23
fish of the family Poecillidae, a stock of which was obtained from Seabrook in
Texas in 1905. The species which thrive best were said to be Gambusia affinis,
Fundulus grandis and Molliensia lattipinna ; and the observations I was able to
make led me to the conclusion that the irrigation ditches and large areas of
water in which there is little or no vegetation are kept remarkably free from
mosquito larvae by the fish and that for such breeding places the plan is very
useful and effective. It is, however, much less effective where the presence of
weed or grass affords shelter to the larvae. Further details-will be given in my
report on methods for the destruction of mosquitoes. The campaign against
stegomyia has been much facilitated by engaging a lawyer as one of the
members of the executive anti-mosquito staff. Each morning he receives a list
of addresses of houses where mosquito breeding places have been found, with
details of the work required for their remedy, and he spends the whole day in
hunting up and interviewing the landlords of the houses, explaining to them the
law on the subject, the penalties which neglect of it will incur, and endeavouring
to get them to have the work done or to permit the sanitary authorities to do it.
In the Chinese and Japanese quarters of the city the seeking out of the landlord,
or other person responsible for insanitary conditions, is not the least of the
difficulties of the campaign, and the plan just mentioned has proved of great
service in securing prompt action and quick results.
In the annual report of the Board of Health for 1911 (which is the latest
available to me at the time of writing) Dr. T. S. B. Pratt, the Chief Health and
Sanitary Officer, makes the following remarks regarding the results oí the cam-
paign : "There has been a great deal of criticism of the work of this campaign,
but those who have done the most to find fault did not take the trouble to find
out what was being accomplished and what were the difficulties encountered.
To talk of eradicating the mosquito from Honolulu is to state the impossible ;
to talk of controlling the mosquito so that it is no longer a menace from the
health standpoint is to state what is possible. The public must do their share
voluntarily or be made to do so, and wet land cultivation within the limits of
Honolulu will have to go and low lands must be filled or drained before much
headway can be made."
From my own observations in February 1912 I came to the conclusion that
in all the areas which I examined, and especially in the principal residential and
business sections of the city, the work was carried out with such thoroughness
and care that it could not fail to bring about the chief object of the campaign,
namely, the reduction of stegomyia mosquitoes ; and I formed the opinion that
this object had been already in great measure accomplished. The reduction of
the other kinds of mosquitoes present in Honolulu is an entirely different and
wider problem, and the presence of such mosquitoes was doubtless responsible
for the complaints of the residents who still believed that little or no reduction of
mosquitoes had resulted from the measures.
Shipping Communications—
1. Between Hawaii, the United States and Mexico.
Steamship Line.
The American-Hawaiian Steamship
Company.
Matson Navigation Company
Oceanic Steamship Company
Union Steamship Company
...
Associated Oil Company
Details of routes, &c.
The chief routes of this Company are: (1) Salina
Cruz to Hawaii and return via Puget Sound, San
Francisco and other Pacific Coast ports ; (2)
Salina Cruz to Pacific coast ports and return ; (3)
Hawaii to New York viâ Straits of Magellan;
(4) Hawaii to San Francisco and return; (5) New
York to Puerto Mexico and return.
Six steamers on various routes between Pacific coast
ports and Honolulu and Hilo.
Two steamers between Honolulu and San Francisco.
Nine tank steamers and barges between California
and Hawaii for transportation of crude oil.
Two steamers, 2 sailing vessels and I barge in the
crude oil traffic.