New Iberia enterprise and independent observer., 1911-05-06
The HARMFULNESS OF THE
HARMLESS" FLY.
By Mrs. F. L. Stevens

y
/, + on sputum, on garbage, on filth
4 # eXcreta, about the clubhouse.
. wherever there is filth. indoors O
> out, there you will find on an
9 summers day a swarm of flies
From their breeding places il
horse manure they promptly fin,
p their way into our kitchens. The
scramble pell-mell over the food
They bury their filth in our but
ter, they drown in the baby's milk
they drop their specks on ou
sweet cake. From the baby
diaper they make their way to th,
baby's sticky mouth where they
crawl leisurely in and out.
l am well aware that this pre-
sentation of the habits Of tn,
harmless" fly is unattractlve
but | am hoping that we may see
in this apparently innocent crea
ture our worst insidious foe, that
the spectacle Of house with the
front doors and front windows Sc.
curely screened and the kitchen
left unprotected from the ravages
of this loathsome creature may be
during the coming months thing
unknown.
How Fly Carries Disease Germs.
| The more we know about flies
the more clear it will become that
they must be banished from our
premises. The fly's foot is the
great source of danger to health
and cleanliness. The foot is made
up Of two claws and two pads.
The claws he uses for rough surf
/ aces and the pads are brought into
use upon smooth surfaces. The
pads are covered with thousands
of minute hairs sticky at the end.
When it is remembered that there
are six of these wonderfully con-
structed feet. not to mention the
hairy-covered legs and body, all
of which are capable of carrying
myriads Of germs of disease, is it
any wonder that frightful scourges
of typhoid fever, dysentery, intest-
inal troubles of babies are traced
to this source. @
All his grown-up life the fly has
to manage with sticky feet. The
discomfort of having the feet con-
stantly "balled" up with a con-
glomeration Of all kinds Of mater
ial has bred in the fly the habit
Of frequently preening himself,
particularly his feet When the
material is too sticky to be rubbed
off the fly laps it off; thus filth is
in this manner taken into the
mouth and thus into the alimen-
tary canal and passes off in the
excreta.
Thus it is that all sorts Of micro
scopic particles are moved from
place to place on the feet of flies.
These particles are rarely OF suffi- !
cient size to be seen with the un-
aided eye. Nevertheless, they are
constantly present and the amount
Of matter thus transferred is con-
siderable. owing to the fly's Ion
slant activity. A single fly was
caught and examined, and in its
and on its feet were found
100 900 bacteria.
The house-fly lays her eggs pre-
ferably in horse manure in groups
Of about 100 at one laying. The
life of fly is about ten days.
There may be twelve to thirteen
in summer. The
progeny Of single fly at the end
of a season may be sextillon
a zoe, ,OO9, ,00O, ,O00, 600, ,000.) Thus
we may grasp in some measure
what scourge we may expect
6rom ten or twenty over-wintering
flies that have found comfort
able quarters in crack in the
kitchen ceiling or back ,of the
nantelpiece.
Now is the Time to Get Busy.
The danger to health from the
house-Hly has been studied by
scientists, has been exploited by !
physicians. has been discussed by
has been acted
,pon by Boards Of Health in our
titles, has been considered by all
,iinds of organizations and socie--
les. but little of this agitation has
ound its way into the country
districts. Fhe fly problem is enc
which the farm man and farm
must Of necessity work
mt together. / know man who
made screens for his house last
doors and four win
laws complete, well made, well
a cost of $125. His
lear-by neighbor, in an unscreen.
d house. had a case of typhoid
ever in the home which cost the
amily $500, not to mention the
nffering. anxiety. and fatigue
rhich a long, serious illness means
0 the entire family.
Because the fly has been found
0 be an important factor in the
pread of typhoid fever, it has
cen fittingly termed the s'ty-
hold fly" 1t might be called
he sstnberculoisis flv.n or "diph- ;