The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-07-15

welcome attentions. Similar trouble, has been experienced in Fall River, New Bedford and lTaunton, and several other places in tEais part of New Eng land, and Provi dence seems destined not to escape. Even now the presence of the exasperatfng plague makes it at times almost impossible to really enjoy an evening on the veranda. ..-. ~e
 Granting that the mosquito has come, and with more of thirst for blood than ever, the problem is what can be done to get rid of him. In this connec-, tion a Journal reporter sought:ou Pr: Eugene P. King, medical inspector and deputy superintendent of health. The doctor said that there wasn't much do- ing on the part of the health depart ment officially in exterminating the mo- squito this year, but he told ot experl- ments made last year by Superinten- dent of Health Dr. Chapin and himself which proved highly satisfactory as far as they progressed. @
 Dr. King said that in his opinion, a judgment based upon close obserya- tion of the way 1t worked when judi ciously applied, kerosene was great foe to the swarming pests. He had no hesitation in saying that he believed that if kerosene were systematically spread upon waters where the insects breed the task would be rewarded by a very material falling off in the number of mosquitoes. In other words, he thought that Kerosene was capable of eSterminating myriads of the insects by. killing the larvae.
 Last years experiments were con ducted on quite an extensive scale by Drs Chapin and King. The city, or at least portion of it was gone over thoroughly, and maps and charts were prepared denoting the location of spots where mosquitoes appeared to delight particularly to congregate. Then the insects were attacked in their city homes, 50, to speak, by pouring kero- sene oil into the sewer catch basins un- der the streets and sidewalks. For a considerable time experiments in some thing like one hundred basins were cons ducted, representing a territory an eighth of mile square. Broadway and some of it's environs were largely the ground selected,
 Dr. King says that the experiments abundantly justified the belief that ker- osene was death to the larvae of the in- sect. Careful examination of catch ba- sins in which kerosene had been used showed that where before using the mo- squitoes had fairly swarmed upward in clouds when the covers were removed, after the application of the oil there was scarcely a mosquito to be seen: This was the case in practically all of the basins systematically treated with oil. showing that 1t was by no mere stroke of luck that the insects had been killed off or driven elsewhere.
 Of course the mosquito breeds with amazing rapidity, and one treatment of a basin with kerosene is not sufficient. Frequent applications are desirable. During the experiments last summer some basins were treated three or four times. After each successive pouring l in of the oil following the first the con- ditions were found to De increasingly
 satisfactory,
 It requires only about three ounces of oil at "a time. The method of applica- ] ton Is to remove the cover of a catch
 basin, then pour in the oil--ordinary
 Kerosene oil IS all rightand then mix
 the oil with the water by stirring the
 contents of the basin with pole.
 I The city of Providence is not yet pre-
 pared to extend any such kind and ex. elusive. courtesy to the mosquito
 There is no appropriation labelled For
 mosquito killing or Insect extermina- t tion." Over in Bf6elkline, Mass, they I are doing some great stunts at sprtnk- ling ponds and streams and other wa, 1 ters with kerosene to effect a wholesale l massacre of the pests, but Providence
 hasn'ttyet arrived that far.
 Therefore whatever extermination i: l carried on must be done by individua l endeavor. Dr. King advocates tha
 sort of thing, and, to practice what he | breaches, he is quietly and unoberu l sively ''doctoring' the three catch ba
 sins nearest his house on Vernon street I with kerosene, and says that he hasn't
 yet discovered any mosquitos emana! l ting from those, particilar basins Ht things he started In early enough to kill