The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-08-04

months, and is to the effect that the in
sect, in biting a person, leaves inside of
the flesh germ, which inoculates the
person against the germs of malaria.
The fact that the mosquito is most
abundant in malarial regions is brought
up to support this theory. and also the
fact that the itching that follows the bite
of one of the insects is very similar to
that which accompanies the injection of
small pox germs into the arm in vaccina-
ton The same misguided theorist goes
on to state that the mosquito in this act is
purely philanthropic and does not suck
blood at all He swells up, to be sure.
but this is merely the expansion of the
Emphatic fluids in his own body due to
the muscular exercise which he is under
going. In support Of this theory the the
Orist states that the proboscis of the in
sect is so shaped that 1t cannot suck
blood. DR.. Dimmock doubts the truth of
the malarial part Of the theory and saws
the Emphatic Juice supposition is absurd,
for he has seen through the microscope
that the insects proboscis is hollow and
has also traced the existence Of pump
ing machine back in the insects head,
whereby he sucks the blood up precisely
as q syringe draws water. AS to the ma
larial theory, he will not make any~defi-
mite assertion. 1t may or may not be
true. The fact that mosquito bite swells
up on some people. while on others it has
no effect whatever, these theorists claim,
is due to the fact that the former are ma
larially inclined, and this they say sup
ports their theory. But DR.. Dimmock
will not accept this, for he himself is one
of those who are grievously affected by
the bites. but Is not in the least subject
to malaria. And yet there Is no doubt,
he says, that the mosquito does carry dis
ease germs. In Havana DR.. Findlay has
found that yellow fever is carried by the
mosquitoes. They will bite patient
who is sick with the disease and with
their bills laden with the germ, bite
another person. If the germs thus carried
are few, the second person is made only
partly sick, and is thus really inoculated,
but more cases than one have been re
corded of the spread of the yellow fever
being due entirely to the dissemination
of the disease by the mosquito.
To get rid of these companions Of man
has long occupied the minds of scientists
as well as housekeepers, and word from
them will prove boon to suffering hui
man1ty just now. The simplest and
probably the most efficacious method
killing them is to pour kerosene oil on
the surface of the ponds where the larvae
are developing. A very small quantity
is sufficient to disturb their breathing APP
paratus, and they very soon drown. DR..
Dimmock tried this last spring. He
poured two drops OF crude petroleum in a
tub of water, which was fairly alive with
the wigglers, and in very short time
afterward nearly every one was dead.
This remedy has been tried to some ex-
tent in the Catskill mountain region,
where the presence Of mosquitoes has done
serious harm to the summer hotels, and it
has proved successful. The smudge of
smoke has been found the best thing by
campers to rid them of the pest, though
this Is not always sure. Fishermen and
those frequenting swamps have found
that very useful way is to cover the face
and hands with aromatic ointments,
one of the best being made out of mutton
tallow mixed with camphor and oil of
pennyroyal. A simple mixture of tar
and psnnyroyal is also advantageous to
those who are fond of tar bathing. Ma
ture has provided some enemies to the
insects in the shape of DEVILS darning
needles: or dragon flies, and some thrifty
scientists have tried to propagate these
artifcially for family use, but the dragon
flies are cannibals, and colonies soon
meet the sad fate of the Kilkenny cats,
SO that the greater part of our mosquitoes
must meet an untimely death by the VIC
lent application of the human hand ap-
piled judiciously to the back of the hu =.
man neck, or wherever the need occurs.