THE FLY PERIL.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 October 1916, Page 2

THE FLY PERIL.

IA USEFUL REPORT,

The New .Plymouth Borough. Council (in common with other local bodies) has received a communication from the Health 'Department with reference to the danger ot the fly pest and the necessity for its prevention. The letter was referred to Mr. 'Day, sanitary inspector, and he reports to the following effect: The Health Department has my entire sympathy in its endeavor to abate the fly pest, and the .sanitary department has been working during the past eight months with this same end in view. The subject is of such vital importance to the health of the town that t'he statements made by Dr. Smith cannot be too widely known or too readily acted upon. I think his suggestions to arouse public opinion arc good ones. In this respect we have at the present time posted in 400 privies in New Plymouth a general warning as to the danger of (lies and an example of their germ-"arry-ing capabilities. The notice in question states: "One fly will infect a cooked potato with enough bacteria to kill 100 men if it were possible for so many men to partake of one potato so affected." The preventative measures recommended as to horses and horse paddocks and stables must be more carefully carvied out in New Plymouth than has been the case in the past, and with regard to horse paddocks, ,in particular, a more stringent by-law is required.

I have recommended borax instead of the formulae mentioned hv Dr. Smith. It is easier of application and quite as good, while, if anything, it improves the manure as a fertiliser. If a mixture of lb of borax to a gallon of wator is poured upon a quantity of stable manure, a very small percentage of the fly pupae will survive. It is surprising to examine a small heap of stable manure, particularly around the edge near the ground; thousands of .pupae will be seen about the size and color of a partridge pea, but pointed at the ends. These are the flies that in a few days will be swarming into the surrounding houses carrying unknown filth into every description of human food. All privies where sewers are available are connected thereto, and, in addition, the sealed pan system is in use in the thickly-populated areas. The borough supplies half-a-pound of disinfectant in each pan weekly. I have devised a special fly-proof seat for the sealed pan, and a large number of them are now in use. The notice before mentioned as being posted in the closet also draws attention to the. necessity for a liberal use of disinfectant. •

With regard to household refuse, the public are not careful enough in the cleanliness of their receptacles. Some of them become very offensive, and on several occasions lately I have threatened prosecution for what is, in my opinion, an offence. Every tin should be cleaned and disinfected 1 after it has been emptied, and, what is more, much of the stuff that-is now sent to the tip could be profitably burnt in a kitchen range or a copper fire. Shopkeepers and dealers in foodstuffs were circularised last year with reference to fly prevention, and several prosecutions "straightened matters out " I intend to adopt the. same course this year.

I am arranging with several shopkeepers to make a special window display of llv-killing devices, and am having several models of fly-traps exhibited from the latest American designs. There is nc doubt that flies are the cause of a good deal of summer sickness, and by the number of flies shall tiie cleanliness of a town or house be judged. If this be true, it must he candidly admitted that our town did not occupy an enviable position last summer, but, at the same time, 1 am confident, that the position will !>» reversed this year, if everybody will do his duty in the handling of waste matter. The local press is ioservin? of credit for its assistance in a good cause, and 1 think it would be a good plan to supply the schoolmasters with extracts from Dr. 'Smith's letter.

There is a good quantity of horse droppings in the streets of the town, which does not require a vivid imagination to picture the result in the middle of summer, especially if it be outside a dairy or a butcher's shop, or even close to where ice-Creams are manufactured, the effect on a., windy day being even more sickening. I should be glad to see the co-opera-tion of the public in this important matter. Schoolmasters, householders, bov scouts, sthool children and every member of the community can do something towards making New Plymouth what it should undoubtedly .be, "the cleanest and healthiest town ir New Zealand."