Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-18
FIGHT AGAINST MOSQUITOES.
Fort Myer Heights Association to Seek
Their determination.

Mosquito determination was brought up
at the meeting of the Fort Myer Heights
Improvement Association Tuesday night as
a subject for a summer campaign. The
secretary, Mr.. Greathouse, called atten-
ton to the report recently issued by the
Charleston sanitary and drainage commits
sion, showing what has been accomplished
near Charleston, S. c., in getting rid of
mosquitoes merely by a system of good
drainage. In this report James Cosgrove,
known as THE Apostle of Drainage in the
South states that his attention was first
called to the conditions at Charleston by
the fact that Of 100000 acres of the most
fertile land in the world located in Charles
ton county only 10000 acres are under Gull
tivation 300 years after settlement there;
and the county was still almost uninhabited
by white people and as uncultivated the
SWamps of Africa. The cause was malaria.
Drainage appealed to him as the remedy,
and he secured action by Charleston citi-
zens, by the state legislature of which he
was member and the cooperation of the
Department of Agriculture.
They have eXcavated eighty-five miles
of canals and bitches and reclaimed 1900
acres on Charleston Neck, including swamp,
where nobody could live before and where
now are two saw mills, costing over $780,
OO0 with employees living in good health
near and a town laid out. Malaria as
shown by their records, has practically
been banished. 1t was suggested to the as
ISOLATION that if the matter were taken up
for consideration now all could be made
ready for action when needed.
1t was agreed that the low grounds along
the lines of the Falls Church and Old
Dominion roads either side of the
heights could be drained, and with the
help of the Fort Myer post authorities in
spreading kerosene, as they have done for
several years, mosquitoes could be kept
away.
But what about Little river by Ana
lostan Island?" asked Robert King.
In reply it was pointed out that mos
quitoes probably do not come to the
as the Virginia side of the river is really a
part of Washington, probably action by
citizens of the heights would indicate what
the national capital ought to do to get
rid of mosquitoes within its boundaries.
The meeting of the association was held
at the residence of H. w. McGeorge, and
c. E. Lewis was made chairman in the alb
sence of c. B. Wadleigh, the president.
The committee on walks reported that bids
had been asked for and all was practically
ready to lay more than a half mile of
walks agreed on. The subscription list was
at hand and several new names were add
ed, and enough collected to more than
double the amount already deposited in
bank for the use of the committee in MAX
ing the new walks
Messrs. Brown and McGeorge were
directed as a committee to find what is the
status of the purchase of the lot for a
school building, and Mr.. Lewis and the
secretary were asked to urge upon the
and Mackey, the appointment of a heights
citizen upon the first vacancy on the Ar
lington district school board and to recon-
mend William A. E. McShea for the place.
1t was stated that 3. NJ. Davidson had re-
signed and a new member would probably
be named at once.