162 MANUAL FOR STABLE SERGEANTS. 



FLIES. 



482. Flies. In addition to their importance on account of the 

 worry produced by their bites and the loss of blood suffered by their 

 victims, flies are of great importance as carriers of disease. For these 

 reasons their destruction as well as the destruction of the material in 

 which they breed must receive constant and vigilant attention. 



483. Breeding places of flies. Flies breed principally in 

 horse manure, damp straw or hay, fallen leaves, dead grass, under- 

 brush, decaying animal and vegetable matter, refuse and filth of 

 every kind, and in earth soaked with horse urine. 



484. Control of flies in garrison. During fly season, or in the 

 Tropics, the stables must be kept absolutely clean and dry. Manure, 

 soiled bedding, and refuse about the feed boxes and mangers should 

 be removed daily and hauled to the dump. Food boxes and man- 

 gers should be swept or brushed out daily, and once a week the feed 

 boxes and a portion of the woodwork immediately surrounding them 

 should be well scraped and washed clean with boiling water. The 

 doors and windows should be kept open at all times, except during 

 storms, and bales of hay or straw, and empty sacks or sacks filled 

 with grain that may have become wet by rain blowing through 

 open windows or doors should be scattered about and allowed to dry. 



The corrals and picket lines should be swept daily, and special 

 attention must be paid to the ground beneath the watering trough to 

 see that it is kept clean and dry. If the floor of the picket line should 

 be of soft earth, it should be sprinkled once a week with crude oil. 



Horse covers and saddle blankets that have been used and which 

 for any reason are to be stored away in the stable should be thor- 

 oughly dried before storing. 



485. Fly traps and fly poison. These are often useful in the 

 destruction of flies, particularly in and about stables. An excellent 

 fly poison is made as follows : 



Formalin ounce . . 1 



Sugar or sirup do 1 



Water pint. . 1 



Mix. Put in shallow vessels and place where the flies are the 

 thickest. 



486. Control of flies in camp. When animals are to remain in 

 camp for more than a few days, the picket lines and the ground. 

 for 50 yards or more on the sides and ends should be thoroughly 



