The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-28
THE ORDNANCE

The health code of the city Of Bir- mingham contains the following laws pertaining to stables. Section 11S6-Floors or Stalls. All stalls in which horses mules, jacks, jennets and other animals of like kind are kept in the city Of Birming- ham, shall have hard floors made of cement, hard clay, wood, gravel or some similar material and const~ cted without cracks in which manure can accumulate and in such manner as that
 manure can be readily removed there from
 Section 11S7--Removal of Manure. All such stalls at least once in each 24
 hours shall have all wet bedding and all manure dropped, deposited or col lected therein removed therefrom, or the same shall be taken up on Thurs day of each week and removed from the city limits.
 Section eptacles to Be Pro- tected From Flies. All manure when , removed from stalls stored, collected or otherwise kept in the city of Bir- mingham, whether on the premises or not, shall be deposited in a receptacle so constructed by screening or other wise. as that house flies cannot gain access to said manure, it being the in tention of this section to suppress the breeding of house flies in fresh manure; !; and all manure deposited within the city at the place where it is to be used for fertilizer purposes, shall be ap- piled by spreading it upon the land on which it is to be used, within 36 of tirraa of ro1a 0ot+ less said manure be placed in a recep- tacle so constructed that flies cannot gain access to it. The contents of the receptacle shall be removed at least once each week and it shall be unlaw- full for any person to place or cause to be placed any night soil or garbage in such receptacle.
 According to a bulletin recently is- sued by the United States public health service, there are several varieties oi flies, including the house fly, the most common and widely distributed of all flies;' the blue bottle, or blow fly, which hasa weakness 4fors the exposed surfaces of fresh meats and fruits: the sgreen-bottle fly, usually found near putrefying meats: the biting stable fly" a blood sucking vampire of the fly kingdom, and the a.lesser house fly. the name given to the species which next 10 the house fly is the most common indoor resident. The bulletin further describes and
 indicts the fly in the following lam guage:
 REPRODUCTION
 "Flies are extremely prolific. The stages in the life cycle occupy at the
 most put few days, and sexual
 maturity is reached within three or fnrr dox
 the eggs deposited by the female
 usually number a hundred or more.
 an enormous increase in the fly popu-
 lation is possible within a short pe-
 riod of time. Like many other insects.
 flies pass through several develop
 mental stages, the immature forms
 differing radically from the adul..
 There are four stages in the deyelop-
 mental cycle, namely, the egg then
 the larva or maggot period. next the
 pupa, chrysalis or resting stage and
 finally the adult fly. thorough un.
 derstanding of each of these stages Is
 essential for a proper appreciation of
 the role flies play in disease trans
 mission.
 Nearly all flies breed in organic
 filth. A favorite medium is horse
 manure, but decaying vegetables. fer
 menting kitchen refuse, human ex-
 creta, and putrefying animal matter
 offer sites which are nearly as wall
 adapted to the conditions necessary for
 propagation. The barn manure pile
 may be the place of origin of thousands
 of flies, the unprotected and unscreened
 privy serves as en excellent indus for
 their growth, while fermentinr food
 stuffs and other waste food products
 scattered about the yard may aIso
 assist in their propagation. But thrae
 conditions are necessary for fly propa
 gatton in filth of this character
 namely, proper temperature. moieture
 and food supply. The warm manure
 pile and the decaying and fermer,tinp
 garbage heap admirably fulfil fhess
 conditions. The swarm of flies invar,.
 bly, seen about places of this Character
 during the summer season, is an, in- dication that not only feeding hu+ actual propagation is in process. The breeding season variea iwit,, the climate. usually beginning dur,ng May in the north, but more often n, early April or March in the south: pro- pagation continues until late. Septem- Der. The fly population is usuaIlv greatest during August and September after which it very rapidly diminishes..' tEat in some instances where there were not enough extra cots. tents, blankets and other supplies to meet the critical situation Tuscaloosa guardsmen, along