ENTOMOLOGY

SANITARY ENTOMOLOGYof action. For instance, if we were m~rely to go before the inhabitantsof a Montana valley suffering from Rocky Mountain spotted fever andsay: "We are going to Eut down this epidemic, you must dip your h9rses. and trap all the rabbits and rodents on your place," what kind of ananswer would we get? If the Public Health Service had stepped intoNew Orleans on the announcement of a plague case and ordered everybodyto rat-proof their cellars, without further reason, they would havebeen driven away ..If a sanitary officer reports to his superior that a certain thingmust be done, requiring a considerable outlay of money and the use ofa good many men, he must be able to give him a strong, forceful argumentto prove that he is right. Army officers, and in fact most executiveofficers, want brief answers. The subordinate must therefore have hisinformation on the tip of his tongue.We have seen by the above discussion that the bites of insects mustbe avoided. Where disease-carrying insects are present, the greaterthe concentration of human beings or animals, the greater the necessity 01exercising control, whether it be in a municipality, a commercial establishment,an army, a stock yards, or a ranch. It is incumbent upon allmen charged with entomological sanitation to learn the bloodsuckingfauna about them. Without a knowledge of how mosq~itoes, horse flies,bedbugs, lice, stable flies, gnats, and ticks breed, one can scarcely proceedto prevent their breeding and consequently cannot protect men andanimals from their attacks.One must always prevent insects from coming in contact with wounds.This is especially important in hospitals and during times of epidemics.It is at all times imperative to keep food untouch~d by anything in theform of 'insect life. Insects must not be tolerated in dwellings, nomatter whether there is evidence against them or not. There is evidenceagainst most of them.Domestic animals must likewise be kept as free as possible frominsects. Some day we will recognize that stables should be as wellproofed against flies as dwellings are now. There are more inducementsfor flies and other noxious insects around a stable than anywhere else,and the stable is therefore the direct or indirect source of many of ourtroubles. The measures necessary for holding down insect infestationof stable and barn yards are therefore of primary importance. But toemphasize this importance there must be back of every measure taken orrecommended an argument in the form of a proof of danger if the measureis not carried out.