The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1901-08-08
OUR ENEMIES.
Little Things But Powerful.
MOSQUITOES AND MALARIA.

MOSQUITOES AND MALARIA.
The most prevalent disease in North
Carolina, certainly from DOW until
frost, is malarial fever in one form or
another. It is by no means confined
tethe low Flying astern section OF the
State, but Is quite abundant IN many
localities in the hill country, having
been reported even from Cherokee.
By recent scientific Investigations
the cause of the fever has been shown
to be a microscopic animal known as
the plasnsodiune malaria or hem
an.0ba vivaz, which feeds upon the
red corpuscles of the blood-hence the
pallor IT persons suffering from chron-
IT, malaria ms development OF this
little parasite in the blooo - as 'oi'ows
One OF the spores, or baby germs, ~
to speak, enters red corpuscle and,
feeding on Its contents, grows until at
the end of twenty-four hours it has be-
come nearly as large as the corpuscle.
It then, by process known assegmen-
tation, splits up into dozen or more
little spores again, which for short
time are free In the blood and unat-
tached to the corpuscles. It is just
as the augmentation occurs that the
chill comes on, which explains the per-
iodio recurrence of the chill every
twenty-four hours, and as it has been
found that quinine is most effective In
killing the germs while they are free
in the blood and not buried in the sub
stance of the corpuscles, the best time
to give quinine is just before the chill
is expected.
| The method of the introduction of
the maiarial poison, the plasmOdium,
certainly the chief method, has been
demonstrated beyond all question to be
the sting of a certain variety OF mos
quito known as anopheles, the COM
mon mosquito, which while more
abundant is innocent as a carrier of
disease, being known as culex. The
latter species will breed in still water
of any kind, no matter how pure, but
the former, our enemy, will only breed
in stagnant pools in which there is a
certain amount of vegetable matter,
especially If there are no fish, such as
top minnows or sun-perch, which feed
upon the Larvae or wiggletails. This
explains the fact that malaria is much
more abundant after freshets, in the
course of which the stream, getting
out of it's banks, washes holes IN the
ground, and speedily falling leaves
there stagnant pools with few or no
fish in them. Mosquitoes are very
much more abundant this exceptional
year of freshets than usual. It also ex-
plains the danger of brick holes.
The larvae, or wlggletails, as we
/
mosquitoes. Although they live in
the water from the time they are
hatched from the eggs which were
laid on the surface until they reach
maturity they cannot live without air
they must breathe. Contrary to the
general rule, they breathe "wrong end
foremost" long breathing
tube which springs from the body
near the tail and which they stick out
of the top of the water when they
want air. The bearing Of this arrange
ment on their destruction will appear
later.
There is popular misrepresentation
in regard to the movement of mosqui-
toes. The general impression is that
they are carried by the wind, and peo-
pie at the seaside say that land
breeze brings mosquitoes. It is a
fact that they are more abundant when
the breeze is from the land or In a
calm, but according to those who know
best the fact probably is not that they
are blown from the swamps to land
ward, but that they simply come out
again from the trees and shrubbery
and the lea side OF houses where they
had taken refuge from the strong sea
breeze which was too rough for their
fragile bodies. With rare exceptions
they travel, it is said, seldom more
than a mile, and generally not 80 far.
When one is troubled with mosquitoes
. careful search will almost always
reveal etagnant water in the near
vicinity.
The destruction of mosquitoes and
the consequent. prevention of malaria
is accomplished in two ways: First
and best, by the thorough drainage OF
all stagnant pools of water, and second,
by keeping the surface Of such pools
covered with petroleum, what is known
as light fuel oil, or even the crude pc
troleum, what is known as light fuel
oil, or even the crude petroleum being
better and cheaper than ordinary kero-
sene. The film of oil. prevents the
larvae from breathing and smothers
them. The quantity necessary is one
ounce or two tablespoonful to every
fifteen square feet of surface, repeated
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