TliACHING OF ECONOMIC NATURAL HISTORY. 583, 



and the smaller wild carnivora, and snakes, are the chief natural 

 enemies of these rodents. We, in our ignorance, shoot owls and 

 rob their nests under the belief that these birds are unlucky, or 

 because the larger owls occasionally destroy fowls, which, through 

 carelessness and improvidence, we allow to roost in trees, instead 

 of providing enclosures for them to take shelter in by night. 



Because a hawk becomes a chicken thief, we forthwith 

 declare war on all the hawk tribe, and slay them at sight. We 

 do likewise with all the small carnivorous animals, including the 

 Mungoose and Muishond, although we may not have a single 

 fowl about the homestead. Under the belief that all snakes are 

 highly venomous, these most excellent rat and mouse destroyers 

 are done to death. " I take no risks," says the average man, '* I 

 kill, or try to kill, all snakes at sight." While this unreasoning 

 destruction of friend and foe alike goes on apace, can we wonder 

 why we make slow progress in the development of South Africa's 

 agricultural and pastoral resources? 



Here again we see how necessary it is to educate our boys 

 and girls before allowing them to spread over the country. The 

 time to educate them on these subjects is while they are under 

 our authority at school, and at an age when their hrains are 

 impressionable and free of unreasoning prejudices. 



Turning again to the harm wrought to the country by ignor- 

 ance of Economic Natural History, we have another order of 

 life of far-reaching economic value, viz., the lizards. Yet, owing 

 to the prevailing erroneous belief that lizards are venoinous, and 

 of no value, we allow and even encourage our children to destroy 

 them. No lizards in South Africa are poisonous, and without 

 exception, they feed upon insects and allied forms of life. Once 

 again we slay the friends which are helping us in our grim 

 struggle against the adverse forces of Nature which are ever 

 working to overwhelm us. Alas! the pity of it. This senseless 

 slaughter of the allies provided us by an All-Wise Creator could 

 be largely, if not entirely, prevented. 



The House Fly : What of it ? This insect has been a com- 

 panion of man from times remote. Regarding it as a harmless 

 creature, he has taken no steps to reduce its numbers, except 

 when, by undue Increase, it plagues him and swanns into his fo'>d. 

 or disturbs his slumbers. We now know the House Fly to be the 

 chief carrier of the bacteria of the various diseases which are 

 prematurely cutting short the lives of the human race. If the 

 House Fly could be exterminated, we would at one stroke reduce 

 human sickness and premature death by at least one-half. Infants 

 are destroyed in great numbers by infantile diarrhoea, dysentry. 

 and other diseases carried to them by the House Fly. It is the 

 principal agent in the spread of enteric fever; and is largely in- 

 strumental in carrying the bacilli of tuberculosis from house to 

 house. Man is not the only victim of this terrible insect. His 

 domestic animals fall victims daily to diseases, the infective 

 bacteria of which are carried to them by the House Fly. We are 

 not vet half awakpnprl to the peril of tolerating the House Fly 



