Attention turned to this much neglected quarter
will very probably go far to explain obscure phenomena connected with
the distribution of epidemics and their sudden outbreaks in unexpected
quarters. I have seen it stated that in former outbreaks of pestilence
flies were remarkably numerous, and although mediaeval observations on
Entomology are not to be taken without a grain of salt, the tradition
is suggestive. Perhaps the Diptera have their seasons of unusual
multiplication and emigration. A wave of the common flea appears to have
passed over Maidstone in August, 1880.
We now see the way to some practical conclusions not without importance.
Recognizing a very considerable part of the order of Diptera, or
two-winged flies, as agents in spreading disease, it surely follows
that man should wage war against them in a much more systematic and
consistent manner than at present. The destruction of the common
house-fly by "_papier Moure_," by decoctions of quassia, by various
traps, and by the so-called "catch 'em alive," is tried here and there,
now and then, by some grocer, confectioner, or housewife angry at the
spoliation and defilement caused by these little marauders. But there
is no concerted continuous action--which after all would be neither
difficult nor expensive--and consequently no marked success. Experiments
with a view of finding out new modes of fly-killing are few and far
between.
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