Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-07-17

Before one is aware Of IT'S presence, blood
has been drawn. This dIminutive demon
Is very black and very clumsy: the agrees
sive one is, of course the female. In
southern Mexico the cuIex damnatorum-
literally "gnat CT the damned has re-
Gently been encountered. This is supposed
TO be the biggest and most bloodthirsty
of all mosquitodom, and is but rarely seen.
Once met with, however the culex damna-
forum is not to be forgotten very SOON
Its probing powers are equal to those of q
young crab, and it elects a venom that is
said to be more deadly than the sting of a
tarantua. 1t is probable, however that
these are more facts of tradition and fancy
than Of reality.
Science accepts nothing but what can be
proved, and the scientific study of mos
quitoes admits no species save those that
have been examined and classified. Dr.
Howard has personally examined at least
one specimen of every known family of
mosquitoes, and the collections, most of
them rare and costly, of every entomolo-
gist in the land has contributed its share
to his curious knowledge. He has done
Tor the neglected mosquito what Audubon
did for our native birds, and what Agas-
siz did in all departments of natural his
tory investigation-save that of mosquito
rology. Some day DR. Howard will put in
book all the interesting things he has
learned about mosquitoes, and 1t will be a
surprisingly large and engaging volume
and the savant's contention that the mos
quito is more interesting than the elephant
Their Natural Enemies.
There are two Natural enemies Of the
mosquito, the dragon fly ard the spider
The latter, as We know, wages constant
warfare upon all insect life, and where
mosquitoes arc plentiful they form the
chief dict Of their hairy foe. The dragon
fly is destroyer of mosquitoes in, at least,
two stages Of life. The larva dragon fly
feeds upon the larva mosquito, and when
1uily developed the former dimes constantly
upon the matured mosquito. The dragon
ny as solution Of the mosquito pest ques-
ton Is not wholly satisfactory, for while
there is no serious difficulty to be encount-
cred In the cultivation Of dragon flies in
possible to keep them in the dank woods
Where mosquitoes abound, the hunting
ground of the "darning needle" being
among the flowers and dry gardens where
the sunshine prevails. For this very i'm
portant reason the scheme of hunting one
Kind OF insect with another must be
abandoned as impracticable
me only method by which the world may
rid ltseii OF the pertinacious and pertur-
batting little creature is the dredging of
every sluggish stream, the drying uD Of
every stagnant pool the draining Of every
piece OF sodden swamp and woodland I'm
~ TINS nerculean task can be accomplished
the breeding and multiplication OF mos
qutoes must contirf}ie. One of the iows
OF the millennium will beTthe complete an
limitation OF the Mesquite. Born of stag
mating ne ing. waters, fathered by the foul demon
the er nos ana nonrshsd by deadly microbes,
paymenL consequent. upon our neglect to
oraln on obnoxious swamp lands and clear
away the useless uEderbrush in our for
col Inc mosquito. ubiquitous and musi-
existence. y 80 Sii'oia