OCR Text |
Show SWAT THAT NASTY FLY The Campaign Against the Fly IVM Sufoiested at -Meeting 1-ast Nifilit The following paper was .prepared and read by Mrs. W. W. Murray, j teacher of the fifth grade in the Mil-1 ford grammar schools, at the meeting meet-ing of the Home and School Organization Organi-zation in the high school auditorium last night. It is a timely subject just at this time of lining up for a campaign cam-paign for a clean and sanitary city: The slogan for today is, "Safety First." Then why not adopt this in our town and begin by making war on one of the greatest enemies to humanity the fly? It is known that almost every kind of germ may be carried by the fly. Not only do they carry germs on their feet, but when a fly feeds on matter that contains disease germs, the germs are found in the substance that comes from Its alimentary canal. In one speck left by a fly that had been captured on the face of a leper were found 1115 germs. In another were found 5000 typhoid germs. Flies caught in a market-house in Nashville, Tenn., were found to be carrying from 1000 to 10,000 bacteria bac-teria each. Flies may get germs on their feet by walking over a patient having such diseases as smallpox, measles, scarlet fever, erysipelas, etc., and are certain to become infected if allowed al-lowed to feed on the spntum of a tubercular, tu-bercular, pneumonia or diphtheria, or the waste from a typhoid, dysentery dysen-tery or cholera infantum patient. The egg of the house-fly is laid in the refuse about stables and In decaying de-caying vegetable matter of all sorts, and in nine or ten days after the egg is laid, it becomes an adult fly. The rate of increase is beyond our comprehension. Taking as a basis only eight generations per season, which, in our climate, is a very conservative con-servative estimate, the progeny of one female wintered over is in round numbers 989 billion. A fly is about one-fourth of an inch in length. Then if placed end to end they would make a line of flies 20 billion feet long. The distance to the moon is 1 Y billion feet. So, this line of flies in one season from one female only, would reach to the moon sixteen times. It is estimated that in one summer 300 flies may hatch in one cubic inch of manure, or filth. In Milford, we have filth not by the cubic inch but by the carload and the flies ate and always will be in proportion to the filth. You will see more flies in Mil ford In one day than you will see in New York City or Salt Lake City in a whole season. The only way we can get rid of the fly or reduce the number is to destroy their breeding places and this calls for team work. You may swat, poison and trap to no purpose so long as your neighbor keeps a fly incubator in the form of an open toilet, a pig pen, or a pile of stable manure, or garbage, where thousands of these disease carriers are hatched daily. In our fight for a cleaner, healthier community, we need the support of every child, parent, teacher and physician. phy-sician. We must also have the support sup-port of the members of the town council in their official capacity. Garbage receptacles should be provided pro-vided at public expense, and if necessary, nec-essary, their use should be made compulsory. Property owners should be required to furnish screens for toilets and the occupants required to keep them closed. Stable manure should be removed, or sprayed every week. It should be made a misdemeanor misde-meanor to throw dish water or refuse from the table in the back yard or alleys. These and many other things could be done for the physical cleanliness clean-liness of the town. And since cleanliness clean-liness is next to Godliness it would, no doubt, have a good moral effect. These things cost money and labor, but so do most things that are worth while. The small additional tax, however, would be returned many fold and in different ways. It would reduce the amount paid the family physician, increase the value of property, prop-erty, and encourage newcomers to build homes and remain with us. It would teach civic pride to our boys and girls and aid in giving them the proper view-point in life. We have an unusually healthful climate and natural resources that are unsurpassed. unsur-passed. Now it remains for us to make Milford a town noted for cleanliness both physically and morally. Let us begin by swatting the house-fly. Recitation The early fly's the one to swat, . He comes before the weather's hot And sits around and files his legs And lays, at least, a thousand eggs. Now every fly that skips our swatters Will have a thousand sons and daughters, And many countless hosts of cousins And aunts and uncles, scores of dozens, doz-ens, And fifty-seven million nieces! So knock the little pests to pieces. Yes, every fly that files his legs Will lay enough of fertile eggs To fill up ten five-gallon kegs, And all these ere summer hies Will bring forth twenty trillion flies. So thus it goes in endless chain, And all our swatting is in vain Unless we do that swatting soon, In May-time or in early June. So, men and brethren, let us rise, gird up our loins and swat the flies, And sisters leave your cozy bowers, Where you've been wasting precious hours. With ardor in your souls and eyes, Roll up your sleeves and swat the flies. |