In the consideration of these measures we have not touched upon the
remedies for house flies breeding in human excrement. On account of the
danger of the carriage of typhoid fever, the dropping of human excrement
in the open in cities or towns, either in vacant lots or in dark
alleyways, should be made a misdemeanor, and the same care should be
taken by the sanitary authorities to remove or cover up such depositions
as is taken in the removal of the bodies of dead animals. For modern
methods of sewage disposal adapted for farm use one should consult
Department of Agriculture Department Bulletin No. 57. In the absence of
modern methods of sewage disposal, absolutely sanitary privies are prime
necessities, whether in towns or on farms. Directions for building and
caring for such privies will be found in Farmers' Bulletin 463 and in
Yearbook Separate 712, "Sewage Disposal on the Farm." The box privy is
always a nuisance from many points of view, and is undoubtedly dangerous
as a breeder of flies which may carry the germs of intestinal diseases.
The dry-earth treatment of privies is unsatisfactory. No box privy
should be permitted to exist unless it is thoroughly and regularly
treated with some effective larvicide. Since the fecal matter in such
privies is seldom used for fertilizing purposes it may well be treated
liberally with borax. The powdered borax may be scattered two or three
times a week over the exposed surface so as to whiten it.