Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-07-14
PREVENTING BREEDING OF
FLIES.

A safe and effective weapon against
the typhoid or house fly has been found
/ In powdered heIIebore by scientists Of
| the department Of agriculture. Flies
lay their eggs chiefly in stable ma
nure. Powdered hellebore mixed with
water and sprinklsd over the manure,
will destroy the larvae which are
Matched from the eggs. Since pow
dered hellebore is readily 0btainable,
this puts in the hands Of everyone "a
remedy for one of the pests that has
been found dangerous as well as trOu-
blesome. Powdered helIebore, how
ever. will not kill adult flies which
must be swatted or trapped,
It has long been known that flies
breed in manure but previous methods
Of destroying the larvae there by the
use of strong chemicals have been
open to the objection that the treat
ment under some conditions lesseued
the fertilizing value Of the manure or
actually injured vegetation. This is
not true Of powdered hellebore. Gov
eminent experiments have shown that
the heIlebore is entirely deC0mp0sed
in the course Of the fermentation of
the manure aud that even in excess
sive quantities it does no harm except
10 the larvae it is intended TO destroy.
Chickens picking in manure treated
with it suffer no i'll effects.
0ne-haIf pound OF powdered helle-
bore mixed with 10 gallons Of water is
sufficient to kill the larvae in eight
bushels, OF 10 cubic feet, of manure.
The mixture should be sprinkIed care
fully over the pile, especial attention
being paid TO the outer edges. In
most places heiIebore is obtainabIe in
100-pound lots at a cost OF Ill cents
pound This makes the cost Of the
treatment q little less than seven
tenths of a cent per bushel of manure.
A liberal estimate OF the output of ma
nure is two bushels q day per horse.
The money involved is, therefore,
trihing in comparison with the bene-
fits to the individual and the commu-
nifty from the practical elimination of
the disease-spreading fly.
Although fresh manure is the favor
tie breeding spot, flies lay their eggs
in other places as we'll, such as out
houses. refuse piles, etc. IN these
places. from which no manure is taken
TO spread on the fields, considerable
saving may be effected through the
substitution of borax for powdered he'll
lebore. Applied at the rate Of 062
pounds per eight bushels Of manure.
borax is as effective as powdered helle-
bore il killing the larvae but costs less
than half a cent for each busheI Of ma
nure treated. In larger quantities,
however. or when the manure itself is
spread ar a greater rate than Is tons
10 the acre, some damage TO crops may
result. Large quantities of manure
are often used by market gardeners
and others, and there is always dan
ger of carelessness in applying the
borax. The use OF the more expensive
but safer hsilebore is therefore recon-
mended for the treatment of manure.
Borsx is recommended for all other
refuse in which dies may lay eggs.
Scientists who have been working
for years 10 eliminate the fly are con-
WINGED that the use Of one or the other
OF these simple measures la 4 public
duty wherever manure and refuse ex-
ist. SEnitarians. however, strongly
advise the renewal OF refuse heaps or
other unnecessary rubbish or breed
ing places for flies. In breeding places
which cannot be thus disposed Of
saGh as manure or stahles-~the daily
use Of powdered hellebora will keep
the flies from breeding In these favor
tie breeding grounds. The best re-
suits aFe obtainable in community
where everyone cleans up his prem
ises, traps or kills the aiss, and sys-
temafiealIy treats the manure and 9TH
er breeding places with powdered he'll
lehore.
The fly Is not only q nuisance to hui /
man beings and live stock, It spreads
disease and filth and is 8 menace TO
public health which cannot be toier-
ated in the face Of a demonstrated
remedy,