126 The Common House Fly. [Sess. 



the fly plague. We have seen how flies breed in all collec- 

 tions of filth, garbage, manure, &c, whether in the open air 

 or in confined dwellings. The remedy is therefore apparent, 

 though perhaps not always easy to carry out. Cleanliness of 

 every yard and stable is requisite. In towns formerly in- 

 fested by flies, strict sanitary cleanliness has almost abolished 

 the plague, and when the water-carriage of sewage has been 

 introduced into villages the same result has been obtained. 

 Manure-heaps should be in cemented receptacles, and pro- 

 tected from flies by closely fitting covers, and no heap should 

 be allowed to remain more than two days. 



In regard to dwelling-houses the same applies : clean rooms 

 and the destruction of waste food, &c, will generally give us 

 fly-free rooms. In tropical countries, however, the persistent 

 fly will invade every dwelling-room, and therefore some means 

 for its destruction must be resorted to. The use of sticky 

 papers has always seemed to me a needlessly cruel method of 

 capturing flies ; one has only to watch the long-continued 

 death struggles to see that such cannot be painless. Even in 

 the destruction of flies one should employ as humane methods 

 as possible. Perhaps one teaspoonful of a 2 per cent solution 

 of formaldehyde to a cupful of sweetened water is as good a 

 poison as any, and, as the fly is particularly thirsty in the 

 morning, large numbers imbibe this beverage and succumb. 

 Paraffin smeared on window sashes and bars proves inimical 

 to flies, but the smell is disagreeable to the occupants of the 

 room. 



All articles of food should be kept in receptacles protected 

 from flies. Milk, cream, and cooked fruits readily favour the 

 growth of organisms deposited in them by flies. Wire-gauze 

 shutters are very useful in protecting articles of food. In 

 particular, the breeding-places of flies should be searched for 

 and destroyed — e.g., manure-heaps, ashpits, &c. Stables and 

 byres should be built with concrete floors and walls, thus 

 avoiding crevices. Horse manure should be frequently 

 removed. 



Though the fly in its hosts is an unmitigated evil, we 

 cannot for one moment endorse such statements as the follow- 

 ing, made by most reputable writers : " The house fly is the 

 poorest of scavengers, and one of the most dangerous of man's 



