The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1905-09-16
Edward s. Rankin ofNewark
Tells the American NUM-
cipal Improvers What
Has Been Done.
WORK IN NEW JERSEY
PROBLEM AROUND NEWARK A
LARGE oNE on ACCOUNT OF
THE WIDE TRACT OF SUR
ROUNDING MARSHES.

ROUNDING MARSHES.
Edward S. Rankin, engineer of the
sewer department of Newark, n. j.,
read an interesting paper at the eonven-
tion of the American Society of Munich
pal Improvements at Montreal 1t was
a report for the committee on sewage
and sanitation, and gave a review of the
anti-mosquito campaign, with special
reference to the work in New Jersey.
Mr. Rankin said he was not an expert on
the subject of mosquito determination,
and that he was indebted for much in
formation to DR.. John b. Smith, State
Entomologist of New Jersey, and Henry
Clay Weeks, secretary of the National
Mosquito determination Society. He al
SO said that the mosquito question was
a subject of such Importance and was
now exciting such widespread interest
that he decided to read paper dealing
with that subject only. He ac4ed:
Notwithstanding the fact that the re-
lation of malaria to mosquitoes had been
suggested more than twenty years before,
and that in scattered localities at widely
separated points petroleum. had been sue
cessfully used to kill larvae, it was not
until the publication of Dr. Howard s
book. on mosquitoes in 1901 that the
movement became in any way general,
or that anything like a systematic at
tempt at practical determination was un-
dertaken.
At the present time the movement may
be said to be world wide. In the United
States practical work is being done in
New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts,,
Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland. Flori-
da Alabama Louisiana Texas and Cali
fornia. There may be other States from
which I have no report. To mention a
few specific instances-New York city
has appropriated $1,000 for dealing
with the salt marshes on Staten Island.
Breeding places around Grayesend Bay
are being filled with the city ashes and
refuse. Very successful work has been
done along the north shore of Long Is
land.
Mr.. Rankin here read a circular from
the New York City Health Department.
which he said was good example Of
brief and concise rules for neighborhood
work. 1t was published with special ref
erence to the Sheepshead Bay move
ment and was distributed by the police
throughout the whole district Mr.. Ran
kin also said that somewhat more elab-
crate circular was published by the
Health Department of Stamford, Conn,
giving cuts of the ordinary and the mala-
rial mosquito, with brief descriptions Of
the same, and rules for preventing breed
ing A settlement of wealthy citizens on
the shores of San Francisco bay was
about to be abandoned because of the
swarms of mosquitoes. The marshes
We're drained and the pests practically
eliminated. Mr.. Rankin spoke of the
educational work of the National Mos
quito determination Society, and said the
work of the United States Government
at Havana was an object lesson to the
world. For the first time in 200 years,
the city was, in 1902, without a single
case of yellow fever, and in three years,
from 1900 to 1908. deaths from malaria
were reduced from 325 to 45. The gov,
ernments of Great Britain, Germany,
Italy, Japan and Cuba were now at work
exterminating mosquitoes, and by the
crusade at Ismallia, on the Isthmus Of
Suez, the cases of malaria were reduced
in one seasons work from 1000 to 200.
Mr. Rankin continued
T4The State of New Jersey has long been
noted among her sister States as the
chosen dwelling place of the mosquito.
While this reputation is undeserved, other
sections of the country suffering to a
much greater extent. she certainly can
claim the credit of being the pioneer in
the movement toward their extermira-
tion. In 1902 the State Legislature pass
ed a law appropriating the sum Of Sl0..
coo for the study of the life habits Of the
insect and the devising Of means for its
determination. On its Introduction the
bill was looked upon as joke and re.
ferred to the Committee on Agriculture,
with no thought, except among It's few
advocates. that it would ever beI heard
from aeSpl. However, after hard work