46 



L. O. Howard (Bulletin Xo. 4, I'. S. Department of Agriculture), says: 

 " Altogether the most satisfactory ways of fighting mosquitoes are those which 

 result iu the destructiou of the larv;e or the abolition of their breeding places. 

 In not every locality are these measures feasible, but in many places there is 

 absolutely no necessity for the mosquito annoyance. The three main pre- 

 ventive measures are the draining of breeding places, the introduction of small 

 fish into Ashless breeding places, and the treatment of such pools with 

 kerosene. These are three alternatives, any one of which will be ettiracious. 

 and any one of which may be n.sed where there are reasons against the trial 

 of the others. 



Hou.se-Flies. (Jliixea donicstiea) Link". 



Under this general designation the several species which infest dwellings 

 and are not only disagreeable, but from experiments recently conducted, it 

 has been found that house-flies do carry about on their legs filth of all kinds, 

 and are therefore not only disgusting but iirobably disseminators of disease. 

 The common house-fly (iluxca (loiiicxtica. Linn.) breeds in manure and door- 

 yard fllth, and it is therefore of the utmost importance that cleanliness should 

 be observed in and about the premises. Howard says : " There is not much 

 that need be said about remedies for house-tiies. A careful screening of 

 windows and doors during the sunnner months, with the supplementary use of 

 sticky fly-paper, is a method known to everyone, and there seems to be little 

 hope in the near future of much relief by doing away with the lireeding places. 

 A single stable in which a horse is kept will supply house-flies for an extended 

 neighbourhood. People living in agricultural communities will probably never 

 be rid of the pest, but in cities with better methods of disposal of garbage, and 

 with the lessening of the number of horses and horse stables consequent upon 

 electric street railways and bicycles, and probably horseless cariages, the 

 time may come, and before very long, when window screens may be discarded. 

 The prompt gathering of horse manure, which may be treated with lime or 

 kept iu a specially prepared pit, would greatly abate the fly nuisance, and city 

 ordinances compelling hoi-se owners to follow some such course are desirable. 

 Absolute cleanliness, even under existing circumstances, will always result in 

 a diminution of the numbers of the house-fly, and, as will be pointed out in 

 other cases in this bulletin, most household insects are less attracted to the 

 premises of what is known as the old-fashioned housekeeper than to those of 

 the other kind." 



Clothes-Moths. 



These are the dread of every housekeeper. The mere mention of the word 

 "moths" is enough to conjure up visions of household treasures of woollen 

 and fur eaten full of holes, their beauty gone, their usefulness past. It was 

 formerlj' supposed that these well-known injuries were caused by a single 

 species ; but it has since been discovered that we have in this country three 

 species of clothes-moths. These differ in habits as well as in structure. 



The Case-bearing Clothes-Moth (Ticiia iieUioncUu). — The larva of this 

 species is a true case-bearing, making a case out of bits of its food-material 

 which are fastened together with silk. As the larva grows it enlarges its case 



