Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-08-12
Do away With
STABLE FLY

M 49, FDTSSR
Mean Unusual Number Of
These savage Insects.
Washington, p. U, Aug. 1.-THE
stockmen Of north Texas, Oklahoma
and the grain belt to the north are
now confronted with Conditions
which may bring shout a serious out
break OF the stable fly similar to that
experienced in north Texas and 9th;
er parts of the. grain belt in 1912 The
sc.called stable ny is the insect
which closely resembles the horse
fly, but is capable of causing much
annoyance to- live stock by its pain
full bite, which is inflicted with q
sharp pro5oscis or beak,' or straw
fly" When it Is, not biting the point
Of this ibeak may be seen projecting
slightly in front Of the head. The
body of the insect is also slightly
more robust than that Of the house.
fly, and the abdomen rather more
distinctly marked with dark patches.
Thrive Ia Wet Straw
The unusually large grain crop OF
this year will give rise to q very
large number 81, straw stacks. a
considerable number of flies are
now present and with a period OF
rainy weather we may expect a horde
OF them three weeks later. It has
been shown by Investigations con-
Quoted by the Bureau of Entomology
that these flies breed extensively IN
fermenting straw Oats straw and
rec straw are preferred by the. fly
for its breeding, although in the alb.
sence Of these the straw OF wheat,
rye or barley, II In the proper state
Of fermentation, will produce large
numbers Of them.
.Prevsntives.
Manure acts a. q breeding medium
throughout the year; this Is espe-
cially true of horse manure. The
fayorableness OF this substance for.
breeding is increased when straw
used as bedding Is intermixed. Al
though manure produces a sufficient
number Of stable flies to prove very
annoying to stock It appears that Sc.
we're and wide spread outbreaks are
largely attributable to the breeding
of the pest In straw stacks. The de-
.struction Of the stale fly in the first
instance may be brought about by
the scattering Of the manure upon
fields, thus causing the drying out of
breeding material and consequent de-
struction OF the larvae. Where It Is
not practicable to scatter the manure
fields the same results may be &C
c%omplished by treating it with borax
at the rate Of 50 pounds to 8 bushels
Of manure. The powdered borax
be scattered over the entire
surface Of the manure pie. AS fresh
manure is added II should be treated
with borax at intervals Of five days
10 insure destruction OF the house fly
IS well as the stable fly Borax has
IN injurious. effect upon crops when
Used in excessive amounts. 1t. IS
therefore necessary where the man-
ire is to be applied to soil for crop
ping that quantities not greatly In
excess OF the above amount be used
in the manure.
Care of Straw.
In the grain growing section the
care CT the straw after threshins is
BY far the most important step in the
Of this pest. 1t has been de-
termined that fermenting oats straw
Is far more favorable as q breeding
medium for the stable ny than is
wheat straw or other vegetable mat
Ter. Where rice is grown hordes of
tiles are often bred out in the fer
menting straw and chaff from this
crop. Oats straw is also much more
l.ghly priced for feeding live. stock
Than is wheat straw. The shortage
If food stuffs oyer much Of the grain
belt for the last few years has caus-
ed the farmers to depend largely up
IN straw to supplement other food In
carrying their stock through the win
Ter. The value attached to oats
straw for feed and the fact that this
material furnished the most favor
able breeding Of the stable fly, en-
phasizes the need Of taking better
care Of 1t.
Bale Oats straw.
1t is advised that as far as possible
all oats straw be baled and then pro-
tected from the weather. In else
portions OF stacks 'Decome wet by
rains they should. be scattered over
the fields or burned as soon as pos
sible. When it is found impractic-
to handle straw m this way the
wet portions Of the stacks may be
with (borax as described,
Where 1t is important that
straw be kept for winter feeding, and
is impracticable, the stacks
may be improved to some extent by
pliing up the straw and leaving the
sides Of the stack practically vertical.
1t is in the scattered portions Of the
straw stacks around the base where
the fly breeds in greatest numbers,
and by disposing of this portion of
the stack and leaving the remainder
we'll rounded up, the chances for fly
are much lessened.
70 Protect Live Stock from Flies.
The problem CT protecting live
especially milk cows and work
animals, from flies is almost contin-
uously before the farmer. Most OF
the repelling substances which might
be named Ere Of only temporary
value, as with practically all Of them
the flies begin biting again within q
very few hours after. application.
This necessities considerable ex-
pense for the ingredients and the ap-
plication of the material, and with
many substances some all effects are