860 
Siivplemcnt to the ' Trnpical dgrioaiturist.** 
[June 2, 1902. 
value to wbicl) effect may be given. The rtiiifignts 
KWiirin ill floor crevices nml in corners of st'ills 
where dung collect^^, and thence tlie ne'Je^^^i^y of 
tlioroughly cleiui.iing the floor. 
To minimise d^^elPe tninsmission human cxci'e- 
inentshouhl nover holcft ex])o?pi!,!nid indeed shouM 
be at once disinfected. Wliere s inif.ni'y mna-nj es are 
in force cover? slionld be provided for buck'-t.'^. 
Small mesh nettin^'S at the wilido^v.-; mid do )r8 
are little seen, thoiigli in Amenca dwellings are 
thus protected. Incidentally the screens afford 
relief from mosquitoes and lessen the dust. The 
nettings (generally coloured) admit air freely but 
break "the' light, "so thut ihougli a person within 
can see out clearly one without can see in only 
dimly. 
The V'llue of sticky fly paj.ers, the best of wliich 
is that, styled " Tangli-iooi ," of sricky fly stri"ir-, 
of poisoned fly paper, and of wire fly traps are 
•well understood by most hou, ekeepers. All tl'ese 
devices for reducing the number ol flies have tlieir 
disadvantages, yet with due regard to circum>tan- 
ce*i they are all highly commendable. Sticky fly 
paper is the least obj^-ctionable, despite the buzzing 
of the victims and tlie risk of catching one's cloth- 
ing. Poisoned paper is somewhat dangerous 
w-liere inquistive children and pets are about, and 
besides, it is rather disagreeable to have dead flies 
dropping into everything. The art of driving flies 
out of a room seems almost unknown by the 
majority of Colonials, but driving them out is one 
of the best ways of getting rid of them. The room 
to be cleared is darkened except at one partially 
opened door or window, and the flies are " shooed 
with a whisk or cloth to this exit ; they move 
readily towards the light when disturbed, but some 
skill and patience is required to get them all to 
leave. Even without more trouble tlian simply 
darkening the room and leaving a lighted exit, 
many of the flies within will pass out ; it is a good 
practice to thus treat dining-rooms between meals. 
Pyrethrnm powder, otherwise known as insect 
powder, Persian powder, Dalmatian powder, and 
most familiarly as Kealing's powder, is excelleiit 
for use against flies. Some people like to blaw an 
ounce or two with a powder bellows into the closed 
room at night, others to burn a little on coals or 
in a roll of twisted paper, but the first method 
involves a layer of dust and the second a peculiar 
odour that remains for days, while both necessitate 
the sweeping up of the stupiflod victims in the 
early morning. The neatest way to use it, I tlunk, 
is to dust it liberally on the window ledges and 
sills, the windows being closed. When the other 
sources of light are shut oft the flies sooner or 
later seek the windows and one by one are over- 
come by the volatile oil of the powder and drop 
senseless. In the writer's house, the fly is kept 
almost completely suppressed by darkening the 
rooms on the days that flies most commonly seek 
to enter, dull days when rain threatens, by keeping 
food under cover as much as possible, and by 
keeping the dining-room, kitchen and pantry dark 
at all times when not in use, together with the 
exertions of madam with her butterfly net. 
Thanks to these measures, it is seldom that a dozen 
flies can be found in the whole bouse even in the 
height of fly seasou aud whou the dwelling.s of 
neighbours swarm with the nasty pest. Catching 
the fly with a butterfly net may seem a childish 
mi;:isure, but it is really a quick way of clearing a 
room by one who knows how and has a wide deep 
net. 
Tliere is a section of the public of late years who 
believe that every insect has sufficient natural 
e lemies to hold it in close check, and that insects 
are only pests tiirough reason of having been 
separated from one or more of these enemies. I 
should like to hear one 'if these people apply his 
theory to the hou=e fly. It is an insect that seems 
to be known throutfhout the world and to pester 
ram everywhere. Natural enemies it has to bo 
sure, but who thinks of these in connection with 
its abundance? Aside from climatic conditions, 
the f.ictor of overwhelming importance governing 
its numbers is not parasites or prednceous enemie.«, 
l)Ut the fjuestiin of food suply. Furnish it with 
an abundance of suitable manure to breed in, and 
its natural enemies, as far as 1 can see, have no 
nppreci ible eff-ct on it. I greatly fear it is the 
food supply factor and not tlic absence of the 
proper ene ny " tliat accounts for the pestiferous- 
ness of many insects that attack farm and orchard 
cropa. The house flj' is preyed on bj' various sm ill 
■inim lis as toads and some lizirds, and every child 
knows how some spiders ensnare them. 4. certain 
species of long-legged centipede. Scuti^era forceps, 
an uncanny creature one sometimes sees scurrying 
over the walls at midnight, is credited with being 
an enemy of some importance. So is a tiny red 
mite, like a small tick, that infests the body of the 
fly Then hj^m'mopterous parasites and predaceom 
beetles are recorded to destroy the maggots ; and, 
lastly, a fungus disease accounts for many of tlie 
adults. Specimens which have succumbed to the 
disease are often to be seen adhering to window 
glass, surrounded by a halo of white fungus 
filaments. All over the world the house enemies of 
the fly seem k be the same. 
The reraar^jS here made apply to our species of 
house fly (M sa doinestica), but half-a-dozen kinds 
of flies have the habit of intruding themselves into 
dwellings. In general what has been said as to 
remedies applies equally to the others. Mist of 
them, like the house fly, are creatures of filth, but 
as they are far less abundant indoors they are 
correspondingly less dangerous to health. Dr. 
Howard recently had ollections of flies caught for 
him in dining-rooms and kitchens in different 
parts of the United States, aud of the 2,300 speci- 
mens he received, 98 % proved to be the true house 
fly. Next to the house fly a species called the 
stable fly {Stomoxys Calcitrans) is reported to be 
most abund int in houses in the United States. 
This fly would be mistaken for the house fly by 
ninety-nine people out of a hundred, but it is 
distinct an 1 has a hard-pointed proboscis for 
piercing the skin instead of the broad-tipped, 
fleshy retriic ile one. 
In closing, let me urge you to always remember 
that everywhere the common house fly is a creature 
of foul and filthy habits and one liable to bring 
misery, disease and even death to your household. 
Therefore, sp ire not a little trouble to make its 
existence a hard one on your premises. — -Cape 
Agricultural Journal. 
