THE HOUSE FLY 49 



doing your share in slaying flies, and at the same time 

 ceasing to provide breeding-places for them, you are saving 

 those of your kind from sickness and possibly death. It 

 may be you are the breadwinner. Then think of what it 

 means to your family if you are smitten down with a 

 mortal disease. Even should you be stricken and recover, 

 then try to reckon up the mental sufferings of your anxious 

 wife and children, and the financial losses you incur. 



Think of what it means to you if your beloved wife or 

 child should sicken and die yes, ponder it well, and know 

 that most of this suffering and misery is avoidable. You 

 cannot exterminate the House Fly unaided, but in common 

 justice to others you must do your share. Even should 

 you only succeed in killing a single female fly, you will 

 have accomplished something, seeing that the progeny of 

 one fly in a season will, under favourable circumstances, 

 amount to many millions. 



It is quite impossible to exterminate the House Fly 

 until effective and scientific measures are taken to prevent 

 it from breeding. The individuals in a community can, 

 however, keep the House Fly in check if each one will do 

 his share. We should not look to the authorities to do 

 everything for us in this respect. We must do our share 

 in the public interest. If, for instance, you keep cows, 

 donkeys, or horses, it is your duty to see that all manure 

 is either scattered over the ground, and dug into it, re- 

 moved, or burned, at least once a week. The man who 

 allows piles of manure to accumulate on his premises may 

 easily be many times a murderer without being aware of 

 it, for the reason that he provides one of the finest of 

 breeding-grounds for House Flies, which subsequently sow 



