LADIES' COLUMN.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 14043, 29 October 1909, Page 2 (Supplement)

LADIES' COLUMN.

THE UNNECESSARY FLY. Since the common house fly lias been under observation aud under indictment it lias been discovered to be the carrier of typhoid and other diseases germs. No longer can the poet write with a clear conscience , "Drink, pretty creature, drink with me." His 'plain duty to the public is to kill it. That the end of the fly is at hand there is no question, yet the war that must be waged against it is by means an easy one, and not only every individual must be protected, but every home' everywhere, every building or store, and every place where food is stored or bought or sold. The part that the housewife can take in this as yet is limited, but it is definite, and the following rules sum up what she can do in her own domain. Keep the flies away from the sick, especially those ill with contagious diseases. Kill every fly that strays into the sick room. Do not allow the accumulation of decaying matter of any sort.

All refuse that tends to fermentation should be disposed of or covered with lime of kerosene. Screen all food.

Keep all receptacles for garbage covered and well cleaned or sprinkled with oil or lime.

Keep sewage system in good condition : pour kerosene into the drains. Screen all windows and doors; burn nyrethrum powder in the house to kill the flies.

Clean up and keep out dirt of every kind everywhere. There seems to be no limit to the fecundity of the fly. One fly lays over 120 egg's. If one-half of these are females they will produce 36,000 in the next twelve da vs. At the end of thirty days the number will be 216.000. In forty days the number will be 12.960,000, and scientists say that each fly can carry 100,000 disease bacteria. It has been proved that the stable is the breeding-place of not less than 95 per cent, of the pests. Direct from the stable the flv goes into the house, and, no matter bow scrupulously, clean the housewife has been in the preparation of her dainty viands, it is useless unless she screens them from the danger of one fly trailing over them. Suppose a fly has just been walking over some materials which contain typhoid germs, and suppose it should drop into a nitcher of milk and fly out. It has left in the milk" some dozens of hundreds or thousands of germs which have found an appropriate food, and which immediately becin to multiplv at an enormous rate—if the milk is at the proper temperature . Suppose the fly merelv walks over some cooked meats or fruits and inoculates them —the germ may develop iust the same. This carries the w'»r into the market-place, which will probablv bo the centre of the next campaign in the war against flies. From the time of its birth the fly has a thirst that is enually only, by its hunger. It will drink beer, milk, wine ,coffee —anything, in fact—and one precaution which can be used is the nlaciiiEr of a dish-of poisonous water in the stables. The next and most avn liable precaution is that against the filth outside the house, where the fly breeds and in which he acquires his most deadly germs. Inside of 'two weeks after-the .eggs ar» laid in the stable the egrs become flies, and are T n.pvin rr . from house to House the fullfledged conductors of disease. Inside the house precautions can be taken that no member of the fly tribo ever escapes from the sick room, even if it eludes watchfulness enough to get in. It is not only what it may bring in, but what it may carrv out that must be JUiarded against. Then there is the nursery. Ne.xt to the cuisine this is the salient point of the household. Fach of the contagion* diseases of childhood is often carried by the fly/ "WEDDING BELLS. An interesting weddiusr w*>s solemnised in the Unman Catholic Church, Geraldine, on the 20tli iust. The contracting parties were Miss Annie Karl, seventh daughter <-f Mr Job Earl, farmer, Kakahu, and Harry Mc- ' Shane, only son of Mrs McShanc. of Orari. The "ceremony was performed by the Rev. Dean Dowers, in the presence of a large number of relatives and friends. The bride carrving a shower bouquet was robed in a handsome costume, and wore a veil and orange blossoms. Her sister, Miss'C. Earl, attended her as bride's maid, gowned in a pretty pale heliotrope, and hat to match. "The bridegroom" was supported bv his cousin ,Mr McDonnagh, of Morven, as groomsman. After the ceremony the party journeyed to the residence of the bride's parents where the'- Were welcomed by Mr and Mrs Earl, and were quickly made to feel at home. The. guests sat down to a sumptuous repast, and after full justice had been done to the Good things provided, the following toasts were duly honoured :—Mr Kennedy, the of "Bride and Bridegroom"; Mr J. Farrell. "The Bridesmaids," responded to by Mr McDonnagh; "Bride's Parents." bv Mr McMaban, and "Bridegroom's Mother," bv Mr Stewart both responded to ln'lilr Earl. The wedding cake which was a handsome one, did great credit to the maker (Mr Maitlaifd, of Geraldine"), it being first-class. Later on Mr Willoughby photographed the bridal party, a family group, and the whole party. The afternoon was pleasantly spent in games and music. In the evening a. danco was held, which was largely attended, and kept lip with spirit until about 4 a.m. Messrs Horgan and Roddick supplied the. music, and Mr Kennedy acted as M.C., while between dances several of those present contributed songs. The wedding presents were numerous arid valuable, and included a number of cheques. The happy couple left amid a, shower of good wishes to catch the last express en route for Dunedin, where they spend their honevmoon. The bride's parents have spent 45 years on the same farm, rearing a large family, most of whom are now married, a record to be proud of. Needless to sav they were untiring in their efforts in" making all at home, and the proceedings were homely and hearty throughout. THE USE OF SLANG. "THAT'S BIGHT?" (By Vesta in the "Argus.") A correspondent writes asking my opinion on the subject of slang. "A lady acquaintance," she says, "always uses the words 'That's right' whenever she agrees with what is said to her. I think the expression is 'slang' and vulgar. What do you think?" I am not sorry to be afforded an opportunity of saying what I think. • To me, one of the most distressing features of our time is the almost universal slovenliness and ugliness of our every-day speech. There is a reason for it, of course. The rush of modern life has robbed us of everything that is quiet and sedate. Our homes are no longer real homes. Thev are places where we eat and sleep. But we seek both our work and our. pleasure outside them. "We have no repose of manner, because we spend so much time rushing . to business or rushing to catch trams or trains, or "hustling" to get the better of someone el=e. Our voices are loud and strident, because wo are-so often in crowds, or in trains, or out in the nils'" streets, where we must shout to be heard. We have.no time to make our own clothes or even to plan and

