Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1911-05-18
"SWAT THE Fly.
(From the Dallas News)

But a short time ago we regarded the
house fly with a species of indulgent pity
He was such a harmless, persistent.
amusing little pest that it seemed cruel to
kill him. And just because this feeling
has been with many of us from the days
of infancy, we often fail to realize the
rcal,ugly truth in the dangers that the
house fly has brought to our doors. We
still regard him as annoying, hut as to
taking tie fydestroyns crusades seri-
ously, many Of US smile and continue to
watch the foolish fly buzzing harmlessly
on the window pane
If somebody came along with a small
camels hair brush and dipped il in filth
of Undesirable sort, and then brushed
our food with IT, there would he a massa-
ere that would go down to posterity In
letters Of red. but this is just precisely
what the hy Is doing daily. The chief
difference, II any, for the fly has brushes
of tiny hairs on his feet. is that there
are hundreds of these nlth-laden brushes
at work, maybe thousands. And we smile
at his antics and let him walk on. our
GOOD at will.
This is scarcely a time to be nice In
expre~ The fly has settled all that
He visits the sick room and walks upon
the face Of some patient maybe one with
IA virulent disease. Then he comes over
to see Us and dabbles his uncean feet in
the butter. He hangs about tho odorous
stables where animals have trodden the
ground into an evil-smelllng mush, eats
what he cares for. rOosts on the sweating
neck OF /. horse and then comes to our
table again and walks over the bread,
or sticks his feet in the tomatoes or
beans. Where some unfortunate con-
sumptive has been coughing and ex-
decorating the fly buzzes hungriy. Then
he comes to our home and alights on the
| habys lips.
1t would appear that it is time for
people to wake up and realize that the
iouse fly is not at all the harmless, an
| noyins little pest we have believed. II
there is any Nth OF whatever sort. from
! the decomposing body OF a fowl to mat
ter Of indescribablc sort, and the ny has
access to It, he is right there with his
feet In II, and he comes and go~s at Will
In many Of our homes. leaving behind him
traces of his travel that VIC often do no,
| recognize until illness overt axes us, anc
even then we've had to have science bea
! II INTO our neadS tndt the NY is TO blame
The chief protection against this filth
laden insect is the ordinary wire screen
1t can be elaborate or simple as tC
frame. Just so it is nyproof Il can b,
bought very cheaply by the yard Xix,
cloth, cut with scissors and tackled owe,
windows II desired, and few strips o
wood covered with wire netting represen
a screen door on which the fly will sit anC
lcng to get in.
Every house in the land should b
screened. Tho screening costs less tina,
window shades and no home, owned o
rented, should be without IT, 1t Is par
ticularly important that the dining-room
and kitchens Of hotels and restaurant
be screened, This is not mere talk. On
may at almost any time pass the doc
Of restaurant and find flies feasting 4
the filthy cutters ready to fly within an
, alight on the food. OR II he goes back q
, n restaurant-of almost any restauran
, | in tho land-he viii find that where tn
cook has been killing fowls the flies hav
/ alighted In black masses all over tn
! p,ucked bodies, and these are the sam
flies that have been walking over tn
decaying garbage and investigating tn
] open sore upon some unfortunate mul
y standing in the street. Which facts, easil
y ] seen by anyone with his eyes even ma
0 open, show the necessity--the imperativ
! necessity-for screening.