The Mankato free press., 1902-05-30
PUTTING in BILLS.
Opening Of the Mosquito Season is
Distinctly Marked.

Minneapolis journal: Mosquito
season arrived in Minneapolis Wednes-
day night. Few people here can call
to mind any earlier advent of the
pests in years past. Before Wednesday
hardly a mosquito had been seen but
on that night they swarmed in the
city and at the lake. 1t is remarkable !
that they should have gone into busi-
ness on such an extensive scale all at
once. Yesterday people throughout
the city were proudly exhibiting
welts resulting from the sudden vista
tion of the night before. The stingers
were quite as active last evening, and
from now on they will be on the in
crease.
Out in ST. Anthony park heroic
measures are to be adopted for the
determination of mosquitoes. There
is enough swampy land in that dis
trict to make mosquitoes unusually
plentiful and the park people have
been goaded to desperation as result.
This has given Professor F. L.
Washburn, state entomologist, an ex-
cellent opportunity to call science to
the aid of the sufferers. He is about
to wipe out mosquitoes by the use of
kerosene. 1t will be in the nature OF
an experiment, but Professor Wash
burn believes that he will achieve
practical results. Experiments already
made Justify the conclusion that one
ounce of kerosene will destroy and pre-
vent their breeding within radis oi
fifteen square feet 1t is estimated
that it will take four barrels Of ke-o.
sene to make st. Anthony park i'm
mune from further ravages, for some
time to come at least.
The women of the park have formed
kerosene "bucket brigade" and will
kindly contribute all the kerosene
needed to bring about the extinction
of the mosquito. The work will be
under the direct supervision of Pro-
fessor Washburn who will have q
large force of men at work for several
days. For the benefit of those who
wish to wage an active campaign
against mosquitoes elsewhere, he will
soon issue a bulletin bearing compre-
hensively on the subject.
. Professor Washburn believes kero-
sene will be found very effective
wherever it may be used. Minneapolis
and st. Paul to say nothing of the
; suburbs, he says, could be made COM
paratively free from mosquitoes if a
generous cooperation of all the people
could be assured.
} Wherever there is swampy land, OF
wherever water collects in large OF
small quantities, mosquitoes breed
readily. They will breed in drop of
water, which fact enables them to
multiply in such out or the way
places, as the interior of tin cans, con-
tanning ever so little moisture. This
is another argument for tidying up
back yards, for if tin cans were de-
stroyed or carried away, prolific
source of mosquitoes would be elmin-
ated.
One of the dearly loved haunts of
mosquitoes is the rain barrels. A
tablespoon full of kerosene will put
an effectually quietus on any mosquito
germs in such receptacles.
The readiness with which mosqui-
toes accumulate about premises
where water is handy, led Professor
Washburn to observe that the present
reign of the mosquito is only a fore
runner of what is yet to come.
"The real mosquito season is not
yet here said he. "The
mosquitoes which have made them
selves manifest since Wednesday are
those that we have always with us.
1 mean to say that they have simply
been alternating in sttics, barn lofts
and anywhere any other place which
offered for the winter.
The sudden coming of warm wealth
er and the recent heavy rains, the pro-
fessor thinks, may have had much to
do with bringing the mosquitoes out
of retirement in force.