The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1912-04-26
The Right Plan Of Campaign for the
War on the Fly on the Farm
Sand In the City.

Cd IT. - Follettes last spring (April
15) has had a season r. which +to
make good. That It has done 20
wherever 1t has been It all possible
to apply it has been practically demon
strated. So far as flies are concerned
III case OF the isolated home, It has
done away with the need OF screen
windows and doors, and. It has made
possible the enjoyment -of. meals OF
unscreened porches without q fy to
annoy-a veritable release from our
summer fly screen prison haraf
The plan az. published insisted or
beginning eariy,-"One pair in April
or May means millions t. August;
but, put into operation f. mid sum
mer, with breeding T. full blast. o. 2
Maryland farm and country place: IT
proved, as one writer puts It, so
simple a. to b. almost humorous and
60 effective 40 to BE- little short CT the
nncanny" This latter refers to the
sudden disappearance at about the
end OF the ten-day period, required
for eggs already laid to emerge 80
adult insects. The plan works out
like a problem in arithmetic: Let
all the flies trap themselves e. their
feeding and breeding places, there
will then be no more eggs laid and
presto, there will b. 10 more flies.
fHow Could He Have Caught Itl"
.. This ia all most too good to be
true, and the main difficulty TO- 10
get people to study the plan enough
to understand and believe ii. How
ever, the intimate relation between
flies and filth-disease infection ia
coming to b. appreciated rapidly Iov-
CT the entire country. No other ag-
ency. 10 often answers the question:
How could he have caught it?' I'VE
have been Go CAREFUL" He has not
been out of the yard!" q fly carried
the infection to. his. milk, eithtf In
the home or il the dairy. Authori-
ties are beginning to emphasize the
very important TACT that we must
clear the air of this universal diStri-
butor of filth before we can see
clearly to follow other ways of in
lection. This makes determination
the necessary next step toward clean
ly living and disease prevention.
The everlasting difficulty in larger
communities is that there will be
people OF little intelligence and no
Imagination who cannot realize how
many may be- Matched from a. few in
the spring and who say scOrnfully.
"Oh, these few don't trouble in the
least In a few weeks there are
millions, and all the care and labor
of many 90 for naught. No one who
thinks clearly and VINO knows any
thing Of the habits OF the fly can
stop short of complete determination.
a fly is almost continuously feeding,
gorging itself On whatever it can find
to drink. Digestion il rapid and
weak and the most virulent germs
pass through it uninjured. Tt also
Iregurgitates, vomits UP, quantities of
the liquids 1t has swallowed tt
fills it's stomach from the cuspidor,
then finding piece of pie, first vo-
mits the sputum onto the pie and
then fills up again from the latter.
No one who will take a. magnifying
glass and watch fly feed and vomit
and speck for an hour can Willingly
eat. food on which single fly has
been seen to alight. There can be no
more talk about people being"fussy''
about, never mind few flies" when
we have clear ideas On these points.
Every Home Must Cooperate.
The one thing necessary for COM
plete determination H. that every
home, shall cooperate. Fly CAM
paigns have been carried on during
the past season in order to secure
this unified effort Avn, The Worcester
campaign was managed BY one of the
local papers, the editor OF which Off
cred $3.50, divided into 153 cash prizes,
to residents under twenty-one who
brought ia the largest number of
dead flies. The first prize was 300,
the second, SIS; the third. $50; with
a. large number of smaller prizes. The
time was from June 20 TO July 13.
The long time allowed breeding two
full generations and the .twelve-year-
old boy who won first prize estah-
lished large piles of fish offal and
other rich market refuse on public
dump and succeeded IT, rearing about
IS quarts of flies He had the assist
ance of relatives and friends. We
should say he caught this number.
He probably raised many more.
In Baltimore prizes were offered to
children under sixteen who brought
in the largest number The boy who
won first prize had SO quarts to his
credit, the girl winning first prize
having caught 81 quarts. This shows
somewhat how many of the pests a
child can catch, but long before the
campaign closed the children were
complaining loudly .tnat there were
NO more flies to catch.
1t il easy to see now that all these
campaigns we're wrong side up"
They had the cart before the horse;
they emphasized the wrong thing.
About forty bushels of flies were
turned in during the Worcester cam
paign, and undoubtedly some good
was accomplished, which, however,
does not show as yet In the Worcester
Board of Health Reports Tt was all
wrong to offer prizes for the greatest
number: for this encouraged filthy
conditions and led to actual breeding
of flies. The purpose being to exter-
inmate the flies az quickly as posi-
BILE, all the honor and prizes ought to
be given for the less, rather than the
more; for the most complete cleaning
up of the pests.
Make the Campaign ~Right Side Up"
All future campaigns must be man
aged on this principle. To the coun-
try the isolated home Is the natural
unit. A grange may devote meet
ing to discussing and celebrating the
plan and prizes or honors Of some
kind may be offered for the home
that ts flyless first, this being mat
80 0F oaSv fnSOpctiOn and damOnstra-
ton, Our annual infant mortality
CAS-, 900 under two years OF age) due
to summer dysentery- all Of which is