THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



167 



It is fly swatting time. 



Clean Up Begin war right now on this 



Your Place; pest and carrier of disease. 

 Fight the The house fly is known to carry 



House Fly t h e germs of typhoid fever, tubercu- 

 losis, dysentery, cholera, cholera in- 

 fantum in fact, any dangerous bacterial disease 

 with which it comes in contact. 



As a transmitter of disease, the fly carries the 

 germs in two ways: First, by the germs clinging 

 to the hairs on the body and feet, the fly having 

 previously come in contact with some infested ma- 

 terial, and second, in its alimentary canal. Numer- 

 ous records have shown that there may be carried 

 from 550 to 6,600,800 bacteria by a single fly. Too 

 much stress cannot be laid on the exclusion of this 

 insect from dwellings, and especially from eatables, 

 where it will leave, simply by contact, some of its 

 deadly germs. 



The house fly passes the winter in the adult 

 stage, hiding in cracks and other secluded places. 

 When spring opens it emerges, lays its eggs (about 

 120) in stable manure and in decaying animal or 

 vegetable matter. These eggs hatch in from 8 to 

 12 hours and reach maturity in about 10 days. In 

 some localities there are as high as 13 generations 

 in one season. 



There are several methods of ridding prem- 

 ises of the adults, but the most successful is pre- 

 vention. Well screened houses will do their part in 

 the control of this pest, but cleanliness of premises 

 which destroys the breeding places of the flies will 

 do more toward removing the dangers herein men- 

 tioned than all other remedial measures. 



Trees are an asset to any coun- 



Arbor Day try. Practically every state in 



Celebration the Union fosters tree-growing 



Now Compulsory at least one day each year by 

 in Spain observing Arbor Day. Spain 



has gone still further. 



A royal order has just been issued declaring 

 the annual celebration of arbor day obligatory in 

 every township and municipality. The date on 

 which this celebration is to occur is to be fixed by 

 the competent local authorities and brought to the 

 attention of all the inhabitants in the neighborhood. 

 It shall be incumbent on the municipal or town 

 councils to invite all the local authorities, associa- 

 tions, t and unions, official as well as private, to par- 

 ticipate in the ceremonies. 



Furthermore, the various councils must enter 

 in their estimates for current expenses for each suc- 

 ceeding year such amount as they consider neces- 



sary for the purchase of land, where it may be pos- 

 sible, for irrigation and for other indispensable dis- 

 bursements in connection with the tree planting. 

 The governors of provinces can not approve an esti- 

 mate of expenses for any city or town unless it 

 specifies some amount to be devoted to Arbor Day. 



Here is a story of how a banker made 

 Forcing a good farmer out of a poor one. 



a Man to A number of years ago a North 



Be a Good Dakota wheat farmer, whose ex- 

 Farmer elusive grain growing had put him 

 deep in debt, desired from his bank a 

 loan of a thousand dollars. Except the horses there 

 was no livestock not a cow, a pig, or even a 

 chicken on the place. The banker, a very shrewd 

 business man, was able to analyze the problem and 

 to discover the cause of the farmer's financial diffi- 

 culties, and he agreed to make the loan only on 

 condition that the borrower change his system of 

 farming. 



The system outlined by the banker required 

 that a portion of the loan should be used to pur- 

 chase two cows, half a dozen pigs, and a small flock 

 of poultry. It also provided for a fair sized vege- 

 table garden. Grain farming was to be continued 

 as before. The banker figured that the livestock 

 and the garden would, in poor as well as in good 

 seasons, fully support the farmer's table. He fig- 

 ured that in poor years the farmer would be able 

 to play even, and that in the good, and even in the 

 average year the farm would produce enough to 

 gradually wipe out the debt. 



The farmer reluctantly agreed to the banker's 

 terms, received the loan, and met the conditions. 

 In five years he was out of debt and rated as a sub- 

 stantial and prosperous farmer and business man. 

 To him farming had ceased to be a game of chance 

 and had become a business. 



Don't get the laying hens too fat. 



Balance the food ration for poultry and feed them 

 with regularity. 



When you go to town, get a rug and some fur- 

 niture for your boy's room. He will perhaps think 

 you are losing your mind by showing him the least 

 attention, but you will find that he will stay on the 

 farm longer if you treat him like he is human. 



You are laying the foundation for the coming 

 season's success right now. Get your cows up in good 

 flesh and keep them so, if you expect them to do their 

 best when they go out to pasture. 



