320 PREVENTIVE AND REMEDIAL MEASURES 



it communicated by means of a door ; it was provided also with a 

 window furnished with a large screen. The manure was thrown 

 into the chamber every morning and a small shovelful of chloride 

 of lime scattered over it. At the end of ten days or a fortnight 

 the manure was removed through an open door and carted away. 

 The experiment was carried out in the stable of the U.S. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture and a marked decrease in the number of tlies 

 was observed. 



That chloride of lime can be used with beneficial results and 

 on a large scale has been demonstrated by one of my corre- 

 spondents, Messrs McLaughlin, Bros., lumber manufacturers of 

 Arnprior, Ontario, Canada. In response to my request for a brief 

 statement of their experience they Avrite (April, 1913) as follows : 



" Four years ago we began using chloride of lime in our stables here to 

 keep down house-flies. There are about 120 horses in the stables at night 

 and most of them are brought in to feed at noon. The manure is removed 

 every morning and again in the afternoon when the mid-day feed is over. 

 After each cleaning-up, chloride of lime is taken in in a shovel and scattered 

 lightly just outside each stall. It must not be put too close in, for if the 

 horse lies on it it will burn the hair off him. The risk of this accident is, 

 however, very slight, as during the four years we have used the lime, it 

 occurred only once to one horse and a very little care will obviate it entirely. 

 The smell of the chlorine given off by the lime while it is scattered in the 

 stables doubtless tends to drive away the flies, and as the manure and lime 

 are swept u}) together, they are well mixed, and the chlorine having thus 

 a good chance to exercise its germicidal properties, a large proportion of the 

 flies' eggs and larvae are no doubt destroyed by it. 



" It is, of course, impossible to determine with accuracy the decrease in the 

 number of flies due to the use of the chloride of lime, but our men are satisfied 

 that the reduction must be about 75 per cent. One striking evidence of the 

 diminution is the comparative quietness of the horses now at night. A few 

 years ago, when passing the sta1)les on a warm summer night, one was 

 astonished at the noise caused by the never-cea.sing tramping of the fly- 

 pestered animals. Since we began to use chloride of lime, this noise has 

 practically ceased. 



" We use about eight or ten pounds of the lime a day, or about 1000 lbs. 

 during the fly season. Bought by the barrel of some 300 ll)s. it costs 2 cents 

 \)QV lb. in Montreal." 



The above statement has been given in full as it affords 

 striking evidence of the practical use of chloride of lime and its 

 effect, not only from an insecticidal standpoint but as a means of 



