Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-11-08
THE DEADLY MOSQUITO.
This Insect a Most Dangerous Enemy
Of the Human Race.


OF the entire scientific world, says the
New York World. He began his work
eight years ago and he has brought 10
the door of the pest the responsibility
for two of the most destructive dis
eases to which human beings are sus-
ceptible-malaria and yellow feVer'
: Doctor Ayers was only recently the
recipient Of a high honor at the hands
of the Academy of Medicine, which
made him the Wesley M. Carpenter
lecturer of the year. or course MS
theme was the mosquito.
Most of us are blind; yes. blind,
said Doctor Ayers the other day IN
discussing mosquitoes. Il have In
mind when say that the vast tracts
of swamplands in New York, and par
ticularly within striking distance OF
this city, and in New Jersey, which are
absolutely abandoned to the mosquito,
perhaps the greatest enemy of man.
THE expenditure of little money
in draining, from $3.50 to $5 an acre,
and all those lands would be trans
formed within a few months into
blooming gardens. Disease would be
given a blow that would put it on It's
knees. That small expenditure OF
money would mean something in the
pocket besides. The swamp land In
which the mosquito fiourishes is rich
Experiments have been made on re-
claimed land, and 1t has returned from
$40 to 500 an acre. Yet we pass II
by. And that's why l say most OF us
are blind.
Did you ever pause to think OF the
ruin and death to human nature the
MOSQUITO works? The mosquito is the
breeder and carrier of our two great
est enemies-malaria and yellow fe-
YER. After eighteen years research we
have come to this:
1.-The germ Of yellow fever Is only
pathogenous for human beings wher
introduced by incubation. The regu'
lar process by which incubation Is ac'
complished, in nature, Is through the
bites Of the mosquito, the insect hav'
ing previously become contaminated
through the act Of biting a yellow few
er patient within five days Of attack
Although the bites Of recently con-
tar mated mosquito can produce a.
most only a very mild attack OF yellow
fever, the bites of the same insect
when its contamination dated back fol
several days or weeks, might produce
severe or fatal attacks. The yellow
fever mosquitoes, after they have once
become contaminated, retain the pow
er of inoculating the disease through
the rest of their lives.
In the forty-seven years preceding
the Reed commissions discoveries, 3d.
952 residents of Havana died from vel
low fever, a constant mortality Of II
per cent. Under the vigorous contro
Of Colonel Gorgas in 1901 it was com
pletely stamped out in ninety days
He went to work on the mosquitoes.
Now let me tell you about filaria'
sis. They. are worms which are In th'
blood of from 10 to so per cent of thu
peoples of the entire tropical and sub
tropical portions of the globe, repre-
senting the blood vigor Of incomputa
BILE millions of human beings sappet
for a useless worm that can have M
other service in Gods universe thar
to retard the development of man
Mosquitoes put those worms in you.
wherever mosquitoes can eXis
there you will find man with malaria
That malaria is only at its best-o
worst-in the tropics. II we take th'
United States as basis for estimating
the world prevalence Of malaria W.
start in with an annual death rate o
900 out of $4,000 affected. The to-
tai annual contribution of deaths from
malaria at this rate is over 25O,vOO
and the total of infected persons Ii
more than 100000. During the las
100 years 100000 of our people hav,
died from yellow fever and some 500,
900 have been infected. Picture TO
yourself the figure Of those hundred
years! They ought to be a blank
Don't you think a halt should be call
ed on the mosquito and that public
opinion should make the state draiI
the swamp land wherever one is to b.
found.
THE United States is just awaken
ing to the problem there is in all this
Its tropical possessions have brough
the question fairly home. But England
and Germany and France have beer
working for long time at it. Their
Is a college in Liverpool, another III
Berlin. and third in France where th'
mosquito is known and studied ant
his determination thought out so tina
disease may be the quicker overcome.
Just to show you what Italy ha
done in little while, let me tell yo'
that last year it brought the death rat
from malaria down from $1,000 to 1000
How? BY getting after the mosquito
BY an investment Of $3,000,000 II
building a draining canal along tn
river Po it aided largely in this. 1t un
lderstands what menace there is in th
swamp lands.
New Jersey. thanks largely to Stat
Entomologist John B. Smith. has ap
propriated s350,OOO to swamp treat
ment. and up to July last had dug be
tween 1000 and 10000 feet Of draining
bitches. There are about 100000 acre.
of swamp in New Jersey and the ap
preparation promises to be sufficient
although politics threatens to tighter
the purse-strings for next year Lont
Island has about $4,000 acres o
swamps bearing down the efforts o
her land boomers and communitie
like Flushing, which is surrounded b.
5000 swamp acres. She will have t
fight.
New York city is ridiculously in
tested with mosquitoes-many Of then
the malarial amapheles-from he
park waters and water tanks tina
crown the skylnes of a host of build
n.a tI,,, fat.