IMPORTANT FLIES 111 



Bulletin of the Indiana State Board of Health, July, 1910, 

 The note is entitled 



THIS HAPPENED IN INDIANA 



A few days ago a physician in Martin County called on the state 

 bacteriological laboratory for Flexner's antimeningitis serum. Dr. 

 Simonds went to the case and found a seven-months-old baby suffering 

 from a very severe gastro-enteritis with the not infrequently accom- 

 panying meningism. The father of the child was a farmer living in a 

 four-room house with few or no modern conveniences. On the wall of 

 the largest room was a family-history chart done in brilliant colors, 

 with three columns of lines for the record of marriages, births and 

 deaths. The parents had been married ten years and six children had 

 been born to them. In the death column were the names of four chil- 

 dren, all under two years of age. Another name has since been added 

 to this list. 



The cause of this sad story became evident on inspection. There 

 was a shallow surface well in the back yard, a short distance from an 

 open privy. A large pile of manure lay uncovered, almost against the 

 side of the barn. If this farmer had attempted so unthinkable a thing 

 as transforming his premises into a fly hatchery for commercial pur- 

 poses, he could not possibly have achieved a more brilliant success. 



The family and several of the neighbors were eating dinner on the 

 back porch. Flies were swarming all over the table, but showed a special 

 liking for a particular dish. They were so thick on this that it was 

 absolutely impossible to tell definitely what it contained until one of 

 the neighbors swung her arm over the table and cleared them away long 

 enough for one, by looking quickly, to see that the dish contained cot- 

 tage cheese. The flies were so thick in the house that it was only with 

 difficulty that they were fought away from the field of the spinal puncture 

 and kept from lighting on the instruments. 



On the death certificate the cause of the death of this child was 

 doubtless given as "Gastro-enteritis." It would have been more in keep- 

 ing with the facts to have said " Poisoned by Flies." 



Different kinds of flies. About 43,000 different kinds of 

 flies and related gnats and mosquitoes have been described, 

 and Dr. Howard estimates that this group of insects contains 

 no less than 350,000 species for the whole world. One large 



