CHAPTER X 



REMEDIAL MEASURES 



We have seen in Chapter VIII that the checks' 

 which Nature has imposed upon the prolific breeding 

 of the house-fly have been insufficient to protect 

 civilised mankind from ancient times continuously up 

 to the present day. This defect need now no longer 

 be endured ; but, alas, communities and individuals 

 are ever slow to be warned, and averse to practise 

 newly advised methods of sanitation. In few other 

 directions is there greater promise of advancement in 

 general public health and comfort than by preventive 

 measures against the breeding of the house-fly. 

 Effective measures comprehensible to all who consider 

 the subject are so easy of application, that, if universally 

 carried out, the house-fly might become a rare insect 

 in a very few years' time. It is, however, of funda- 

 mental importance that the public should be made to 

 comprehend the case ; else the power necessary for 

 enforcing suitable regulations by the local authorities 

 will not be obtainable. 



Preventive measures must constitute the supreme 

 objective of an anti-fly crusade. The habits of the 

 house-fly and its life-history make it clear how 

 successful breeding may be prevented. The breeding 

 places are local and accessible ; the food substances 

 of the larvae are capable of being put under control ; 



