The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1906-03-03
NEW JERSEYS
MOSQUITO AREA
State Entomologist John B.
Smith Points Out That
Salt Marshes Are Breed
ing Places Of the Pest
HUDSON's BLACK SPOT

STATISTICS OF THE INSECT AND
HIS FAyoRITE HOMES AND
SUGGESTIONS FOR HIS ENTER-
ArINATIoN.
This is the report Of the legislative
COMMITTEES of the conference Committee
on mosquito externination:-
Mr.. President -:
Your committee has had under consid-
GRAFTON the claim Of DR.. John B. Smith,
New Jersey State Eiltomologist that all
the salt marsh mosquito breeding places
within the State can be eliminated for
the sum of S315,550, together with his
request for State aid.
In 1908 DR.. Smith announced before
this Conference Committee that all the
salt marsh mosquito breeding places to
be found in $500 acres Of salt marshes
in the City If Newark could be drained
for $5,OO0 Qess than $500 per acre)
DR.. Smith plan was to dig deep, narrow
bitches, approximately every $50 feet
apart throughout the meadows. These
small bitches are connected with lateral
drains. We thought the estimate too
low, but Dr. Smith found contractor
to make bid for that amount Of money.
The Newark Board of Health ordered
the work done. The work was complet-
ed in 1904, and in 1905 your Committee
inspected the marshes and found the
ditches in perfect condition, with water
running in and out of them with the rise
and fall of the tide. No MOSQUITO breed
ing whatsoever could be found upon
these meadows.
Last Spring DR.. Smith traced salt
marsh mosquitoes. bred in Staten Island
as far as Madison and sMorristown,
twenty-five miles away. He told the
New York Health authorities that ST.,
600 was sufficient to eliminate the salt
marsh breeding places on Staten Island.
The contract was let for less than that
amount, and the work is now we'll in
hand.
The work done in Elizabeth under DR..
Smiths supervision shows that the cost
there is approximately $500 per acre.
Many Of the fats along the coast are
free from breeding places and the cost
of draining will, therefore, greatly vary
F in cost per acre. Your Committee, there
fore, accepts DIR. Smiths estimates as
being sufficient to drain Or fill all the
breeding places in the salt marshes oc-
Smiths extensive experience and the
proved reliability Of his previous est
mates entitle us to accept his estimates
to be substantially correct.
1t must be emphasized that there is
just as great a difference in the habits
and appearances Of various kinds Of mes
quitoes as in various kinds of birds. No
one expects to see crows build nests in
apple trees, nor robins in wild woods.
Throughout the entire United States, IL
not the world. Dr. Smith is recognized
as the leading authority on the habits of
salt marsh mosquitoes. He has traced
these mosquitoes from their breeding
places forty miles inland. He has found
that they frequently occur as pest
twenty miles from any salt marshes.
When he stated three years ago that
the two distinctive and most abundant
mosquitoes breeding on the salt marshes
never bred in fresh water he was contra
Gus and the only exception to this was
the discovery of salt mosquitoes breeding
in the hollow trunks of trees At the
present time. however, there is an unan-
unity of opinion that those mosquitoes
that breed most numerously on the salt
marshes breed nowhere else They have
the migratory habit-theys travel long
distances they bite in the day time, but
seldom Or rarely enter houses.
In contradistinction to this it has been
established that nearly all of the mos
quitoes that breed in fresh water travel
short distances. In fact, unless fresh
water breeding places be Of great extent
they are seldom troublesome over half a
mile from the place where they are bred.
Most of these species. however, habitu-
ally enter houses, biting chiefly at night.
They may be classed as domestic mos
quitoes. The malarial carrier is the most
dangerous Of these.
New Jersey contains 1914 square