The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-07-24
DEATH TO 'SKEETERS
St. Anthony Park Kerosene Cam
paign Against the Pests.
IT HAS PRODUCED RESULTS
hut the, Season With Its Heavy,
Rains Has Favored the
Mosquito.

Experiments made by State Ento-
mologist F. l.. %Washburn at st. Anthony
Park demonstrate conclustyely that the
use Of oil on stagnant water~is a practi-
cal and effective preventive OF the mos
quito At the same time, the expert
ments have shown that this form OF mos
quito determination is not so simple a
proposition as might appear at first blush.
swampy breeding places are trimmed
with muck, over which a horse may not
draw the deadly oil barrel; frequent rains
leave scores of obscure puddles which
send out their swarms Of pests, and even
If the oil is nicely spread, 1t has an UNI
fortunate habit of evaporating. This has
been a hard summer for making such ex-
periments on account Of the rains. Also.
Professor Washburn has been away fight
ing the hungry grasshopper In northern
Minnesota and has been too busy to make
a thorough onslaught upon the mosquito,
but as far as he Is gone he is satisfied
that results have been worth while.
A More Deadly Oil.
Phinotas oil, of which the professor has
just received a barrel and which Is being
successfully used In New Jersey and else
where, Is even more effective than kero-
sene for the reason that 1t spreads more
uniformly over the surface OF the water,
and that some Of 1t sinks to the bottom
and then rises again, thus killing the
larvae. One ounce of kerosene oil Is
sufficient to treat fifteen square feet of
water, and the originator Of the scheme
holds that one application every four
weeks is sufficient to exterminate the
most virulent types OF mosquito, but Pro-
fessor Washburn declares that his obser-
vations warrant an application every
three weeks to bring about the best re-
suits. OF the process in detail and of
tN@1
with, Professor Washburn says: .
4 1t seems an easy enough remedy to apply
when you are planning it in your Office, but
when you are out on the swamp amongst
the brush with the spray-pump constantly
emitting kerosene in a fine spray it is quite
different matter. The great difficulty is
the inability to get at the stagnant pools,
WHICH are SO situated that the ground sur
rounding them cannot bear the weight OF
man, much less that of horse and sprink-
ler. 1t is difficult to state how much the
experiment is costing, but you might say
that we have used, in two applications one
and a half barrels Of oil, costing $225 bar
rel, and the labor and horse might be reck-
oned roughly at 81 more; but three times that
sum expended would be little enough for
immunity from this unpleasant pest.
How They Breed.
The constant rain we have had recently
has been very conducive to the increase of
mosquitoes, and, of course, correspondingly
against the success of the experiment. for
it must be borne In mind that a couple of
spoonfuls of water standing in an animal
footprints in the pasture for eleven days Is
sufficient to give rise to several hundred
mosquitoes. This fact causes the erroneous
belief that mosquitoes breed in the grass.
But it is in slight hollows in this grass in
which water has collected that they breed
and develop. -
This experiment. however, has been inter-
fered with by my absence from the station
on grasshopper work. Even 50, the residents
of the park say that there is a marked de-
crease in the number Of mosquitoes. -
Another season I shall begin the expert
ment little earlier, and if $40 will bring
about good seasons result it is money well
expended.