substance
that will do this work best and yet
not cost too much is what my expert
ments are directed toward.
"The process of study involves hrst
an investigation into the life history
of the subject and then experiments
with all possible methods of destruc-
ton as may be indicated by the facts
obtained from the study of life his
tory. NV experiments with the house
f1v have been carried on at the coun-
tv farm at Dunning.
81 have boxes about foot deep nj
led with manure to which flies nave
been allowed access for laying eggs.
With the eggs or the maggots at
about the same age | have treated
each box with poisonous substances
to see what will be best to kill all life
I have tried almost everything that
I could think of and have decided
that about half dozen substances
are best. / have had different de-
grees of success with paris green,
cyanide of potassium, sulphate of iron
and of copper and kerosene.
"The kerosene kills everything in
the manure, but it kills the manure,
too. After kerosene treatment the
manure cannot be used as a fertili-
ger.
"The iron sulphate has given the
best results. 1t penetrates every
where and kills practically all the mag
gots. 1t does not harm the manure.
Indeed, iron sulphate solution is
sprayed on fields to kill the weeds
And it is cheap; 100 pounds can be
bought for about 81. That amount
will last a long time in an ordinary
stable. A solution of one pound in
a gallon of water would be stronger
than necessary, and a gallon of the
solution would be more than enough
I. should say, for stable where one
horse is kept The sterilization
would be done at a cost of less than
one cent a day.
Treatment of all manure heaps
and also garbage pals in a neighbor
hood would free that neighborhood Of
flies. Though a fly may go a mile oil
more if there is no food nearby, i
will not 30 more than three blocks
in a residence neighbOrhood. l have
proved this by spraying some fiei
with a solution of phenolphthalein, ;
| oolorIoc- ouhctanna that hapOmas raI