THE TYPHOID FLY, OR SOUSE I \.\ . 23 
used by the French for their officers, and Colonel Gorgas thinks it 
safe to say that more men had died from yellow fever in that build 
ing under the French regime than in any other building of the same 
capacity at present standing. He and Doctor Carter had their wives 
and children with them, which would formerly have been considered 
the height of recklessness, but they looked upon themselves, under the 
now recognized precautions, as being as safe, almost, as they would 
have been in Philadelphia or Boston. 
No figures of the actual cost of the antimosquito work, either in 
Havana or in the Panama Canal Zone, are accessible to the writer. 
but it is safe to say that it was not exorbitant, and that it was not 
beyond the means of any well-to-do community in tropical regions. 
THE TYPHOID FLY, COMMONLY KNOWN AS THE HOUSE FLY. 
The name "typhoid fly" is here proposed as a substitute for the 
name "house fly," now in general use. People have altogether too 
long considered the house fly as a harmless creature, or. at the most. 
simply a nuisance. While scientific researches have shown that it i- 
a most dangerous creature from the standpoint of disease, and while 
popular opinion is rapidly being educated to the same point, the 
retention of the name house fly is considered inadvisable, as perpetu- 
ating in some degree the old ideas. Strictly speaking, the term 
•'typhoid fly" is open to some objection, as conveying the erroneous 
idea that this fly is solely responsible for the spread of typhoid, but 
considering that the creature is dangerous from every point of view, 
and that it is an important element in the spread of typhoid, it 
seems advisable to give it a name which is almost wholly justified and 
which conveys in itself the idea of serious disease. Another repul- 
sive name that might be given to it is "manure fry," but recent 
researches have shown that it is not confined to manure as a breeding 
place, although perhaps the great majority of these flies are born 
in horse manure. For the end in view, "typhoid fly " is considered 
the best name. 
The true connection of the so-called house fly with typhoid fever 
and the true scientific evidence regarding its role as a carrier of that 
disease have only recently been worked out. Colli in 1888 fed flies 
with pure cultures of the typhoid bacillus, and examined their 
contents and dejection- microscopically and culturally. Inocu- 
lations of animals were also made, proving that the bacilli which 
passed through flies were virulent. Dr. George M. Kober, familial* 
with Celli's researches, in his report on the prevalence of typhoid 
fever in the District of Columbia, published in L895, called especial 
attention to the danger of the contamination of food supplies by 
