The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1915-08-10
SWAT THE FLY"
Because He Is Chief Agent in Distribu'
ton of Typhoid.

bye, here's fly" TO her infant, sh
changes the second line OF the old nurser,
song to read "Let us swat him, you an
H." The common house fly is no longc
an object of tolerant interest, but ha
become an object of hatred and distrust
He is known to be the principal facto
in the distribution OF the germs of ty
phoid.
Especially is he regarded as the enem,
of the baby, as there is reason to believe
that he carries about the germs of sum
mer diarrhea and leaves them behinC
him, with other filth, when he lights or
the nipple of the feeding bottle, or crawls
over the saucer OF cereal, or falls in the
1 milk Thus he is a real danger, not only
to the baby but to the whole family
and every effort should be made to do
away with him.
Flies may be kept out of the house to
considerable extent by using screens
at the doors and windows, and those
that get inside may be trapped, poisoned
or swatted. But better than any OF
these methods is to destroy the flies in
the laryal stage and thus prevent them
from Matching. The following informa-
tion is furnished by the department of
agriculture:
"A safe and effective weapon against
the typhoid or house fly has been found
in powdered hellebore by scientists Of
the department OF agriculture. Flies lay
their eggs chiefly in stable manure. Pow
dered hellebore mixed with water and
sprinkled over the manure will destroy
the larvae which are Matched from the
egg. Since powdered hellebore is read
lily obtainable, this puts in the hands of
everyone remedy for one of the pests
that has been found dangerous as well
as troublesome. Powdered hellebore,
however, will not kill adult flies, which
must be Gwatted or trapped.
1T 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 treatment I'M
der some conditions Iessened the fertilz-
ing value of the manure or actually in
jured vegetation. This is not true of
powdered hellebore. Government expert
ments have shown that the helebore is
entirely decomposed in the course of the
fermentation of the manure and that
even in excessive quantities it does no
harm except to the larvae it is intend
ed to destroy. Chickens picking in ma
nure treated with it suffer no i'll eff
fects.
Zone. half pound of powdered hellebore
mixed with 10 gallons OF water is suffi
cient to kill tie larvae in eight bushels,
Or 10 cubic feet, of manure. The mix
ture should be sprinkled carefully over
the pile, especial attention being paid
to the outer edges. In most places he'll
ebore is obtainsble in l00-pound lots at
4 cost of j cents pound. This makes |
the cost of the treatment little less |
than seven-tenths of cent per bushel
Of manure A liberal estimate OF the
output of manure is two bushels a day |
Der horse. The money involved is, there
ore. trifing in comparison with the bene-
its to the individual and the community |
rom the practical elimination of the
disease spreading fly.
Although fresh manure is the favor
tie breeding spot, flies lay their eggs in
,ther places as well, such as outhouses,
efuse piles, etc. In these places, from
which no manure is taken to spread on
he fields, considerable saving may be ef-
ected through the substitution of borax
or powdered hellebore. Applied at the
ate of 0.62 pounds per eight bushels of
manure, borax is as effective as powdered
ellebore in killing the larvae, but costs
ess than half cent for each bushel of
manure treated. in larger quantities,
owever. or when the manure itself is
pread at greater rate than IL tons to
he acre, some damage to crops may re-
ult. Large quantities of manure are
ften used by market gardeners and 9TH
RS. and there is always danger OF care
,ssness in applying the borax. The use /
{ the more expensive but safer hellebore
therefore recommended for the treat
tent Of manure. Borax Is recommended
" all other refuse in which flies may
" eggs. 7
Scientists who have been working for
ears 10 eliminate the fly are convinced
rat the use OF one or the other OF these
mple measures is a public duty wher 5
'er manure and refuse exist. Sanitari. I,
ms, however. strongly advise the re- Z
oval Of refuse heaps or other unneces- a
ny rubbish or breeding places for flies. Z
breeding places which cannot be thus e
sposed of-such as manure OF sta bles- s.
e daily use Of powdered hellebore will q
,ep the flies from breeding in these ia q
rite breeding grounds. The best re s.
Its are obtainable in a community Il
here everyone cleans up his premises. Il
APPS or kills the flies and systematically n
eats the manure and other breeding
aces with powdered hellebare. 81
The fy il not only a nuisance 90 hui 81
IN beings and livestock. il spreads dis =,
~ and filth and Il menace 70 public
alth which cannot be tolerated IN the n
re- Of demonstrated remedy. Details
the experiments with other informa- b,
N on the subject are contained in a
OCCASIONAL Paper. bulletin PAS. Of the W
tilted States department Of agricul- 60
re-
W.. post4- rr-crftaH yxTkr- ne CasS e.