design them. So they are made in shops and factories ,and we buy them v- often ready-made, so that one woman is just like all the rest, and colours and stylos repeat themselves until we weary of the sight of them. And the unrest pervades our whole lives, and affects us in everything that we do. And so, unconsciously, wc clip our speech, and wo "get into the habit" of using the short, vivid ex-: pressions which arc generally described as "slang." But it is deplorable that wc should be carried along with the tide in this fashion. We cannot develop the best in ourselves, and we cannot receive the best from others, if we live all our lives rushing from one thing to another. And, to some extent, we can, if we will, stem the tide. Without much expenditure of time or energy, we can at least try to avoid the more ugly and aggressive "slang" expressions. A few vears ago nearlv everyone in Melbourne paid, "That's right." Nowadays only a few people use the words in the manner mentioned. The rest have taught themselves not to use them. hecan°o they realised whpn everybody said theni how" very uglv tbev are. The habit of uglv speech is. unb>nnily. usually acquired by children when they are quite young. A day or two am I overhead a daintilydressed little thing of four or five summers informing a small bov that he had "pot rats." Most parents laugh when their children say such things, because the incongruity; is very obvious. But children entoy tho sensation of amusiim an audience, and tb». ner forma nee which provokes a In ugh is apt to be repeated, and performances reoea+ed create habits. The mother is wise who checks these tilings at the very outset. Poor mothers! The burdens and responsibilities are all laid on their shoulders! But then mothers are such busv people already that they have learned t how to manage at anv time to assume an extra responsibility, if need be. And T• am sure that they can. if the" will, make a great difference for'the better in: the speech of Australian feople as time goes on. I have thought sometimes that, if ever there '■ is, an. Australian language, it will be ;one composed , almost entirely of words and expressions which we now describe as "slantr," and at one time I thought that .word vsed instead of "Yes" would be some short corruption of "That's right."