FLIES AND DISEASE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 705, 4 September 1885, Page 4

FLIES AND DISEASE.

Singular as it may seem, the doctors of Spain have come to the conclusion that the great disseminators of the cholera in that country are the flies that are omnipresent, ■not only there but here, in the warm season. This discovery is found to be the establishment of a fact which ha 3 been well known for many years. The New York Herald ia discussing this subject says that—“ In

Egypt, where the peasants, especially children, are subject to a vicious form of ophthalmia, it is known that the disease is conveyed from one individual to another by these pests,” and “ the danger resulting from flies feeding on putrid bodies on a battle field and then settling on newly-made wounds,” is said to be known to all army surgeons. It seems to be perfectly well authenticated that many of the contagious diseases are carried from one place to another by flies. It is well known that they are by no means dainty as to what they feed upon, and after partaking of a repast with a cholera, smallpox, or scarletfever patient they are amply endowed to carry the disease to any person who is in the least predisposed to it. Instances are well known where small-pox has been conveyed by a bank note, and a book read by a convalescent scarlet fever patient has given the disease to children in another family months afterwards. The fly is as good a conveyance for the germs of disease as either of these, and presents far more difficulties when it comes to the question of prevention. The bill or the book can be fumigated, and the microbe rendered innoxious, but the fly will submit to no treatment of that kind. He rides in the cars, comes in at the front door uninvited, and is at home anywhere. In one’s own home there is little necessity for suffering from these pests, for a housewife of ordinary neatness will not tolerate them ; but in the cars, the office, the store, or the restaurant there seems to be little possibility of escaping the danger of their presence. There should, however, be every precaution taken in cases of contagious diseases in the summer to exclude these pests from the apartments and to destroy as many as possible of those that come in. CHRISTIAN IX. THE ROMANTIC CAREER OF THE KING OF DENMARK. Christian IX, King of Denmark, has been suggested as a suitable person to arbitrate upon the the question of the alleged violation by Russia, in attacking, the Afghans on March 30fch, of the agreement made by England and that Power on March 17th. The agreement, as the reader will remember, provided for the non-advance of either the Russian or Afghan troops from the positions they occupied at the time until something further should be done by the European Governments interested toward the settlement of the frontier question, and in persuance of which the movement of either Afghan or Russian forces would be proper. But thus far the two countries have not agreed upon even the preliminaries, and whether there will be arbitration or not is still a question. The King of Denmark has an interesting histori’. He is the first sovereign of the house of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg. When Frederick VII died, on Nov. 15, 1863, the direct male line of ■ Idenburg, which had been the reigning famiiy of Denmark since 1448 A. D., became extinct. Anticipating this event, the great powers of Europe, “ taking into consideration that the maintenance of the integrity of the Danish monarchy, as connected with the general interests of the balance of power in Europe, is of high importance to the preservation of peace,” signed a treaty in London on May 8, 1852, by the terms of which the succession to the Crown of Denmark was made over to Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Son-derburg-Glucksburg and to the direct descendants to his union with the Princess Louise of Hesse-Cassel, neice of King Christian VIII of Denmark. In accordance with this treaty, a law concerning the concession to the Danish crown was adopted by the diet or parliament of the country most interested, and obtained the royal sanction July 31, 1853. Under the provisions stated, Christian IX ascended the throne Nov. 15, 1863. In March of the same year his daughter, Alexandria, had been married to the Prince of Wales, and his son, Prince Wilhelm, had been elected King of the Hellenes, under the title of Georgios I, by the Greek National Assembly. Subsequently, Nov. 7, 1866, tlie king’s daughter, Maria Dagmar, was married to the heir apparent of Russia, now the Emperor Alexander 111. The next year, October 27, 1867, the King of Greece, son of Christian IX of Denmark, was married to Olga Constantinowna, Grand Duchess of Russia. The history of the present Royal family of Denmark is one of the most interesting pages in contemporary European chronicles. When, May, 26, 1542, Prince Christian was married to Louise, daughter of Landgrave Wilheim of Hesse-Cassel, it could not have been foreseen that these comparatively obscure persons would become reigning King and Queen of a country to which neither of them was native, matrimonially related to England and Russia, and parents of the king of Greece. Their children, not mentioned elsewhere in this article, are Prince Frederick, heir apparent, who was married in 1869 to the Princess Louisa, daughter of King Carl XV, of Sweden and Norway ; the Princess Thyra, married to the prince Ernest August, duke of Cumberland, and the Prince Waldemar, who was born in 1858. The most important domestic event during

