The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-10-20
MOSQUITO LORE FROM BRITAIN

They Are Tropical Products That Can
 not Live in Cold Climates and Have
 No Taste for Blood-May Do for Bor-
 neo, or Siam, or Java, but Not for
 England.
 Since an ingenious visitor discovered mosquitoes in his bedroom at the Gros- venor Hotel ten years ago they have been announced each season, like other distinguished foreigners; like some of those also, their credentials are not be- yond dispute. Scientific people may find it hard to discriminate between mosquitoes and gnats without close scrutiny, but the gentlemen who write to newspapers have no trouble. One of them admits, indeed, a general resem- blance, but he points out certain char acteristics by which the foreigner may be "easily known" These are a Hong trunk or proboscis, and "a humming noise which they make when approach ing the face or hands of a person. We note with interest that this authority dwells in Hertfordshire. Entomolo- gists should explore that county, for it is not to be supposed that he is unac- quainted with the gnats of his district, Evidently they are species unknown to science, wanting trunk or proboscis, unfurnished even with that warning hum" which is proverbial attribute of the British gnat.
 It is not to be declared impossible that true mosquitoes should appear in England Since white ants" are es- tablished at Havre, and spreading fast in Normandy, almost any tropical in sect can be acclimatized--in time; there is good reason to think that the white ants had been adapting themselves to a temperate climate in Havre for cen tury before their ravages betrayed them twenty years ago. But it will be much more difficult for mosquitoes to find a home here-the first step toward acclimatization. They live in water until the final change. A few minutes exposure to dry air kills the larvae and pupa, while the image is not sufficient ly long lived to bear transport in the fastest steamer. The Hertfordshire gentleman suggests that timber ships may have carried ova attached to logs. That is very probable, but at this time of year, at least, they would certainly be dead on arrival even if the logs were stacked on deck; and in stormy weather, when the cargo is always damp, they would not beal the cold. One can hardly imagine circumstances which would enable them to reach Hertfordshire. It is a comfort to dis miss the mosquito scare" as a bogey, for we have anxieties and alarms more than enough at this time. Chats be- come peculiarly vicious at certain sea- sons, more aggressive and more Veno nous Their hum is louder, too-they make a special demand on our atten- tion. At such times they are called mosquitoes.
 No one of experience would venture to say which is the country most af- flicted by mosquitoes much more the spot But it is something to identify the place which all who have visited it, saving one traveller. declare unrivalled. Such visitors have been few, but every one of them was a man specially quail fled to pronounce. It is a canal, but or natures forming, which connects the Sarawak and Samaharan rivers of Borneo. Boats using it avoid sea passage and gain several hours in time; and on the homeward voyage especial ly, Malays are very far from indiffer- ent to such advantages. But though a storm be raging outside they think twice before risking the short cut. In fact. it is officers of the government charged with important news, or bela- ted and sick for Christian welcome before sleeping, who dare the horrors of that passage Naval officers also have used it not infrequently, gathering a yarn to spin for the rest of their natu- ral lives. Sir Spencer St. John is the single witness who thinks there is one more terrible place on earth, and that" says he, " Pahnam, at the en- trance of the Siam river" Sir Spencer proceeds: ''It took us the whole night to get through, and no one was able to close his eyes. The leaves Of the nipa palms nearly met over our heads, and every time one was touched swarm of mosquitoes settled upon us. l endeav- ored to shelter myself under a blanket, but the heat was so great as to compel me unwillingly to face the enemy. l have heard of men exposed to this an- noyance being thrown into fever by constant irritation, and I can well be- lieve it'' The last remark must allude to natives, and to the irritation of mo- squitoes in a general sense, for it is