OUR ALLIES 169 



Bad name as the house fly carries, the mosquito 

 has a worse, and it is the fashion just now to im- 

 agine that we have solved all our hygienic difficulties 

 by publishing recipes for killing these pests. Yet 

 it is doubtful if the world could be inhabited long 

 by human beings without these insects to transform 

 decay into living matter. Their uncountable millions 

 are busy at this service; their infernal thousands 

 have degenerated into bloodsuckers and poison car- 

 riers. I should hardly wish to call them allies, but 

 the good done by them must not be forgotten. 



The house fly breeds almost wholly in our stables, 

 and we can forestall this by keeping clean stables 

 and barnyards. A dirty stable near a house breeds 

 such swarms as are intolerable, and a high wind for 

 two or three days will carry a cloud of these flies 

 half a mile. Mosquitoes enough to make a whole 

 neighborhood miserable will breed rn a single sink 

 hole in a single day. Kerosene sprinkled about our 

 damp places once a week and sprayed over our stable 

 walls daily will prevent the development of both flies 

 and mosquitoes. 



There is no reason nor excuse for neglecting the 

 comfort of our domestic animals. A dirty stable be- 

 comes a menace to the community as well as the 

 household and is an insult to " Him in whom we live 

 and move and have our being." It is an element 

 of degeneration debasing animals and owners to- 

 gether. I like better the Dutch plan of costlier 

 stables and cheaper houses. 



