The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-08-09

whereand how mosquitoes are bred and how and where they live are questions which interest the public nowadays.
 An authority on the subject in discuss Ing these questions last night said:
 .'Mosquito larvae are found in places where you would not think of looking for them. In the report of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine's malaria ex- petition to Sierra Leom it Is stated that mosquitoes were found breeding in the broken bottles which were placed upon the top of a stone wall to act as cheval de frise and that they were found also breeding in flower vases on the tables in the houses of European residents, the servants having conscientiously changed the flowers every morning, but with corresponding lack of consciousness omit ed to change the water.
 Mosquitoes are found in all tin tomato cans, oyster cans, cardlne cans on the dumps in cities and in and around su- burban stores.
 .'W. P. Seal of Delair, N. J., writes that hc finds the larvae of mosquitoes in rain- filled hollows of apple. maple and other trees COnSlueTdDlc 0lStdliNV AAChi hhS ground. They are found also in hollow stumps.
 "Mr Pengrade has shown that they breed in closed sewers in Washington, D. C., entering through perforated sewer traps and emerging through the same holes.
 "They are found in old disused wells and cisterns that have been covered.
 'It is astonishing to observe through how small a hole or crack these female mosquitoes will go to seek place to lay their eggs. Water tanks and cisterns which are in cnstant use afford excellent places for the female mosquito to lay her eggs. The pitchers in the pitcher plants afford sufficient room for the matching and development of mosquito larvae.
 "At almost every residence you will find rain bucket or barrel that Is used to collect water to put on the parlor ferns or other flowers, the idea prevailing that rain water is better for flowers than hydrant water. Every washer woman has a rain barrel to collect water to use for washing clothes, because rain water is soft and city water Is hard. These women also have water standing in the tubs for many days. This condition will be found on every resident block in every city.
 '.All these places are especially adapted to the growth and development of mos quitoe larvae, especially for the stego- myia fasciata. The smallest possible stag nant collections of rain water becomes building places and may swarm with lar vac. Discarded bottles and cocoanut hulIs also breed mosquitoes.
 "A case of the necessity of searching out of way places for mosquitoes and larvae has been told by Dr. James Car roll, U. S. ", member of the yellow fever commission. Visiting an army of fcer in charge of a post In Cuba. he found the yellow fever mosquito in numbers around the quarters The officer In charge could not imagine where they came from, as, under orders, he had had every pos sible breeding place exterminated either by surface drainage or by petrolizing Dr. Carroll noticed that the dining room had been insulated by placing its legs in small jars of water. the surface of the watre being carefully covered with kero- sene. In going into an adjoining room. however, he found that table there had also been insulated in the same way, but that the water about only one of the legs of the table had been covered with kerosene. while the jars under the other legs were swimming with mosqui- to larvae. This was the fault of the or derly, an Irishman who literally obeyed orders in kerosening such vessels as were pointed out to him. and no more. Enough mosquitoes were bred in these three jars to stock large community.
 Ut has been said by Mir. Mathewson that there is no more reason why people should suffer from mosquitoes than that they should suffer from smallpox and this is not an overstatement. That effort should be made when it promises success is so self-evident that 1t only requires few inlishtened individuals in a com munity to convince every one of the de- sirabiIity of all organized effort to wipe out the nosquitoes raa "R Alxtakir6n si,st