Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1901-08-15
MALARIA AND MOSQUITOES.
some Valuable Expert Informatiss
1ade Public.

| HApSEA Information
rlade Public.
| Inc most prevalent disease in North
| Carolina, certainly from now until
'roSt' Is malarial fever in one form or
another. 1t is by no means confined
70 the low lying Eastern section of the
| state but is quite abundant in MANY
| localities in the hill country. having
Oeen reported even from Cherokee.
/ by recent scientific Investigations
inc cause CT the fever has been shown
| 10 be microscopic animal known as
| the plasmodium malariae or hem.
amoeba Vivax, which feeds upon the
| red corpuscles of the blood-hence the
pdIlor' OF persons suffering from
chronic malaria. The development
| or this little parasite in the blood is
as follows: One of the spores, or baby
| germs, so to speal:, enters a red cor
puscle and, feeding on it's contents,
grows until at the end of twenty-four
hours it has become nearly as large
as the corpuscle. 1t then, by a pro-
| cess known as segmentation splits up
into dozen or more little spores
again, which for a short time are tree
IN the blood and unattached to the cor
pUscles. 1t is just as the segmenta-
tlOn occurs that the chill comes on
which explains the periodic 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 substance of the
cOrpuscles, the best time to give
quinine is just before the chill is ey-
pected.
The method of the introduction Of
the malarial poison, the plasmodium
certainly the chief method, has been
demonstrated beyond all question to
be the sting of a certain variety of
mosquito known as anopheles, the
common mosquito, which while more
abundant is innocent rs 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
II stagnant pools in which there is
q 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 1t also
explains the danger of brick holes.
The larvae, or wiggletails, as we
generally call them, are the young
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 -
through a long breathing tube which
springs from the body near the tail
the water when they want air. The
bearing of this arrangement on their
destruction Will appear later.
There is a popular misapprehensiOn
IN regard to the movement Of mos
quitoes. The general impression is
that they are carried by the wind, and
reOple at the seaside say that a lana
h,in C10cnIitOoc II iC 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
landward, but that they simply come
out again from the trees and shrub
berry and the lea siue Of houses where
they had taken refuge from the strong
sea breeze which was too rough for
their fragile bodies. With rare eE-
ceptiOns they travel it is said seldom
more than a mile, and generally not
SC Ear. When one is troubled with
mosquitoes a careful search viii al
most always reveal stagnant water in
the near vicinity.
The destruction of mosquitoes ana
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 petroleum being bet
ter and cheaper than ordinary kero-
sene. The film Of oil prevents the
larvae from breathing and smOthe'%
them. The quantity necessary is ole
ounce or two tablespoonfuls to every
fifteen square feet Of surface, re
peated every two weeks. This oil
method was employed with great sue
cess last year By the city OF Win
chester. Va, and our own town OF
Tarboro has recently shown a most
spirit Of enterprise IN
adopting it. Some care and a little
expense in securing protection against
MOSQUITOES and in providing a supply
of pure drinking water will pracucaily
insure against malaria.
To those interested in this SUBJECT |
7 cordially commend q Ver' interest
ing and valuable book on mosquitoes
written in popular and entertaining
stvle by Dr. L. O. Howard. the Cn1el
Entomologist of the United StateA
and published by Mcclure, Phillips /
and Co.. New York, at cost OF S1.64' |
postpaid.
Richard H. Lewis, M. D.,
Sacretary State Board of Health.