The Savannah morning news., 1901-06-17
NO MOSQUITOES THERE.
Kerosene Might Have the Same Eff
feet Here as i'm Winchester

so infested with the miserable little pests
as to make Savannah, in comparison, APP
pear absolutely free from them. Be that
as it may, however, there are enough of
the buzzing terrors here to make life
a burden on hot, breezeless nights. When
the mosquito is on the wing. torturing
with the warning of the impending blow
he is about to inhict, or when he has
planted himself firmly and numbered for
action, Savannahians wish that Winches-
ter was not more than twenty miles
away" so that they might hurry to that
haven of refuge, where the buzz of the
mosquito and his bite are unknown.
For Winchester has been freed of the
pests. The Mayor of that Virginia city
has wrought great work. He has driven
out the mosquitoes. and men, before ly-
ing down for their nights of undisturbed
rest, call him blessed, for to him is the
honor and the glory of the conquest over
the rapacious little creatures of the air
Savannah's aldermen will probably
laugh when they see the account of what
has been done in Winchester. After
laughing, they will view it seriously
They will say, as did one of them yester-
day, that any plan that will rid a city
of mosquitoes is a good one. They will
all agree in this. but 1t remains to be
seen if they will think well enough of il
to make the effort in Savannah that was
made in Winchester, where wire doors,
window screens and mosquito MEETINGS
are not needed Some very slight pro-
portion of the cost of such mosquito
guards is now expended upon kerosene
oil. and the enemy is fought through its
medium.
Here is what Mayor r. T. Barton of
Winchester says in the New York Sun
about his extirpation of mosquitoes in his
town, where the provisions of an ordi-
nance, demanding the use of kerosene
are enforcedN through the medium of an
inspector:
THE female member of the mosquito
family, as is not uncommonly the case,
is the head of the house. She does the
buzzing and biting, and she also lays the
eggs to the number of 200 to 400 in each
mass. AS she does all this in the night
and does not seem either to omit her or
binary round of visits, she must be very
Industrious little beast.
THE eggs are deposited in boat-shaped
masses on the face of any fairly still pool
of water. The eggs may hatch in six
teen hours and the larvae (the first stage
of mosquito life) live beneath the surface
OF the water, popping up from time to
time to breathe. This state may be COM
pleted in seven days and the pupal state
may last twenty-four hours, so that an
entire generation in summer time
may be completed in ten days. 1 say may
because if the weather is cool the time
between commencing the mosquito and
fully equipping her for business may be
indefinitely enlarged.
when cold weather comes the adult
mosquito, still on the wing, hibernates in
cellars, outhouses or in any old place,
and is ready when spring comes to renew
business at the same old stand. No de-
gree of cold will kill it.
Partial and temporary relief may be
obtained of course, by screens, nets, by
burning pyrethrum and by catching the
mosquito in backing box tops smeared
inside with coal oil. But these methods
are very partial and only temporary.
The best of all the wholesale remedies
is the application of kerosene to the
breeding pools. Experiment shows that
about an ounce Ga teacupfuD of kerosene
TO each Is square feet of water surface
on small pools will effectually destroy
all the larvae and pupae in the pool and
that the adult female who comes to the
pool to deposit her eggs will either turn
W the thing which passes for her nose
and go away, or if she lights she will die
and her eggs will perish with her. Nor
osene be renewed more than once
nnonth. II need not be sprinkled. hut If
simply poured into the pool the oil will
reach all parts of the water If the parts
of the water itself all connect
pits or vaults under or behind water
closets are favorite places for the mos
quito to breed. This has been especially
observed in Winchester. Rain barrels TOO
are prime places for them. So too are the
p frh1
included in the regular current of the run.
The rain barrels should be covered and
the water drawn from near the bottom
by spigotS. In that case a little oil put
on top will help, and the oil may stay
on top and never mix with the water
LAS before stated, the Mayor coming
shortly after its publication into POSI-
ton which enabled him to press his plan
with greater powers of persuasion upon
the town authorities, he did so, and. his
plan being adopted, by its success very
soon demonstrated its wisdom. The adop-
ton of the ordinance was first greeted
with a storm of ridicue in the papers,
but this very soon turned to praise, ana
during the summer of 1900 we were almost
wholly freed from the pests. Up to this
time this summer the insect has nardly
been seen at all, and it is confidently
hoped and expected that continued APP
plieation of the preventive adopted VIII
forever rid US of it,
THE first experiments with the oil were
carefully watched In one instance, imme-
diately after it's application one gentle
man stood by a rain barrel, watch IN
hand. In five minutes 70 mosquitoes te-
males) arrived, bent on laying their eggs
OF this number Y died as soon -as they
came within the influence OF the oil.
There can be no doubt whatever oil
the success of this scheme here, and since
so much notice of it has been taken in
the papers l am told by the Mayor that
he is In constant receipt of applications
for information on the subject from all
parts of the country, so that he has
been obliged to keep printed copies OF
the law and of the notices sent out to
the people about its enforcement. when
ne has furnished to those writing for IN
formation
Up to this time refined oil has been
used here, but hereafter 1t Is probable
that the crude oil will be used instead.
The Mayor says that the real credit
for the success of the scheme here and
Tor its general adoption throughout the
country is due to DR.. L. s. Howard, the
accomplished entomologists at the head
OF the Bureau of Entomology in the De-
partment OF Agriculture, al Washington
b. c."
~
ATLANTA hoy WORRIED.