Evening star., 1945-08-16
This and That
BY Charles Z. Trncs,pelI.

A snake or rat in ones home is
something to conjure with.
The usual weapons are poison, q
broom, a cat or trap
One Virginia woman found q snake
room.
At frst she thought 1t was a rag
but shortly discovered that it was the
outer skin of snake, silvery tan. of
glasslike appearance, and full Is inches
long, including the tail
Il have no idea how 1t got into this
thoroughly sealed and screened house, !"
she writes, 'or whether it left its skin
and departed, or, miserable thought, Is
still in the house.
1T 1t remained, fear it will starve
to death, and haven't slept soundly
since making discovery"
A harmless species probably man
aged to wiggle into the house one day
when clothes were being taken out to
the line. This operation demands that
q screen door be kept open long enough
for many fiies-and maybe a snake,
now and then-to get in.
Flies are not as harmful looking II
snakes, but they probably have done
moro harm to humanity over the CEN
turies, simply because there are so many
OF them, and for so many years they
were regarded as harmless.
William Blake, the English poet, wrote
some lines inviting the fly to sip from
tho same cup.
In those days the fly was regarded
as . nuisance, and nothing more. In
vestigation since has revealed that he
Is responsible for many diseases.
"Swatting the fly" has been an indoor
sport ever since, but since 1s4l the
people Of the United States have been
too busy with Japs to have much
time for fies.
With the ending of hostilities, we all
ought to 60 back to swatting flies. -
You don't launch an atomic bomb
with an atomizer, but it is just the
thing Tin the form of a sprayer) for
dealing with flies.
Some families make a practice OF
going around and getting rid of all the
flies which have come in on wash
day"
Wash day-which is now any day of
the week the sun shines-is coming
into It's own again, too.
Humid days made this q real prob
lem, utterly beyond that of q labor
problem. with soap complications.
When would the clothes dry?
1t was real problem. Weather ey-
perts could have told the women that
there was no chance at all of clothes
drying when the relative humidity was
"a, and above. Things on the line were
as wet after eight hours outdoors a
when first put out.
Mildew then complicated matters.
All in all. the housewives Of Wash
ington and vicinity deserve great deal
more credit than they have received.
Then to have snake, too!
Fortunately. most families viii not
have them; they will worry along with
neas, and mice, and reaches, and silver
fish, etc., but no snakes.
There Is not much chance that our
correspondents specimen is still in the
house. 1t came In, as does the harm.
less "ring-neck," to get out of the wet
and when things began to dry up Ii
naoulted its skin and departed,
An insect-free house is an ideal. espe-
cially dimcult to achieve in q humid
summer. Conditions here have beer
more or less tropical. notorious for in
sect life.
A great explorer. in a recent numbe,
OF Harpers, declared that modern
washington IN June. July and August
Is worse than the Amazon, and after
going through the present summer al.
most any one viii be willing to agree
with him. James 7. Farrell, In hi,
ELLEN Rogers" casts few back handed
compliments ut our weather. We have
seen the matter mentioned, too, in sew.
eral detective stories. We are eettina
. reputation. you zee.