The Hawaiian gazette., 1903-11-06
MOSQUITO
CAMPAIGN
Hawaii Work is Praised
by Professor
Howard.

A meeting Of the Mosquito Cam.
paign Committee was held at the Board
Of Health Office between 4 and .. m
yesterday. DR.. Cooper, president of the
Board Of Health, presided as ex-offlcie
chairman. Others present were P. M
Pond, P. r. Helm, D. l.. Van Dine, w
campaign.
Mr.. Larnach reported little over
$500 in monthly subscriptions and s431
In bank, which was considered salts
factory. He also submitted a number
of suggestions for action. Among these
was free Oil to the INDECENT for treating
water containers, also the furnishing OF
taps for water butts to remove the OBJ
lection Of putting oil on the surface of
water for household purposes. When
water is drawn from below, the oil does
not get into 1t.
Mr.. Larnach was directed to give
talks in the schools on Fridays, SO that
in Saturday cleaning up Of domestic
premises the youngsters would be in
fluenced to do good work for the cam
paign. 1t was left to his own judgment
to treat with oil streams below where
people took water therefrom for house,
hold purposes. He had told of where
the water from springs ran over spaces
of ground to make morasses where the
pestiferous insect was bred.
1t was voted to authorize Mr.. Lar
mach to employ a collector of subscrip-
tons for a moderate commission. as
his time was deemed too valuable in the
actual work to be expended in that de-
tail.
Mr.. Bryan narrated the particulars
of some experiments he had made with
sailed water. Where more than 10
per cent of salt water was introduced
into rain water, the mosquito larvae
died with a quickness proportioned to
the quantity Of salt. He had also ex-
perimented with taro land water,
finding that apparently there was some
| reactive property in taro which was
bad for the health of the mosquito.
Mr. Van Dine referred to the pes
simism encountered at the outset of the
movement. from the common belief
that it was useless to combat the pest
in Honolulu SO long as neighboring rice
and taro fields existed. 1t was of great
Importance that exhaustive expert
ments should he made to determine
how far the rice and taro irrigation
was factor in mosquito propagation.
Mr.. Helms suggestion that Mr.. Lar
mach give press reporters such inter-
esting facts Of the campaign as might
tend to promote the enthusiasm Of the
people was considered to be a good
one.
DR.. Cooper suggested that Mr.. Lar
mach preserve in writing notes of prac-
teal bearing relative to discoveries he
might make. The result would be a
valuable book of information.
Mr.. Van Dine believed the Board of
Health ought to have at the end of the
year material for a book that would
be of great interest to mosquito-ridden
countries spread, as they were, all over
the world. He remarked with a ref
erence to his correspondence with Mr..
Henshaw of Hilo that recent visitors
to that town had brought back most
encouraging accounts of the results of
the campaign there. One said he read
in comfort until late at night and then
slept without mosquito bars in the
house at Hilo where he stayed. Mr..
Van Dine read the following extracts
from a letter written by L. o. How
ard chief entomologist of the Depart
ment of Agriculture, Washington, to
Jared G. Smith, director of the United
states Agricultural Experiment Sta
ton here.
Il have received the circulars of the
Board of Health and the press bulletin
of the Department of Agriculture re-
lating to mosquitoes. I am greatly in
terested in these documents.
am glad to get them. I find no errors
1t is especially interesting to note that
your placards have to be printed in
japanese, Chinese, Hawaiian and Por-
tuguese, as we'll as in English. I
think l will have these shown at the
Forthcoming meeting Of the American
Public Health Association which will
be held in Washington in a couple Of
weeks"
Il