THE HOUSE FLY 25 



mother-nature is aflame, and she does everything in her 

 power to coax the loved one back to health. The father, 

 meanwhile, although saying little, goes about his daily 

 work with a heavy heart and anxious mind. Should the 

 home be robbed of the little one, then there is anguish and 

 misery from which the fond mother sometimes withers and 

 dies. Perchance it may be the breadwinner who is sud- 

 denly cut off, leaving a widow and houseful of orphans. 

 We cannot say in these cases that anyone in that house- 

 hold is morally guilty of the death of one of its members. 

 But after learning that the House Fly is the principal agent 

 in the spreading of the microbes of disease, and knowing 

 exactly how it becomes infected and the way it inoculates 

 our foodstuffs, &c., with these fearsome germs, then if 

 every possible effort is not made to keep the house free of 

 flies, those responsible in that house are morally guilty should 

 one or more members sicken and die in consequence of infec- 

 tion conveyed into the dwelling by flies. 



A man may pray to God ever so earnestly for food, for 

 instance, but he surely does not expect that the food will 

 drop into his mouth, or be miraculously dumped down 

 before him. A way may be opened up to him by which he 

 can obtain his requirements if he is disposed to exert him- 

 self mentally and physically. 



He who seeks knowledge will find it. Knowledge, how- 

 ever, is of no avail unless it is practically applied for the 

 good of the individual, other members of the home, the 

 community and the state. A man possessing knowledge 

 of practical use to his fellows, and who seeks not to make 

 some use of it for the good of others, is of little value to the 

 community. 



