Perth Amboy evening news., 1906-11-12
FEW MOSQUITOES
ON STATEN ISLAND.

Il IIAA w AhAt
Grafton of Mayor Mcclellan, the board
of estimate and apportionment grant
ed an appropriation of $4,000 last
Noyember to carry on this work, so
the first year of the enterprise Is
nearly fcpnIRIete and a definite idea
u the practicability of the scheme
5 now possible. aftfse
If the testimony of residents and
opinions of DR.. Doty's inspectors
amount to anything, success has been
achieved beyond the rosiest expecta-
tions of those interested.
DR.. Doty, after long study of mos
quito determination. came to the
conclusion that eighty per cent. of
the mosquitoes which have made life
4 as burden in certain parts of Staten
Island, New Jersey and other points
along the Atlantic coast are the culex
sollicitans, perhaps better known as
the striped legged" "salt water or
Atlantic coast" mosquito.
He states that until recently the
determination of the mosquito had
been regarded as practically impossi-
BILE. Indeed, efforts to eXterminate
the mosquito have been looked upon
largely from a humorous point OF
view. 1t has been demonstrated by
careful investigation, however, that
the determination of the mosquito can
be successfully accomplished.
DR.. Doty found that all mosquitoes
deposit their eggs on the surface of
the water except sssoliicitans," but
the latter breed only in salt water
swamps. and their eggs are deposited
upon the earth and remain without
further change until covered with
water, when development of the
winged insect rapidly follows.
TO Prevent Matching.
From all of which it appeared that
the best way to rid Staten Island of
mosquitoes was to prevent the hatch
ing s4nf eggs. If the salt marshes
along,atffe coast are drained and the
braedingsinlaces done away with no
mosquitoes would be bred.
Accordingly the appropriation OBJ
tanned, Or. DotS promptly set about
draining the swamps. AS this first
work was largely experimental, and
because of the great area of marsh
lands, the region below South Beach
and about Great Kills, some ten males
square in extent, was chosen for the
beginning, and three hundred miles
of bitches were laid out.
This territory seemed peculiarly ia
orable to the work, because it is sep
arated by high hills from other parts
of Staten Island, and 1t was there
fore possible to gauge the results, as
it was reasonably fair to infer that
practically all the mosquitoes in this
region came from these marshes. he
bitches dug were for the most part
ten inches wide and.two feet in depth,
att intervals off seyanty4iwe to two.
hundred. feet. These were connected
by an intersecting ditch every quarter
or half mile; finally emptying into
large trunk bitches, thence to the sea,
The marshes were drained success
fully and the results have been re-.
markable. AT the Richmond County
Country Club house and on the golf
links in that neighborhood, for in
stance, where in previous years los
quftoes had been so bad as to inter-
fere with enjoyment of outdoor
sports, this year there have been
practically no mosquitoes, Where for
merly mosquito bars were used in
nearly all residences in the neigh
borhood, this year the bars have come
down and houses have been practic-
ally free of these insects.
More important still, Inspectors
who went all through this section of
Staten Island during the summer
evenings reported complete change
in the "sketer,s situation, and their
views were confirmed by statements
of the many people with whom they
talked. r..
The work has now been greatly eX-
tended, and at this time all but a linz
tied section of swamp land around
the Fresh Kills on the west side OF
the island has been drained, and only
chat fact that marshes on the other
side of Staten Ilsand sound, in New
Jersey, have not been drained, pre-
vents Staten Island from enjoying
practically complete relief from its
most serious former drawback.
This difficulty bids. fair soon to be
remedied, as DR.. Jim B. Smith, state
~entomologist of New Jersey, promises
to begin work opposite Staten Island
in the near future. Dr.. Doty gives
great credit to DR.. Smith for original
investigation in this work, and the
cooperation of these well known ply
sicians will unquestionably prove one
of the greatest Blooms in years to Stat
en- Island and Jersey.
DR.. Smith has the advantage of be-
ing backed by his state by a $4,000
appropriation, and it seems to be def
nitely established that If only all OF
the states on the Atlantic seaboard
will ute In the work of draining their
salt marshes. in the course of a few
years mosquitoes Will be so few as
to be no serious discomfort.
1t should be added that the
Striped legged" MOSQUITOES are an