HOUSE FLIES. 13 
built in the corner of the stable nearest the manure pile. It had a door 
opening into the stable proper, and also a window. A door was built 
in the outside wall of this closet, and the stablemen were directed to 
place no more manure outside the building; in other words, to abolish 
the outside manure pile, and in the future to throw all of the manure 
collected each morning into this closet, the window of which in the 
meantime had been furnished with a wire screen. The preparations 
were completed by the middle of June, and a barrel of chlorid of lime 
was put in the corner of the closet. Since that time every morning the 
manure of the stable is thrown into the closet, and a small shovelful of 
chlorid of lime is scattered overit. At the expiration of 10 days or 2 
weeks the gardeners open the outside door, shovel the manure into a 
cart, and carry if off to be thrown upon the grounds. 
Judging from actual examination of the manure pile, the measure is 
eminently successful. Very few flies are breeding in the product of 
the stable which formerly gave birth to many thousands daily. After 
this measure had been carried on for two weeks, employees of the 
department who had no knowledge of the work that was going on 
were asked whether they had noticed any diminution in the number 
of flies in their offices. Persons in all of the offices on the first floor of 
the two buildings were asked this question. In every office except 
one the answer was that a marked decrease had been noticed, so that 
the work must be considered to have been successful. 
The account of this remedial work has been given with some detail, 
since it shows so plainly that care and cleanliness combined with such 
an arrangement as that described will in an individual stable measur- 
ably affect the fly nuisance in neighboring buildings. 
With the combined efforts of the persons owning stables in a given 
community, much more effective results can undoubtedly be gained. 
In the consideration of these measures we have not touched upon the 
remedies for house flies breeding in human excrement. On account 
of the danger of the carriage of typhoid fever, the dropping of human 
excrement in the open in cities or towns, either on vacant lots or in 
dark alleyways, should be made a misdemeanor, and the same care 
should be taken by the sanitary authorities to remove or cover up 
such depositions as is taken in the removal of the bodies of dead ani- 
mals. The box privy is always a nuisance from many points of view, 
and is undoubtedly dangerous as a breeder of flies which may carry 
the germs of intestinal disease. No box privies should be permitted 
to exist unless they are conducted on the kerosene principle. With 
a proper vault or other receptacle, closed except from above, and a 
free use of kerosene and water, the breeding of house flies can be pre- 
vented. 
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