The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1905-10-24

cover all the marshes in the vicinity
of New York, however, would be
tremendous contract.
Every once in a while some one
asks me why all the marshes are not
drained. Why, it would take millions
of dollars to do such piece of work.
Physicians from New Jersey and
other places are interested i'm our ex-
pcriments to Gust the mosquito from
Greater New York and are constantly
sending to us for information"
In Health officer Doty's office at Qua
ratine stands a row of glass tumblers
and jars containing mosquito larvae
in various stages of growth, most of
which are of good old Staten Island
stock And, as a Staten Islander ex-
planned the other day when a Staten
Island mosquito gets right down to
hard work he can't be beat DR.. Doty
himself lives on Staten Island, and
when he talks mosquitoes he means
the Staten Island variety and no other.
so far" he said frankly, when ask
ed what had been accomplished on sta
ten Island to drive out the mosquito,
the measures we have used have been
means to abolish the mosquito is to
remove her breeding places.
Fortunately, so per cent of tie mos
quitoes of Greater New York are of the
stripe legged, salt water variety which
breed along the Atlantic Coast and
which although just as annoying as
the other 20 per cent, are not poison
transmitters. The Anopheles, or poison
transmitters go in for a fresh water
Matching place if it is nothing more
than the crotch of an old tree in which
rainwater is lodged.
THAT we are in deadly earnest down
here in our fight against the mosquito
is proved by the fact that the Board
of Health has recently secured an APP
preparation of 1000 to use in ditch
ing the swamps over on the west side
of the island. Oh yes, a good deal can
be done with that sum.
Meanwhile, the experiments with
crude petroleum have been going on
and will be continued.
Unfortunately the oil doesn't al
ways stay where it is put. The wind
interiors and blows it to one side. Then
up comes the wigglers for a breath of
air and, getting it, go on thriving.
At this point DR.. Doty picked up a
tumber two-thirds full of water with
a bed of mud in the bottom and held
it between his eyes and the light. Nov
ing about in the water were what look
ed like fine bits of thread less than an
eighth of an inch long.
'Those are mosquito larvae, wigglers'
l, i
will notice they come to the surface for
air. Without a certain quantity of
fresh air they can't live. Consequent
ly when a nursery of wigglers is cut off
from air by a sheet of oil it promptly
smothers
Three years ago, when we first be-
gan treating the marshes to an oil
coating, there was section of the ISL
and inhabited mainly by working peo-
pie too poor to screen their doors and
windows. There the mosquitoes were
so thick that no one dreamed of light
ing lamp after dark.
Not long ago l again went over that
ground and when l asked some of the
residents how the mosquitoes were
treating them now one after another
told me smilingly They are not nearly
so thick as they used to be- By am
other year, perhaps, or after the work
of draining the marshes is well under
way, the mosquito annoyance will be
pretty well abated, 1 think.
But the fresh water mosquito can
be eXterminated only by the co-opera-
ton of the residents of Staten Island,
and this fact l have set forth in a cir
cuar which has been sent broadcast
through the mail into every home. I'm
less the individual will look after rain
water barrels, cesspools, ETC., the Ano-
pheles is bound to go on fiourishing.
'In this circular tenants and property
owners are asked to help the Health
Department i'm it's work. We advise
that all unused receptacles which may
catch and hold water, no matter how
small they may be, shall be removed
from the premises; that cisterns and
rain barrels shall have tight fitting
covers to prevent the deposit of mos
quito eggs; that roof leaders shall be
repaired and properly graded that
crotches of trees, which frequently are
found to contain large quantities of
mosquito larvae, shall be filled with
CeIHSil anu llldI lOllB grass anu ulueT-
brush which harbor mosquitoes during
the day shall as far as possible be re-
moved.
''Also we advise that petroleum, either
crude or refined, be used in cases where
drainage cannot be resorted to. The
oil may be applied by an ordinary gar
den sprlnkling pot and the dose re-
peated every two weeks. 1t is pointed
out, however, that the use of oil is only
a temporary measure.
Mosquitoes may be carried con-
siderable distance by winds, but will
ingly they do not go far from home,
Therefore the circular makes it clear
that when a particular locality is in
tested with these insects, their breeding
place is pretty sure to be in the i'm
mediate neighborhood
Before long the Board of Health
hopes to get the help of every resident
of Staten Island in the work of routing
IL,