FIELD BOOK OF INSECTS. 



Garbage must be buried or burned as often. Every bit of 

 organic rubbish must either be kept dry or be destroyed. 

 All these precautions can and should be taken. But 

 the author quoted above says also: "Of course your 

 neighbor must keep his place clean too, for his flies are 

 just as apt to come into your house [or to get on your food 

 at the dealer's] as his, so the problem becomes one for the 

 whole community." This is the heart of the matter. 

 A few earnest individuals or well-meaning Improvement 

 Societies, acting by themselves, can do little more than 

 cause a great deal of trouble and achieve very little good. 

 Laws must be framed and enforced, so that the ignorant 

 or careless may not make of little or no avail the work 

 of the intelligent and careful. Dr. Howard has well said 

 " It is the duty of every individual to guard, so far as possible, 

 against the occurrence of flies upon his premises. It is the 

 duty of every community, through its board of health, to 

 spend money in the warfare against this enemy of mankind. 

 This duty is as pronounced as though the community were 

 attacked by bands of ravenous wolves. 11 



We are now about to take up flies which are in 

 the ACALYPTERATE division of some authors. The 

 squamae are small or vestigal; the first longitudinal vein 

 is short; the eyes of the males never touch each other; 

 and the thorax is without a complete transverse suture. 

 For the most part, these flies are small. The following 

 families are those most likely to be noticed. 



SCATOPHAGID.E 



Several species of Scatophaga (Plate LXVIII) are com- 

 mon about cow-dung; they are moderately large, yellow- 

 haired flies, with rather slim bodies and longish legs. The 

 adults are predaceous, even catching honey-bees. The 

 larvae live in excrement. 



BORBORID^: 



This is a small family of minute, active flies having no 

 distinct auxiliary vein; the first (and sometimes the 



274 



