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In 1908, at three of the depots the Borough Councils or contractors concerned continued
operations as in the preceding year. The use of the fourth depot was, however, discontinued after
the end of June, no doubt in the main as the result of action taken by the Public Health Committee
of the London County Council.
Turning now to the stable premises—No. 6 of last year's report was again used as a centre , but
in place of No. 5 of the same report a new stable centre was chosen.
The observations made in 1907 at premises in the neighbourhood of the cattle market were not
maintained in 1908. Thus centre No. 7 of last year disappears from the list.
One of the cowhouse premises of 1907 (No. 9) has ceased to be used as a cowhouse ; for various
reasons it was, moreover, felt that there would be advantage in selecting a fresh cowhouse to take the
place of No. 8. It will be seen, therefore, that in 1908 only one cowhouse was made a centre for observation.
The two offensive trade premises of 1907 yielded, comparatively speaking, few flies, but
having in view an object, to be later referred to, a new set of offensive trade premises was chosen as a
centre for observation in 1908.
The investigation of the question of fly prevalence in premises surrounding the jam factory
was again undertaken, as in the previous year.
Thus, nine centres in all were selected in 1908, and for purposes of reference it may be noted that—
Centres 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6, have the same reference numbers in the two years.
Centres 5, 7, and 8 are new centres not appearing in 1907 ; and centre 9 of 1908 is the same
as the centre numbered 12 in 1907.
As the twelve centres of 1907 were described in the report of that year, it is unnecessary to repeat
these descriptions. It should be noted, however, that centre 2 was not used as a depot after the end
of June, 1908, and in correspondence with this fact it will be observed that far fewer flies were secured
on the papers hung in rooms surrounding this centre (see Diagrams 1907-8)—in fact, the abandonment
of the use of the depot premises must be correlated with a diminution of nearly 100,000 in the number
of flies, caught on papers exposed in the living rooms surrounding the depot during July, August,
September and October. If it be assumed that the fifteen rooms in this centre in which fly papers
were exposed may be taken as representing the average conditions in living rooms (as opposed to rooms
used exclusively for sleeping purposes) within 200 yards of the depot, it would follow that during the
past summer the number of flies has been less by something like six millions in this area than was the case
in the previous summer of 1907. In this connection it may be here noted that the abandonment of use
of one of the cowhouse premises (centre 9), in proximity to which much nuisance was experienced in
1907, led in 1908 to a remarkable diminution in the number of flies in the neighbourhood of this shed—
a particular room in which thousands of flies were caught in 1907 being found to be almost entirely
free from flies in 1908. If the observations of 1907 served no other purpose, they at least, by helping
to bring about discontinuance of a serious source of nuisance, materially benefited the residents in
the first of the localities in question.
In order to complete the record of centres, a brief description of the three new centres chosen
in 1908 is appended.
No. 5. Stable premises.—This centre consists of a number of railway arches used for stabling
horses by a firm of carmen.
No. 7. Cowshed premises.—This cowshed is licensed for 16 cows. It is an old brick building
with a loft for the storage of fodder. In the small yard adjoining, there is a milkstore, and there are
also receptacles for grains and dung. The premises are within J mile of London Bridge, and they are
surrounded by small houses, occupied by poor people, the neighbourhood being densely populated.
No. 8. Offensive trade premises.—On these premises, which cover several acres of ground, the
business of a manufacturer of glue and size is carried on. The neighbouring houses are for the most
part occupied by poor persons.
At the request of Dr. Copeman, F.R.S., Medical Inspector of the Local Government Board,
flies were supplied to him by the Council's Inspectors, Messrs. Mernagh and Powell, for examination
in connection with an enquiry on behalf of that Board in which he is engaged, and, again, at his
request, special observation wa3 kept by Mr. Powell on houses in the neighbourhood of centre No. 8,
with a view to determining the extreme distance to which a rare species of fly, found at the centre
could be traced. Incidentally, a number of observations were made with fly balloons," and in some
instances these were placed out of doors instead of in living rooms. It was found that some species
of flies were caught more easily in balloons than on fly papers, and, again, some flies were caught in
larger numbers when the "balloon" was placed out of doors than when it was placed indoors. The
general impression was created that out-of-door observations show a larger number of flies early in
the season than do in-door observations.* Examination of fly papers on lines similar to those of
last year was undertaken in the Council's Public Health Department, by Mr. Bates, and in his
absence in September by Mr. Palmer, and certain results of interest have accrued from this work.
These may be summarised as follows.
1.—As to the species of flies. As in 1907, more than nine-tenths of the flies caught were examples
of the common house fly, Musca domestica. In Diagram I. (right-hand Inset), it will be noted that
* Throughout the summer Mr. Powell caught, iu four balloons, nearly 6,000 flies of which 24 per cent. wero
Homalomyia canicularis, 15 per cent. were Calliphora erythrocephala (the common bluebottle), and nearly 2 per cent.
were Muscina (Cyrtoneara) stabulans; while on four fly papers exposed in similar positions 35,000 flies were caught of
which 17 per cent. were Homalomyia canicularis, less than 1 per cent. were Calliphora erythrocephala and considerably
less than 1 per cent. were Musciua (Cyrtoneura) stabulans. The difference in the percentages is particularly striking
in the case of the bluebottles.