the reign of Christian IX has been the loss by Denmark of the Duchies of Holstein and Schleswig, in 1864, which were ceded to Austria and Prussia after a war disastrous to the Danish arms. By the treaty of ISG7, after the war between Austria and Prussia, Schleswig-Holstein was made a province of Prussia. Denmark has a population of about two millions. The inhabitants are a well-educated and thriving people, and are a nation blessed with the constituents of real prosperity and happiness, though little among the proud powers of Europe. A ‘‘PRIMROSE” WEDDING-. The marriage of Col. Howard Kingscote with Miss Drummond Wolff, daughter of Sir H. Drummond Wolff, member of Parliament, was solemnised yesterday afternoon by special license at St. Paul s Kniglitbridge. The Bishop of Winchester officiated, assisted by the Rev. Canon Nisbet and the Rev. W. Mathew Thomas, Vicar of Boscombe. The wedding was known as a “Primrose” wedding, the bride’s father being one of the founders of the Primrose League. The bridesmaids, nine in number, were Dames of the League. They wore dresses of deep primrose satin, draped with the same shade of crepe, and caught up with small bunches of primroses. Each wore the badge of the league and a tulle veil surmounted by a wreath of primroses. They also wore gold brooches set with diamonds, the gift of the bridegroom. The bride, who was given away by her father, was attired in a costume of velours broche frisd and satin ivoire, the front of the skirt being covered with antique Brussels !ace, which was tastefully caught up with sprays of I’eal orange blossom, sent specialty from Nice for the occasion. Her train was borne by two little pages. The veil was fastened to the hair by three large diamond stars, surmounted by a wreath of orange blossoms. —Pall Mall Gazette, Jnne 26. A FUNERAL INSTEAD OF A WEDDING. Washington, July 25.—1 t has been known for some time past among the German residents of this city that Dr Emil Bessels, the scientist, who was on the Polaris Arctic Expedition, and Mine. Ravenna, the singer, were contemplating marriage. Saturday last was the date fixed upon, but when the carriage containing a friend of the Doctor arrived at the Smithsonian Institution to take the prospective bridegroom to the wedding, it was found that instead of being arrayed in his wedding garments Dr Bessels was confined to his bed by a sudden attack of sickness. The wedding ceremony was then postponed until Monday last, but when on that day the bridal couple reached the residence of the minister, the Rev. Mr Scnnieder, they met with another disappointment in the absence of Mr Schnieder in Baltimore. The clergyman was not aware that they had changed the time of the wedding. Yesterday all the arrangements were made for the wedding, the minister was informed, and the friends notified. The expectant bridegroom drove to the house of the bride to take her to the minister's, but was shocked to learn that she had been taken suddenly and seriously ill. The progress of the disease was so rapid that by evening Mme Ravenna was dead. She was to have been married at 12 o’clock. trying” to fly. With wings of any moderate spread a horse power is able to lift about twenty five pounds. To lift 150 pounds, the average weight of a man, calls for six-horse power, while man’s power is estimated to be about one-fifth of a horse power when exerted to the greatest advantage. In other words, if the machinery for the purpose weighed nothing, man’s strength must he increased thirty times at least before he can sustain himself in the air. Even then he could fly only in a calm. It has been stated that the average velocity of air currents at a distance above the earth is twenty miles per hour. These must be met and overcome by any flying apparatus before it can be successful. These facts ought to be enough to settle one side of the question, at least. Men cannot hope to fly by muscular exertion Any flying apparatus must weigh less than twenty-five pounds perhorse power inorder to sustain itself, and, if supported by a balloon, must be even lighter. THE QUEEN AND BEATRICE. It is very evident that the Queen of England and her family have no love of purple and fine linen when they are ‘ off duty.’ ‘ Our royal family has always been dowdy,’ said a loyal English lady at Aix-les-Bains, as she returned from presenting some flowers to the Princess Beatrice on her birthday. ‘ Well,’ said an outsider, * what did the Princess wear ? I desire to know what clothes Princesses wear when they are at home in the morning.’ ‘ An old checked black-and-white silk dress, which I should have given to my maid,’ answered the loyal Englishwoman ; * but she was very lovely and courteous, and blushed and stammered, and was frightened when we offered her the flowers just like any other girl. I could not help loving her for it.’ On another occasion the Queen sent for the doctors of Aix and their wives, who, being Frenchwomen, were of course beautifully dressed. On being asked what the Queen wore, one of the ladies said, * A very plain, short black cashmere dress, rather the worse for wear, with no ornament excepting the picture of Prince Albert at her neck.’ ‘ And how were her manners V asked her interlocutor. ‘ Very simple, unostentatious, kindly and dignified.’ She speaks French perfectly, without an accent, and talked to the doctor of the scenery, the history of Savoy, the treatment, baths, &c. I did not feel that she was the Queen until she rose, which was her signal to us that the interview was at an end. Then a certain dignity, a certain habit of command, clothed her short stout figure as with a mantle, and she looked the Queen. The wedding cake of the Princess Beatrice is really three cakes, one above the other, and the plateau upon which it rests, and surrounding the lower cake, is a wreath of lilies, interspersed with ivy, emblematic of

