The daily commonwealth. (Greenwood, Leflore Co., Miss.) 1916-1919, 1917-05-16

Z A safe and effective weapon against
the typhoid or house fly has BEEN
found in powdered hellebore by scien.
lists Of the department Of agriculture.
Flies lay their eggs chiefly In stable
manure. Powdered hellebOre mixed
with water and %sprinkled over the
manure will destroy the larvae which
are Matched from the eggs. Since pow
dered hellebore is readily ~Obtainable,
this puts in the hands of everyone 4
remedy for one of the pests that has
been found dangerous as well as trou-
blesome. Powdered hellebore, 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 lessened
the fertilizing value Of the manure or
actually injured vegetation. This Is
not true Of powdered hellebore. Gov
eminent experiments have shown that
the h~ellebore' is entirely decomposed
in the course Of the fermentation OF
the manure and that ever In excessive
quantities 1t does no harm except to
the larvae it Is intended to destroy.
Chickens picking in manure treated
with 1t suffer no ill effects.
One-half pound Of powdered helle'
bore mixed with ten gallons OF water
is sufficient to kill the larvae In eight
bushels, or ten cubic feet of manure.
The mixture should be sprinkled care
fully over the pile, especial attention
being paid to the outer edges. In most
places hellebore Is obtainable In 1OO-
pound lots at q cost Of II cents q
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
manure is two bushels a day per
horse. The money involved is, there
fore, trifing in comparison with the
benefits to the individual and the com
munity from the practical elimination
of the disease-spreading fly.
Although fresh manure is the ia
yorlte breeding spot, flies lay their
eggs in other places as well, such al
outhouses, 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
hellebore. Applied at the rate OF O.02
pounds per eight bushels OF manure
borax is as effective as powdered hele'
bore in .killing the larvae but COST
| less than half a cent for each bushel
Of manure treated. In larger guam
titles. however, or when the manure
itself is spread at a greater rate than
Is tons to the acre, some damage u
crops may result. Large quantities
of manure are often used by market
gardeners and others, and there Is al
ways danger of carelessness In apply
Ing the borax. The use Of the NOR
expensive but safer hellebore Is there
fore recommended for the treatment
of manure: Borax Ia recommended
Cor all other refuse In which fiiea
may lay eggs.
Scientists who have been working
for years to eliminate the fly are con-
WINGED that the use of n or the other
of these simple measures Is a public
duty wherever n and refuse ex
list. Sanitarians, however, strongly ad'
wise the removal Of refuse heaps OF
other unnecessary rubbish or breeding
places for flies. In breeding places
which cannot be thus disposed Of
such as manure or stables-the daily
use of powdered hellebore will keel
the flies from breeding In these ia
vorite breeding grounds. The best re
suits are obtainable in a communit!
where everyone cleans up his prem
ises. traps or kills the flies, and sys
tematically treats the manure and 9th
er breeding places with powdered
hellebore.
The fly is not only a nuisance II
human beings and live stock; !
spreads disease and filth and Is
menace to public health which canno
be tolerated In the face Of a demon
strated remedy. Details Of the expert
ments with other information on tn
subject are contained In a profession
al paper, Bulletin PAS of the Unite