Page:What to do for Uncle Sam; a first book of citizenship (IA whattodoforuncle00bail).pdf/56

52 which flies have swarmed, and tell your mother about any unprotected food in the shops.

Another help you can give in this protection against flies is to be very careful about closing the screen doors at home, and not to make any holes in the screens at the windows. An excellent way of spending your money will be for a fly swatter, some fly paper, or a fly trap. The children of a neighborhood might have a fly killing contest. It will be a very worth while kind of war.

You ought to fight mosquitoes as well as flies. These carry disease to cattle in addition to human beings, and we need to care for our cows and sheep particularly well now. Stagnant water is the breeding place of the mosquito. The eggs are laid on the surface of the water and the young must live in it for a while. The waste water that you thoughtlessly throw out may breed these little danger carriers. Weeds and bushes along the edges of marshy land are alive with them and should be cut out. Overhanging grass should be cut from the edges of all ditches, streams, and pools in your neighborhood. There is not very much that children can do in ridding a community of mosquitoes, but these slight measures will really count for a good deal if every boy and girl does his or her share. The main point is not to take a walk, or play near the wet ground