purity, sweetness, and friendships. Surrounding the lowest cake are large skeleton shields, bearing on inclosed shields the coats-of-arms of the Princess Beatrice and Prince Henry of Battenberg, interspersed with passion flowers. Surrounding the second cake are jessamine, and round the second and third cakes are passion flowers, ivy and roses. On the top cakes are Cupids and a large vase containing an immense bouquet composed of a variety of emblematic flowers. The cake weighs about 4cwt, and the floral decorations are all modelled entirely of sugar. It will be placed on a massive gold stand, which is being specially made and designed for the occasion. The suite of pearls owned by the late Lady Otho Fitzgerald has been privately bought by Queen Victoria for £40,000. The pearls are intended as a present to the Princess Beatrice. SCRAPS. An Actress’ Singular Costume. —Here is a “ stunning get up,” in which a well known actress appeared on the racecourse at Longchamps : A crimson velvet bonnet representing a saddle, tied under her chin by strings tipped with steel stirrups. With this the lady wore a cherry-colored jockey’s jacket, fastened about the waist by a horseshoe. Her skirt was embroidered with horseshoes, while, to complete the costume, her hair was dressed over a silver bit so as to fall down her back like a horse’s tail. In Pittsburg natural gas has become so abundant and eheap that garbage is collected in convenient places, and consumed from sanitary considerations. The Pennsylvania Fuel Gas Company has offered the municipal authorities of that city gas sufficient for the purpose free of cost, provided the burning is done at night, when the mills and factories are idle, and the gas is not required to run them. It is proposed to established four sets of furnaces, at convenient points, and reduce the offending garbage to harmless ashes on the shortest notice. The Microscope describes a pretty experiment. Upon a slip of grass put a drop of liquid auric chloride or argentic nitrate, with half a grain of metallic zinc in the auric chloride, and copper in the silver. A growth of exquisite gold and silver ferns will form beneath the eye. At a masked ball, given in Turin recently, a ducal guest appeared in the costume of Rigoletto, having in the hump upon his back an electrical apparatus by which he was enabled to give any one whose hand he grasped an electric shock. All went smoothly until the hump chanced to get moved, when the full force of the battery was discharged into the body of the wearer, causing him to writhe with pain and shriek for help. He was insensible before the battery could be disconnected. Seven hundred women are employed at the central telegraph office in London and about three hundred and fifty more at the different telegraph and postal branch offices of the metropolis. At Liverpool, Glasgow, Manchester, and other provincial centres a considerable number earn their living in this way, besides 900 similarly employed outside the Civil Service. Leading physicians of New York city says the morphine habit, particularly in the form of hypodermic injections, is fearfully increasing, and that deaths from such habit are continually occurring, though the cause is not suspected even by intimate friends. One physicians estimates the increase in the last year at 15 to 20 per cent.