The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-07-25
1f new )aan9laV lEM)f1!eleEFARtERJ |


UCTED BY PROF. J. +. DUGG AN, OF
could take but one meal Of blood, and
| that then she would busy herself with
egg-laying the balance OF her sweet
tlife; but unfortunately for the victims
OF the bite, that idea Is not true. She
may live many weeks and bite an In
definite number OF times.
| 1t Is only necessary In this connec-
| tion to mention the three most common
varieties that worry us in this vicinity.
| The Culex Pungens is the most IA
miliar species--our small blue mosqui-
to. which enters the house about twi-
| light and sings melodiously and bites
vociferously, and takes his leave about
daylight. The Cu1ex Taniorhynchus,
or common ring-legged MOSQUITO. bites
both day and night but gives most
| trouble In the day time. ! have no.
ticed that this variety Of mosquito
gives you no warning song of Its APP
proach, but gently alights upon you,
and almost before you are aware OF 1t
| has received a full meal and taken
| flight. This variety and the culex
pungens breed generally in clear water,
in tubs, barrels, open cisterns. etc.
They also thrive well in the filthy wa
| ter about sinks, water closets. etc. The
Anopholes Macculipennis Is the mala-
rial injecting variety. and breed most
ly in sluggish streams. covered by
green scum, or in marshes protected by
grass and underbrush.
When q given locality Is mosquito
infested and 1t Is the intention Of the
Inhabitants to apply a destructive
agent, the source of the mosquitoes. or
the breeding place, must be found. and
to find this breeding place It n very
important to consider the question:
How far do mosquitoes fly? And are
they carried by the winds? DR.. John
B. Smith, a well known entomo1ogist,
says that mosquitoes do not fly far. nor
will they rise and take fight during
brisk breeze. In the fall Of 1909 we
observed that large residence, situa-
ted in the center of large lot. was
teeming with mosquitoes of the COM
mon ring-legged variety. The breed
Ing place of these mosquitoes was
caused by a leaky hydrant near the
house. Every member of this family
was simply spotted from the numerous
bites. The occupants Of residences on
either side of this infested house were
not at all troubled with this particular
| variety OF mosquitoes. Then the idea
/ that mosquitoes fly in upon us from a
i distance is erroneous. The Italian in
vestigators say that experience has
shown that where a house located in
the center of village or city is found
the larvae should be made. first in the
house, then in cisterns or wells under
the house, and, finally, in water troughs,
sinks, tubs and barrels in the yard. Last
September / was called to see lady
whose face and hands were terribly
SCARED by mosquito-bites She chided
me about the tfselessness of my mos
quito remedy, with which we had not
as vet invaded the private premises
of the inhabitants. I offered to wager
almost anything that on her premises
could be found the source of her pests.
The Characteristic rain-water barrel,
teeming with thousands of larvae, was
found within few feet of the win
dow Of her sleeping apartment.
The truth is, people do not take
the trouble to make careful search,
and prefer to jump to the conclusion
that the mosquitoes have flown in upon
them from a distance. The idea that
they are conveyed by the wind deters
people from making the effort to rid
themselves of the nuisance, which can
so easily be accomplished.
Unfortunately mosquitoes are often
carried from one locality to another by
railway trains; especially is this true
of the malaria injecting kind. 1t is
said that mosquitoes were never
known in Hawaii until brought over
by sailing vessels from the United
States. On these vessels they had
bred more or less continuously in wa
ter barrels; and to-day these insects
are said to be very abundant in those
islands.
In this connection it is probably
well to speak of some unusual or I'M
thought-of places for breeding. I have
seen the larvae in the rain-water
caught by broken bottles. old tomato
cans, ETC. They will breed in closed
sewers. entering by perforated traps.
They will breed in rain-filled hollows
of treo at a considerable distance
from the ground; in all uncovered wa
ter-tanks. and by the one thousand
million in open cisterns. Last fall.
during a few weeks of showery wealth
err, I was called to investigate a mos
ito-infected residence in certain
part of the city of Talladega. Other
residents in the immediate neighbor-
hood were not troubled by the pests.
searched two days for the origin or
source of that infection. There was
no 1eaky hydrant, no rain-water bar
rels or tubs; no upturned tomato cans
or bottles to catch water. The top
on the cistern was tight and we'll CO.
mented to the bricks. I could not i'm
agine where these mosquitoes were
coming from. began to watch the
cistern more closely and observed
mosquitoes emerging from small per-
forations in the bottom of a galvan-
ICED iron box used in conveying waste
water from the pump of cistern back
into the cistern. Still I could not be-
lleve that mosquitoes had entered
through these perforations to deposit
eggs. So l made an examination of
the guttering and there found the
source or origin of this infection. The
guttering had says in 1t. water would
remain in these says after rain, mos
quitoes would deposit their eggs in
this water. shower within the next
day or two would take the eggs into
the cistern, and then. A pint of kerr
osene poured into the cistern stopped
the nuisance and did not affect the
water, as 1t was pumped from the bot
tom. DR.. John B. Smith says that
mosquitoes are found in great num-
bers in the pitchers of the pitcher
plant in New Jersey.
The prime cause of so much being
said and written about mosquito ex-
; termination nowadays is the posi-
lively proven fact that the anopholes
variety Is the host through which ma
laria Is carried from one person to
another. In yellow-fever. the power
of the mosquito to transmit the dis
ease has been proven experimentally
only. But this little knowledge has
I completely revolutionized the medical
and sanitary practice for its control
No longer do we fumigate Matchmaker
or bar out products from countries
where yellow-fever exists. II we
| ENar Nswnk -