The flies have been reconnoitring,--sending out scouts, during those few weeks of mild weather; but as the warm days become more permanent, they come on with their main army. We have put the moths to rest, but these intruders, if not as mischievous, are quite as hard to manage, and even as persistent. There are various kinds of “fly-paper,” around which, if ready for them, certainly lie large numbers of the slain to certify to the virtues of the paper. It is doubtless of some benefit, but does not by any means free us from this great vexation. It is at least a dirty, mussy remedy, requiring one to be incessantly on the watch lest flies who have tasted the paper fall into food, or lie about in an unseemly manner. If servants in the kitchen or dining-room have any gifts toward _neatness_, this constant litter makes them cross; if they have not that gift, the careless way they allow the dead flies to lie about, and the fear that they may approach too near the cooking, _may_ make the mistress cross also,--two evils to be scrupulously avoided. During the heat of summer we are compelled to keep open doors and windows, but these lawless intruders know, apparently, the moment when we lift the latch or raise the window, and swarm in upon us in myriads. To secure the air and baffle the flies, we have found mosquito netting a great help. A simple frame of pine, about an inch and a half wide, fitted closely inside the lower sash, with mosquito lace or net nailed across it (galvanized nails or tacks should be used, to avoid rust), is the most effectual safeguard we have ever tried. The frame must not be quite as high as the lower sash, as room is needed to push in the spring to open or close the window. The outside doors and those leading from the kitchen to the dining-room may have frames fitted in the same manner,--the frame having a cross-piece in the middle. It can be hung on hinges, having a hook in the cross-piece to fasten it with, while the real door may be kept open all day, excluding the flies, but leaving freedom for the air to circulate. By a few days’ extra care the family will soon learn to close this net door, or swarms of flies will quickly remind them of any heedlessness in this matter. A wire net is the most durable, although more expensive at first; but it will soon repay the extra expense, for lace or netting must be renewed every year. Yet notwithstanding these precautions, the flies will often effect an entrance, especially into the dining-room when dishing the dinner, or when merry, heedless children rush in and out, always forgetting to close the door. Cut old newspapers in strips an inch or an inch and a half wide, nearly the whole length of the sheet, leaving only about two inches uncut at the top. Take a smooth round stick about two feet long, and laying three or four of these cut papers together, wind the uncut part about the stick. Tie the paper on with strong twine, very tightly, so that it will not slip, leaving