Common Insect Enemies 109 



plague of flies. And it is difficult indeed to enjoy peace and 

 quiet while pesky flies are buzzing around and biting chunks 

 out of one's epidermis. 



And then came DDT! The Mackinac Islander's were 

 not impressed when they heard about the remarkable ef- 

 fectiveness of this insecticide against the typhus-bearing louse. 

 After all, only well-heeled gentry are encouraged to spend 

 their time on this oasis in a mechanical age. And it can be 

 presumed that body lice are quite rare among folks who 

 take a bath every Saturday night. But when it was learned 

 that DDT and flies are incompatible, the natives pricked up 

 their ears. Why not have one's cake and eat it, too? Or in 

 plain words, why not keep the horses, but get rid of the flies? 

 Spray the island from one end to the other with DDT. That 

 ought to do the trick! And it did! For the first time in the 

 memory of the oldest inhabitant, Mackinac Island was free 

 from flies. A public celebration was held to celebrate this 

 epoch making event; a huge bonfire was made, and the glee- 

 ful citizens burned their fly traps. Perhaps, later on, they 

 wished they hadn't, for flies breed rapidly, and a few surviv- 

 ing members of the species can soon repopulate wide areas. 



Contenf-ed Cows 



With our typical conceit, we always look at every prob- 

 lem from our own point of view. We believe that in our 

 battle with the inseas we have right on our side. They attack 

 us and, therefore, we have the right to kill them. But one 

 could put up a good argument to the effect that inseas have 

 as much right to the earth as we have — perhaps more, since 

 they have been here longer. Most of us wouldn't even listen 

 to such an argument, for, after all, aren't we God's chosen 



