Part 4

Another method of disposing of manure has been recommended by English writers. The manure is built up in a compact rectangular heap, the sides of which are beaten hard with shovels. The ground around the edges of the heap is made smooth and hard and loose straw is placed in small windrows around the manure pile about 1 foot from the edge. The exclusion of the air, together with the high temperature and gases formed by fermentation, tends to make the heap unfavorable for the development of fly larvae. Those which do happen to develop in the surface layers will migrate and pupate in the ring of straw around the heap, where they are destroyed by burning.

GARBAGE DISPOSAL AND TREATMENT OF MISCELLANEOUS BREEDING PLACES.

It is just as true under farm conditions as in cities that breeding places other than horse manure must be attended to. Garbage must be disposed of, hog and poultry manure must be cared for, and especially on dairy farms it is extremely important that every precaution be taken to prevent the contamination of milk by flies.

It is very desirable that all refuse possible, accumulated from cities and towns, be burned. Incineration has been practiced successfully by a number of towns and cities with populations of from 10,000 to 15,000 and over. In larger cities provision should be made for burning carcasses as well as garbage and other refuse. If city and town garbage is sold to hog feeders the municipal authorities should have control of the sanitary conditions about the feeding yards, as there is great danger from fly breeding in such places if not kept clean.

SEWAGE DISPOSAL IN RELATION TO THE PREVENTION OF FLY-BORNE DISEASES.

In the consideration of these measures we have not touched upon the remedies for house flies breeding in human excrement. On account of the danger of the carriage of typhoid fever, the dropping of human excrement in the open in cities or towns, either in vacant lots or in dark alleyways, should be made a misdemeanor, and the same care should be taken by the sanitary authorities to remove or cover up such depositions as is taken in the removal of the bodies of dead animals. For modern methods of sewage disposal adapted for farm use one should consult Department of Agriculture Department Bulletin No. 57. In the absence of modern methods of sewage disposal, absolutely sanitary privies are prime necessities, whether in towns or on farms. Directions for building and caring for such privies will be found in Farmers' Bulletin 463 and in Yearbook Separate 712, "Sewage Disposal on the Farm." The box privy is always a nuisance from many points of view, and is undoubtedly dangerous as a breeder of flies which may carry the germs of intestinal diseases. The dry-earth treatment of privies is unsatisfactory. No box privy should be permitted to exist unless it is thoroughly and regularly treated with some effective larvicide. Since the fecal matter in such privies is seldom used for fertilizing purposes it may well be treated liberally with borax. The powdered borax may be scattered two or three times a week over the exposed surface so as to whiten it.

WHAT COMMUNITIES CAN DO TO ELIMINATE THE HOUSE FLY.

Antifly crusades have been very numerous in recent years, and some have been noteworthy both in methods and in results. However, it will not be amiss here to emphasize the importance of concerted, organized effort on the part of whole communities, not only cities, but suburban and rural neighborhoods as well. By the most painstaking care one may prevent all fly breeding on his premises, but it will avail him little if his neighbors are not equally careful. Some sort of cooperation is necessary. One of the first and most important elements in any antifly crusade is a vigorous and continued educational campaign. It has been the experience of those who have undertaken such crusades that people generally regard the fly as a somewhat harmless nuisance and that the first work of the campaign was to bring the people to a realization of the dangers from flies and the possibility of getting rid of them. In the educational campaign every possible means of publicity can be employed, including newspapers, lectures, moving pictures, posters, handbills, cartoons, instruction in schools, etc.

The antifly crusade is a matter of public interest and should be supported by the community as a whole and engineered by the health officers. But health officers can do little toward the necessary work of inspection and elimination without funds, and therefore the support of the campaign must manifest itself in increased appropriations for public-health work. Very often it is lack of funds which prevents the health officers from taking the initiative in the antifly crusades, and there must necessarily be much agitation and education before they can profitably take up the work. Right here lies a field for civic associations, women's clubs, boards of trade, etc., to exercise their best energy, initiative, and leadership.

ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE WHEN THIS PUBLICATION WAS LAST PRINTED

Secretary of Agriculture ARTHUR M. HYDE.

Assistant Secretary R. W. DUNLAP.

Director of Scientific Work A. F. WOODS.

Director of Regulatory Work WALTER G. CAMPBELL.

Director of Extension Work C. W. WARBURTON.

Director of Personnel and Business Administration W. W. STOCKBERGER.

Director of Information M. S. EISENHOWER.

Solicitor E. L. MARSHALL.

Bureau of Agricultural Economics NILS A. OLSEN, Chief.

Bureau of Agricultural Engineering S. H. MCCRORY, Chief.

Bureau of Animal Industry JOHN R. MOHLER, Chief.

Bureau of Biological Survey PAUL G. REDINGTON, Chief.

Bureau of Chemistry and Soils H. G. KNIGHT, Chief.

Office of Cooperative Extension Work C. B. SMITH, Chief.

Bureau of Dairy Industry O. E. REED, Chief.

Bureau of Entomology C. L. MARLATT, Chief.

Office of Experiment Stations JAMES T. JARDINE, Chief.

Food and Drug Administration WALTER G. CAMPBELL, Director of Regulatory Work, in Charge.