CHAP. XIX.] HOI SEHOLD PI I69 



Chapter XIX. 

 HOUSEHOLD PESTS. 



" ( >n every dish the hoomini; beetle falls, 

 The cockroach plays, or caterpillar crawls : 

 A thousand shapes of variegated hues 

 ['arade the talde and inspect the stews. 

 To living walls the swarming hundreds slick, 



rt, a dainty meal, the oily wick ; 

 Heaps our heaps their slimy bodies drench, 



tlie lamps with suffocating stench. 

 W hen hideous insects ever) plate delile, 

 The laugh how empty, ami how forced the smile ! 



Calcutta - A Poem. 



mucin and the worm shall eat them like 



WOo|." 



Isaiah — li-.s. 



OF all the numerous insect pests- which afflict the dwellers in 

 Indian bungalow- the housefly is an easj first both in numbers 

 anil really noxious qualities. Its misdeeds have been noted else- 

 where, but it cannot be emphasized loo stronglj that the so-called 

 "poor harmless little fly," which buzzes so cheerfully over our food 

 and drowns itself in our drink, was born and bred amongst filth. 

 preferably night-soil, that it has probably just flown into the 

 bungalow after enjoying itself on some indescribable nastiness 

 outside and that it is generally swarming, inside and out. with 

 pathogenic organisms which it distributes impartially as it walks 

 along. Enteric fever, dysentery, cholera and intestinal worms are 

 all carried commonly by flies, which are also capable of carrying 

 tuberculosis, anthrax, yaws and various other diseases. Strict 

 on to sanitary conditions around the bungalow, especially as 

 regards disposal of stable manure, will usually bring about a great 

 reduction in the fly population. A small quantity of fresh horse- 

 dung, exposed in open boxes, will attract most of the female flies 

 to lay their eggs and the larvae can then be destroyed by burning, 

 boiling, or treating them with insecticides ; but it is of course 

 important that the trails should be cleared regularly, daily or at 

 least .-very other day. Milk with a few droits of formalin added 



